By Staff Writer | Book Review | for Moakanyi Magazine
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t is a management book by Jim C. Collins that describes how companies transition from being good companies to great companies, and how most companies fail to make the transition. The book was a bestseller, selling four million copies and going far beyond the traditional audience of business books.
From the author of Built to Last, Good to Great outlines a model for turning a good, average or even mediocre company into a great one. The book includes a useful model which brings all the theory together in a meaningful and memorable way. By bringing together disciplined people, using disciplined thought and disciplined action companies can build up and break through the barriers that hold them back from greatness. The author, Jim Collins, and his research team put together a list of “good to great” companies which were compared to the “comparison companies” in order to determine what separates the elite from the rest.
This book is perfect for anyone running or working in a company. It will highlight what it is that makes a company good and will show you ways to make it even better. The author, Jim Collins has put together a list of companies that went from “good to great” and compares this to what he considers to be ‘mediocre’ companies. This helps to identify what separates the elite from the rest. Whether you own a business or work for someone this book is full of helpful insights that will help you change the way you and others around you work.
Jim Collins, author of Built to Last considers himself both a student and teacher of leadership. He has performed endless hours of research into companies and leaders aiming to understand exactly what separates the best from the rest. With 6 books under his belt he has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide, this book, Good to Great became a #1 bestseller.
Collins outlines a model for turning a good, average or even a mediocre company into a great one. The book includes a useful model which brings the theory together in an actionable way. This summary will outline Collin’s 3 key aspects for a Great company; disciplined people, disciplined thought & discipline action.
Despite what you may think, Collins explains that not all leaders behind the ‘great’ companies are well-known or high-profile. In fact, Collins has outlined characteristics most commonly found amongst the successful leaders.
Collins calls these people the “Level 5 Leaders”:
”An individual who blends extreme personal humility with intense professional will.”
These “Level 5 Leaders” are the first ones to give credit to someone else, they acknowledge the team and the work they put in, always. And when things go wrong, they accept responsibility, they never use ‘bad luck’ as an excuse.
Collins explains that the very first point of call when getting a ‘great’ company going, is focusing on having the right people on board. Rather than having a vision, then getting people to work towards the said vision. Ensure that the people you have on board are complementary and reflect the companies motives. Then together, you can define the vision. Collins explains it well with a bus metaphor;
“Look, I don’t really know where we should take this bus. But I know this much: If we get the right people on the bus, the right people in the right seats, and the wrong people off the bus, then we’ll figure out how to take it someplace great.”
Collins identifies the reason this way is easier, is because it’s a lot easier to motivate the right people, less management will be involved. You will find that the right people enjoy work, they work together seamlessly and work doesn’t feel as ‘hard’.
”If you focus on the who first, it’s easier to change direction later because these people are on the bus because of who else is on the bus. If you focus on the what, then people focus on the direction the bus is going and it becomes harder to change direction later.”
Collins emphasises the importance of being ‘brutally honest’ when facing a tough situation. You have to accept reality in order to truly be able to tackle these challenges. Living in an alternate world where bad things don’t happen isn’t actually going to do you any good long time. When being realistic, the solution will more often than not present itself as obvious and logical.
Home » Blog » Book Summaries » Good to Great by Jim Collins [BOOK SUMMARY & PDF]
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From the author of Built to Last, Good to Great outlines a model for turning a good, average or even mediocre company into a great one. The book includes a useful model which brings all the theory together in a meaningful and memorable way. By bringing together disciplined people, using disciplined thought and disciplined action companies can build up and break through the barriers that hold them back from greatness. The author, Jim Collins, and his research team put together a list of “good to great” companies which were compared to the “comparison companies” in order to determine what separates the elite from the rest.
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Contents [hide]
INTRODUCTION
Who is this book for?
About the author
In this summary
BOOK SUMMARY
1. DISCIPLINED PEOPLE
Leaders
Who & what?
2. DISCIPLINED THOUGHT
Be realistic but never lose hope
The Hedgehog Paradox
The three circles
DISCIPLINED ACTION
Create a culture
Technology Accelerators
Jim’s Fly Wheel & Doom Loop
Why a spinning flywheel?
What about the doom loop?
CONCLUSION
Key Takeaways
Further Reading
Action Steps
INTRODUCTION
Who is this book for?
This book is perfect for anyone running or working in a company. It will highlight what it is that makes a company good and will show you ways to make it even better. The author, Jim Collins has put together a list of companies that went from “good to great” and compares this to what he considers to be ‘mediocre’ companies. This helps to identify what separates the elite from the rest. Whether you own a business or work for someone this book is full of helpful insights that will help you change the way you and others around you work.
About the author
Jim Collins, author of Built to Last considers himself both a student and teacher of leadership. He has performed endless hours of research into companies and leaders aiming to understand exactly what separates the best from the rest. With 6 books under his belt he has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide, this book, Good to Great became a #1 bestseller.
In this summary
Collins outlines a model for turning a good, average or even a mediocre company into a great one. The book includes a useful model which brings the theory together in an actionable way. This summary will outline Collin’s 3 key aspects for a Great company; disciplined people, disciplined thought & discipline action.
BOOK SUMMARY
1. DISCIPLINED PEOPLEGood to Great Model
Leaders
Despite what you may think, Collins explains that not all leaders behind the ‘great’ companies are well-known or high-profile. In fact, Collins has outlined characteristics most commonly found amongst the successful leaders.
Are modest and humble
Set others up for the successes and the wins, focus on other peoples successes more than their own
Have unwavering resolve
Care more about the company than their own profile
Their ambition remains within the company and it’s goals, not about their own personal progression.
They have what Collins describes as a “ferocious resolve, an almost stoic determination to do whatever needs to be done to make the company great.”
Collins calls these people the “Level 5 Leaders”:
”An individual who blends extreme personal humility with intense professional will.”
These “Level 5 Leaders” are the first ones to give credit to someone else, they acknowledge the team and the work they put in, always. And when things go wrong, they accept responsibility, they never use ‘bad luck’ as an excuse.
Level 5 Leadership
Who & what?
Collins explains that the very first point of call when getting a ‘great’ company going, is focusing on having the right people on board. Rather than having a vision, then getting people to work towards the said vision. Ensure that the people you have on board are complementary and reflect the companies motives. Then together, you can define the vision. Collins explains it well with a bus metaphor;
“Look, I don’t really know where we should take this bus. But I know this much: If we get the right people on the bus, the right people in the right seats, and the wrong people off the bus, then we’ll figure out how to take it someplace great.”
Collins identifies the reason this way is easier, is because it’s a lot easier to motivate the right people, less management will be involved. You will find that the right people enjoy work, they work together seamlessly and work doesn’t feel as ‘hard’.
”If you focus on the who first, it’s easier to change direction later because these people are on the bus because of who else is on the bus. If you focus on the what, then people focus on the direction the bus is going and it becomes harder to change direction later.”
Here are a few of Collin’s top tips for hiring;
Look for a good character over good skills and education. You can’t teach character but you can provide education and training.
If you have ANY doubts, don’t hire the person. Follow your instincts on this.
If you find that you have the wrong set of people, act fast and change this. Do it sooner rather than later.
The people that do the best work, have them working where the opportunities are rather than where the problems are. Use them for development and progression rather than damage control. This is where they are the most beneficial.
”Good-to-great management teams consist of people who debate vigorously in search of the best answers, yet who unify behind decisions, regardless of parochial interests.”
2. DISCIPLINED THOUGHT
Be realistic but never lose hope
Collins emphasises the importance of being ‘brutally honest’ when facing a tough situation. You have to accept reality in order to truly be able to tackle these challenges. Living in an alternate world where bad things don’t happen isn’t actually going to do you any good long time. When being realistic, the solution will more often than not present itself as obvious and logical.
Here are some of Collin’s tips for dealing with tough situations
Remember, as a leader, engage your workers with questions instead of answers.
Use debate and conversation as the first tools, never coercion.
Remember that everyone is entitled to not only having their say but also being heard. Make sure you truly listen and engage with everyone’s opinions.
Never place blame, you can de-construct a problem without shoving someone under the bus.
Build ‘red flag’ mechanisms.
Don’t give people false hope, this only demotivates them. As long as your people are ‘right’ for the job, they will be motivated to solve the problems.
“On the one hand, leaders stoically accepted the brutal facts of reality. On the other hand, they maintained an unwavering faith in the endgame, and a commitment to prevail as a great company despite the brutal facts. We came to call this duality the Stockdale Paradox.”
The Hedgehog Paradox
The hedgehog concept is a model for defining your companies strategy in the simplest of terms. Why hedgehog? Well because hedgehogs as a species actively simplify the complex world into a single idea/principle/concept. By doing this they create a basic outlook on the world rather than having a multi-faceted and confusion perception. In short, Collins explains that hedgehogs see only the essential and ignore the non-essential.
”For example; Walgreens – Simply be the best, most convenient drugstores, with high profit per customer visit. That’s it. That’s the breakthrough strategy that Walgreens used to beat Intel, GE, Coca-Cola, and Merck.”
Collins explains that great companies base their strategies on what Collins considers to be a deep understanding of the three key dimensions. Collins has come to describe these as the ‘three circles.’ Great companies take this understanding and outline a clear and simple concept that is easy to digest and adopt. This single concept can guide their efforts. Alas, the hedgehog concept.
Create a culture
Jim believes that you need to pursue a culture where disciplined people are consistently taking disciplined action. The end goal is the hedgehog concept; a single unifying strategy or concept. If you have the right people on board, then creating this culture should be easy, embrace freedom and provide responsibility.
Technology Accelerators
Living in todays world, we are used to technological advances and more often than not jump on board as soon as new developments are released. However, Jim points out that the Good to Great companies don’t pursue new technologies unless they fit in with their hedgehog concept. That is, if the new technology is unrelated or will provide no new opportunities then they will not spend time on it.
”Technology is used by good to great companies as an accelerator, not a creator of growth. They avoid jumping on technology bandwagons and only pursue technology consistent with their hedgehog concept.”
Source: Paul Minors
https://paulminors.com/blog/good-to-great-jim-collins-book-summary-pdf/
