Good to Great
| By: | Jim Collins |
| Publisher: | |
| Media: | Hardcover |
| Availability: | Usually dispatched within 24 hours |
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Description
Five years ago Jim Collins asked the question, "Can a good company become a great company, and if so, how?" In Good to Great Collins, the author of Built to Last concludes that it is possible, but finds that there are no silver bullets to greatness. Collins and his team of researchers began their quest by sorting through a list of 1,435 companies, looking for those that made substantial improvements in their performance over time. They finally settled on 11--including Gillette, Walgreens and Wells Fargo--and discovered common traits that challenged many of the conventional notions of corporate success. Making the transition from good to great doesn't require a high-profile CEO, the latest technology, innovative change management or even a fine-tuned business strategy. At the heart of those rare and truly great companies was a corporate culture that rigorously found and promoted disciplined people to think and act in a disciplined manner. Peppered with dozens of stories and examples from the great and not-so-great, Collins lays a well-reasoned roadmap to excellence that any organisation would do well to consider. Like Built to Last, Good to Great is one of those books that managers and CEOs will be reading and rereading for years to come. --Harry C Edwards
Amazon Customer Reviews
The Title Says It All!
What a great book! Although I own a small recording studio and graphic design business, there was so much in this book that I can apply to these endeavors, just like the big corporations that "made the cut." The first chapter may be a tough go but everything discussed is later covered in detail. In retrospect, I recommend starting on the last page of chapter 1 and then going to the end of the book. After that, read chapter one and it will all come together. "Good to Great" is yet another step up towards the success of our businesses!
Excellent Framework
As CEO Coach, Poet and author of a leadership book that help leaders unleash their genius and the genius of their corporations, I find this book and valuale resource. It creates a profound framework to lead from. Many of my clients have used it as a resource, as have I. Paul David Walker [[ASIN:1600373410 Unleashing Genius: Leading Yourself, Teams and Corporations]]
Good for Business; Great for Everyone
Jim Collins has done everyone a favor by writing this book. That's right. Everyone. This is not just a book about business, although it is of course true that the research done for this book was conducted in the corporate world. Nevertheless, Collins points out very early in the book (p. 15) that the book is not strictly about business but rather timeless principles of good to great.
One cannot help but be impressed with the thoroughness of the research itself. There are about 40 pages in the appendices explaining the research project (I'm still wondering where appendices 3-4 and 6-7 went, however). The goal was to find out what differentiated companies that became "great" from companies that were merely "good." In other words, this is not a book about how to succeed in business; this is a book about how to excel in business (and in anything else for that matter).
The principles of greatness begin with "Level 5 Leadership." Collins' identification of great leaders is very helpful. It's not that good or mediocre companies do not have very good and talented leaders. But the jump from level 4 to level 5 leadership is truly a great from good to great. The second principle is "First Who . . . Then What" where Collins shows that the great companies concerned themselves first with getting the right people "on the bus" before deciding on the direction the company should go. Third, great companies must be able to "Confront the Brutal Facts (Yet Never Lose Faith)." Such companies always believe that they will become the best, but they do not hold this faith in spite of the evidence. They do not ignore reality; they engage it with tenacity and optimism, even when the news around them is not all that encouraging. Fourth is what Collins calls "The Hedgehog Concept." Great companies learn to identify what they are passionate about, what they can be the best in, and what drives your resource engine. The ability to maintain simplicity within these "three circles" and to resist the temptation to chase every possible opportunity around them is a key factor in helping companies go from good to great. Fifth, great companies maintain "A Culture of Discipline" and sixth they make use of "Technology Accelerators" (leveraging technology to accelerate momentum and not to initiate momentum. All of these principles work together to create the seventh principle, "The Flywheel Effect," in which the business gains momentum on their way to greatness.
Collins points out that there is a moment of breakthrough that every good-to-great company achieves. "Ultimately, to reach breakthrough means having the discipline to make a series of good decisions consistent with your Hedgehog Concept--disciplined action, following from disciplined people who exercise disciplined thought. That's it. That's the essence of the breakthrough process" (p. 184). And he argues that this moment of breakthrough is attainable for all companies.
As an aside, I must say a few words that anyone wishing to read Good to Great needs to also avail themselves of Collins' work [[ASIN:0977326403 Good to Great and the Social Sectors: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great]] (NP: 2005). Collins states that at least one third of the readers of Good to Great did not come from the business world. Many of them were involved with the social sector, and Collins is eager to show in this short work the many similarities (and a few differences) that exist in seeking greatness both inside and outside of business.
For anyone eager to explore some objective ways that they can become better in their work, I would highly recommend these two works by Jim Collins. They are enjoyable to read even for those of us who are not involved in business. I'm confident that anyone who picks up these works will find some very useful information. Perhaps that's one factor that makes a book go from good to great. I give this book 4 ½ stars.
The Title Says It All!
What a great book! Although I own a small recording studio and graphic design business, there was so much in this book that I can apply to these endeavors, just like the big corporations that "made the cut." The first chapter may be a tough go but everything discussed is later covered in detail. In retrospect, I recommend starting on the last page of chapter 1 and then going to the end of the book. After that, read chapter one and it will all come together. "Good to Great" is yet another step up towards the success of our businesses!
Good for Business; Great for Everyone
Jim Collins has done everyone a favor by writing this book. That's right. Everyone. This is not just a book about business, although it is of course true that the research done for this book was conducted in the corporate world. Nevertheless, Collins points out very early in the book (p. 15) that the book is not strictly about business but rather timeless principles of good to great.
One cannot help but be impressed with the thoroughness of the research itself. There are about 40 pages in the appendices explaining the research project (I'm still wondering where appendices 3-4 and 6-7 went, however). The goal was to find out what differentiated companies that became "great" from companies that were merely "good." In other words, this is not a book about how to succeed in business; this is a book about how to excel in business (and in anything else for that matter).
The principles of greatness begin with "Level 5 Leadership." Collins' identification of great leaders is very helpful. It's not that good or mediocre companies do not have very good and talented leaders. But the jump from level 4 to level 5 leadership is truly a great from good to great. The second principle is "First Who . . . Then What" where Collins shows that the great companies concerned themselves first with getting the right people "on the bus" before deciding on the direction the company should go. Third, great companies must be able to "Confront the Brutal Facts (Yet Never Lose Faith)." Such companies always believe that they will become the best, but they do not hold this faith in spite of the evidence. They do not ignore reality; they engage it with tenacity and optimism, even when the news around them is not all that encouraging. Fourth is what Collins calls "The Hedgehog Concept." Great companies learn to identify what they are passionate about, what they can be the best in, and what drives your resource engine. The ability to maintain simplicity within these "three circles" and to resist the temptation to chase every possible opportunity around them is a key factor in helping companies go from good to great. Fifth, great companies maintain "A Culture of Discipline" and sixth they make use of "Technology Accelerators" (leveraging technology to accelerate momentum and not to initiate momentum. All of these principles work together to create the seventh principle, "The Flywheel Effect," in which the business gains momentum on their way to greatness.
Collins points out that there is a moment of breakthrough that every good-to-great company achieves. "Ultimately, to reach breakthrough means having the discipline to make a series of good decisions consistent with your Hedgehog Concept--disciplined action, following from disciplined people who exercise disciplined thought. That's it. That's the essence of the breakthrough process" (p. 184). And he argues that this moment of breakthrough is attainable for all companies.
As an aside, I must say a few words that anyone wishing to read Good to Great needs to also avail themselves of Collins' work [[ASIN:0977326403 Good to Great and the Social Sectors: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great]] (NP: 2005). Collins states that at least one third of the readers of Good to Great did not come from the business world. Many of them were involved with the social sector, and Collins is eager to show in this short work the many similarities (and a few differences) that exist in seeking greatness both inside and outside of business.
For anyone eager to explore some objective ways that they can become better in their work, I would highly recommend these two works by Jim Collins. They are enjoyable to read even for those of us who are not involved in business. I'm confident that anyone who picks up these works will find some very useful information. Perhaps that's one factor that makes a book go from good to great. I give this book 4 ½ stars.
Excellent Framework
As CEO Coach, Poet and author of a leadership book that help leaders unleash their genius and the genius of their corporations, I find this book and valuale resource. It creates a profound framework to lead from. Many of my clients have used it as a resource, as have I. Paul David Walker [[ASIN:1600373410 Unleashing Genius: Leading Yourself, Teams and Corporations]]
Unlike the ego-based, "Look how great I am" books!
Watch as these companies dominate their industry with CEOs that put the company before their own personas.
Great book!
This fast paced book was required reading for my company's management team and then became required reading for the entire company! Full of interesting case studies and comparisons, it sheds light on key concepts that will be helpful to any size organization.
Excellent Framework
As CEO Coach, Poet and author of a leadership book that help leaders unleash their genius and the genius of their corporations, I find this book and valuale resource. It creates a profound framework to lead from. Many of my clients have used it as a resource, as have I. Paul David Walker [[ASIN:1600373410 Unleashing Genius: Leading Yourself, Teams and Corporations]]
Great as in "what"?
The basic concept of "Good to Great" is that there appear to be companies that outperform others quite spectacularly for a number of years. Jim Collins sets out the results of his research team that looked at "why?"
I'm not a statistician, but whenever I read a book such as this I get worried about the selection criteria. Who says these companies are great? The key measure used by Collins is "Ratio of Cumulative Stock Returns to General Market". Such a measure only looks at the company through the eyes of one stakeholder - the owners. There are also stakeholders called customers, suppliers, staff, the industry and the community - these do not seem to be considered. Taking just one stakeholder measurement does not in my mind, deem the company "great".
The author lists eight reasons for the selected companies success. Ranging from what he calls "level 5 leadership" through to continual persistence - akin to pushing against a giant flywheel. These may or may not be accurate reflections of the reasons for success. But how does one emulate them?
This is a dense book on leadership - perhaps a little too dense for me. Nothing wrong with the concepts, but I found it a little hard to concentrate. I would have liked to see shorter chapters that engaged my thinking, rather than long winded explanations. I'd also like to hear how these "great" companies manage their other stakeholders.
If you liked "In Search Of Excellence", you'll like this book.
Bob Selden, author [[ASIN:1432714287 What To Do When You Become The Boss: How new managers become successful managers]]
Unlike the ego-based, "Look how great I am" books!
Watch as these companies dominate their industry with CEOs that put the company before their own personas.
Great book!
This fast paced book was required reading for my company's management team and then became required reading for the entire company! Full of interesting case studies and comparisons, it sheds light on key concepts that will be helpful to any size organization.
Great as in "what"?
The basic concept of "Good to Great" is that there appear to be companies that outperform others quite spectacularly for a number of years. Jim Collins sets out the results of his research team that looked at "why?"
I'm not a statistician, but whenever I read a book such as this I get worried about the selection criteria. Who says these companies are great? The key measure used by Collins is "Ratio of Cumulative Stock Returns to General Market". Such a measure only looks at the company through the eyes of one stakeholder - the owners. There are also stakeholders called customers, suppliers, staff, the industry and the community - these do not seem to be considered. Taking just one stakeholder measurement does not in my mind, deem the company "great".
The author lists eight reasons for the selected companies success. Ranging from what he calls "level 5 leadership" through to continual persistence - akin to pushing against a giant flywheel. These may or may not be accurate reflections of the reasons for success. But how does one emulate them?
This is a dense book on leadership - perhaps a little too dense for me. Nothing wrong with the concepts, but I found it a little hard to concentrate. I would have liked to see shorter chapters that engaged my thinking, rather than long winded explanations. I'd also like to hear how these "great" companies manage their other stakeholders.
If you liked "In Search Of Excellence", you'll like this book.
Bob Selden, author [[ASIN:1432714287 What To Do When You Become The Boss: How new managers become successful managers]]
Unlike the ego-based, "Look how great I am" books!
Watch as these companies dominate their industry with CEOs that put the company before their own personas.
Great book!
This fast paced book was required reading for my company's management team and then became required reading for the entire company! Full of interesting case studies and comparisons, it sheds light on key concepts that will be helpful to any size organization.
Great as in "what"?
The basic concept of "Good to Great" is that there appear to be companies that outperform others quite spectacularly for a number of years. Jim Collins sets out the results of his research team that looked at "why?"
I'm not a statistician, but whenever I read a book such as this I get worried about the selection criteria. Who says these companies are great? The key measure used by Collins is "Ratio of Cumulative Stock Returns to General Market". Such a measure only looks at the company through the eyes of one stakeholder - the owners. There are also stakeholders called customers, suppliers, staff, the industry and the community - these do not seem to be considered. Taking just one stakeholder measurement does not in my mind, deem the company "great".
The author lists eight reasons for the selected companies success. Ranging from what he calls "level 5 leadership" through to continual persistence - akin to pushing against a giant flywheel. These may or may not be accurate reflections of the reasons for success. But how does one emulate them?
This is a dense book on leadership - perhaps a little too dense for me. Nothing wrong with the concepts, but I found it a little hard to concentrate. I would have liked to see shorter chapters that engaged my thinking, rather than long winded explanations. I'd also like to hear how these "great" companies manage their other stakeholders.
If you liked "In Search Of Excellence", you'll like this book.
Bob Selden, author [[ASIN:1432714287 What To Do When You Become The Boss: How new managers become successful managers]]
Unlike the ego-based, "Look how great I am" books!
Watch as these companies dominate their industry with CEOs that put the company before their own personas.
Great book!
This fast paced book was required reading for my company's management team and then became required reading for the entire company! Full of interesting case studies and comparisons, it sheds light on key concepts that will be helpful to any size organization.
Required To Read But Still Enjoyed It
My bosses boss loves this and I was made to read it as part of my annual P-928. I read it on the plane over to Rome from Detroit and it was a good solid read. Its a well documented research study on companies who were average performers who then had 15 years of sustained 2.5 or 3x stock market performance. I did appreciate the explanations as to the choices the researchers made and why.
Nevertheless, it seems to be more for middle level managers and above given that the main thesis appears to be you want a work horse CEO and not a show boat as well as one who digs down into what their company can do best and then drags the company through his dogeddness and sheer will into makeing any and all changes necessary to pursue that goal.
Great as in "what"?
The basic concept of "Good to Great" is that there appear to be companies that outperform others quite spectacularly for a number of years. Jim Collins sets out the results of his research team that looked at "why?"
I'm not a statistician, but whenever I read a book such as this I get worried about the selection criteria. Who says these companies are great? The key measure used by Collins is "Ratio of Cumulative Stock Returns to General Market". Such a measure only looks at the company through the eyes of one stakeholder - the owners. There are also stakeholders called customers, suppliers, staff, the industry and the community - these do not seem to be considered. Taking just one stakeholder measurement does not in my mind, deem the company "great".
The author lists eight reasons for the selected companies success. Ranging from what he calls "level 5 leadership" through to continual persistence - akin to pushing against a giant flywheel. These may or may not be accurate reflections of the reasons for success. But how does one emulate them?
This is a dense book on leadership - perhaps a little too dense for me. Nothing wrong with the concepts, but I found it a little hard to concentrate. I would have liked to see shorter chapters that engaged my thinking, rather than long winded explanations. I'd also like to hear how these "great" companies manage their other stakeholders.
If you liked "In Search Of Excellence", you'll like this book.
Bob Selden, author [[ASIN:1432714287 What To Do When You Become The Boss: How new managers become successful managers]]
Unlike the ego-based, "Look how great I am" books!
Watch as these companies dominate their industry with CEOs that put the company before their own personas.
Required To Read But Still Enjoyed It
My bosses boss loves this and I was made to read it as part of my annual P-928. I read it on the plane over to Rome from Detroit and it was a good solid read. Its a well documented research study on companies who were average performers who then had 15 years of sustained 2.5 or 3x stock market performance. I did appreciate the explanations as to the choices the researchers made and why.
Nevertheless, it seems to be more for middle level managers and above given that the main thesis appears to be you want a work horse CEO and not a show boat as well as one who digs down into what their company can do best and then drags the company through his dogeddness and sheer will into makeing any and all changes necessary to pursue that goal.
Great as in "what"?
The basic concept of "Good to Great" is that there appear to be companies that outperform others quite spectacularly for a number of years. Jim Collins sets out the results of his research team that looked at "why?"
I'm not a statistician, but whenever I read a book such as this I get worried about the selection criteria. Who says these companies are great? The key measure used by Collins is "Ratio of Cumulative Stock Returns to General Market". Such a measure only looks at the company through the eyes of one stakeholder - the owners. There are also stakeholders called customers, suppliers, staff, the industry and the community - these do not seem to be considered. Taking just one stakeholder measurement does not in my mind, deem the company "great".
The author lists eight reasons for the selected companies success. Ranging from what he calls "level 5 leadership" through to continual persistence - akin to pushing against a giant flywheel. These may or may not be accurate reflections of the reasons for success. But how does one emulate them?
This is a dense book on leadership - perhaps a little too dense for me. Nothing wrong with the concepts, but I found it a little hard to concentrate. I would have liked to see shorter chapters that engaged my thinking, rather than long winded explanations. I'd also like to hear how these "great" companies manage their other stakeholders.
If you liked "In Search Of Excellence", you'll like this book.
Bob Selden, author [[ASIN:1432714287 What To Do When You Become The Boss: How new managers become successful managers]]
Unlike the ego-based, "Look how great I am" books!
Watch as these companies dominate their industry with CEOs that put the company before their own personas.
Required To Read But Still Enjoyed It
My bosses boss loves this and I was made to read it as part of my annual P-928. I read it on the plane over to Rome from Detroit and it was a good solid read. Its a well documented research study on companies who were average performers who then had 15 years of sustained 2.5 or 3x stock market performance. I did appreciate the explanations as to the choices the researchers made and why.
Nevertheless, it seems to be more for middle level managers and above given that the main thesis appears to be you want a work horse CEO and not a show boat as well as one who digs down into what their company can do best and then drags the company through his dogeddness and sheer will into makeing any and all changes necessary to pursue that goal.
Great as in "what"?
The basic concept of "Good to Great" is that there appear to be companies that outperform others quite spectacularly for a number of years. Jim Collins sets out the results of his research team that looked at "why?"
I'm not a statistician, but whenever I read a book such as this I get worried about the selection criteria. Who says these companies are great? The key measure used by Collins is "Ratio of Cumulative Stock Returns to General Market". Such a measure only looks at the company through the eyes of one stakeholder - the owners. There are also stakeholders called customers, suppliers, staff, the industry and the community - these do not seem to be considered. Taking just one stakeholder measurement does not in my mind, deem the company "great".
The author lists eight reasons for the selected companies success. Ranging from what he calls "level 5 leadership" through to continual persistence - akin to pushing against a giant flywheel. These may or may not be accurate reflections of the reasons for success. But how does one emulate them?
This is a dense book on leadership - perhaps a little too dense for me. Nothing wrong with the concepts, but I found it a little hard to concentrate. I would have liked to see shorter chapters that engaged my thinking, rather than long winded explanations. I'd also like to hear how these "great" companies manage their other stakeholders.
If you liked "In Search Of Excellence", you'll like this book.
Bob Selden, author [[ASIN:1432714287 What To Do When You Become The Boss: How new managers become successful managers]]
Unlike the ego-based, "Look how great I am" books!
Watch as these companies dominate their industry with CEOs that put the company before their own personas.
Required To Read But Still Enjoyed It
My bosses boss loves this and I was made to read it as part of my annual P-928. I read it on the plane over to Rome from Detroit and it was a good solid read. Its a well documented research study on companies who were average performers who then had 15 years of sustained 2.5 or 3x stock market performance. I did appreciate the explanations as to the choices the researchers made and why.
Nevertheless, it seems to be more for middle level managers and above given that the main thesis appears to be you want a work horse CEO and not a show boat as well as one who digs down into what their company can do best and then drags the company through his dogeddness and sheer will into makeing any and all changes necessary to pursue that goal.
Great as in "what"?
The basic concept of "Good to Great" is that there appear to be companies that outperform others quite spectacularly for a number of years. Jim Collins sets out the results of his research team that looked at "why?"
I'm not a statistician, but whenever I read a book such as this I get worried about the selection criteria. Who says these companies are great? The key measure used by Collins is "Ratio of Cumulative Stock Returns to General Market". Such a measure only looks at the company through the eyes of one stakeholder - the owners. There are also stakeholders called customers, suppliers, staff, the industry and the community - these do not seem to be considered. Taking just one stakeholder measurement does not in my mind, deem the company "great".
The author lists eight reasons for the selected companies success. Ranging from what he calls "level 5 leadership" through to continual persistence - akin to pushing against a giant flywheel. These may or may not be accurate reflections of the reasons for success. But how does one emulate them?
This is a dense book on leadership - perhaps a little too dense for me. Nothing wrong with the concepts, but I found it a little hard to concentrate. I would have liked to see shorter chapters that engaged my thinking, rather than long winded explanations. I'd also like to hear how these "great" companies manage their other stakeholders.
If you liked "In Search Of Excellence", you'll like this book.
Bob Selden, author [[ASIN:1432714287 What To Do When You Become The Boss: How new managers become successful managers]]
Unlike the ego-based, "Look how great I am" books!
Watch as these companies dominate their industry with CEOs that put the company before their own personas.
Required To Read But Still Enjoyed It
My bosses boss loves this and I was made to read it as part of my annual P-928. I read it on the plane over to Rome from Detroit and it was a good solid read. Its a well documented research study on companies who were average performers who then had 15 years of sustained 2.5 or 3x stock market performance. I did appreciate the explanations as to the choices the researchers made and why.
Nevertheless, it seems to be more for middle level managers and above given that the main thesis appears to be you want a work horse CEO and not a show boat as well as one who digs down into what their company can do best and then drags the company through his dogeddness and sheer will into makeing any and all changes necessary to pursue that goal.
Great as in "what"?
The basic concept of "Good to Great" is that there appear to be companies that outperform others quite spectacularly for a number of years. Jim Collins sets out the results of his research team that looked at "why?"
I'm not a statistician, but whenever I read a book such as this I get worried about the selection criteria. Who says these companies are great? The key measure used by Collins is "Ratio of Cumulative Stock Returns to General Market". Such a measure only looks at the company through the eyes of one stakeholder - the owners. There are also stakeholders called customers, suppliers, staff, the industry and the community - these do not seem to be considered. Taking just one stakeholder measurement does not in my mind, deem the company "great".
The author lists eight reasons for the selected companies success. Ranging from what he calls "level 5 leadership" through to continual persistence - akin to pushing against a giant flywheel. These may or may not be accurate reflections of the reasons for success. But how does one emulate them?
This is a dense book on leadership - perhaps a little too dense for me. Nothing wrong with the concepts, but I found it a little hard to concentrate. I would have liked to see shorter chapters that engaged my thinking, rather than long winded explanations. I'd also like to hear how these "great" companies manage their other stakeholders.
If you liked "In Search Of Excellence", you'll like this book.
Bob Selden, author [[ASIN:1432714287 What To Do When You Become The Boss: How new managers become successful managers]]
Unlike the ego-based, "Look how great I am" books!
Watch as these companies dominate their industry with CEOs that put the company before their own personas.
Required To Read But Still Enjoyed It
My bosses boss loves this and I was made to read it as part of my annual P-928. I read it on the plane over to Rome from Detroit and it was a good solid read. Its a well documented research study on companies who were average performers who then had 15 years of sustained 2.5 or 3x stock market performance. I did appreciate the explanations as to the choices the researchers made and why.
Nevertheless, it seems to be more for middle level managers and above given that the main thesis appears to be you want a work horse CEO and not a show boat as well as one who digs down into what their company can do best and then drags the company through his dogeddness and sheer will into makeing any and all changes necessary to pursue that goal.
Great as in "what"?
The basic concept of "Good to Great" is that there appear to be companies that outperform others quite spectacularly for a number of years. Jim Collins sets out the results of his research team that looked at "why?"
I'm not a statistician, but whenever I read a book such as this I get worried about the selection criteria. Who says these companies are great? The key measure used by Collins is "Ratio of Cumulative Stock Returns to General Market". Such a measure only looks at the company through the eyes of one stakeholder - the owners. There are also stakeholders called customers, suppliers, staff, the industry and the community - these do not seem to be considered. Taking just one stakeholder measurement does not in my mind, deem the company "great".
The author lists eight reasons for the selected companies success. Ranging from what he calls "level 5 leadership" through to continual persistence - akin to pushing against a giant flywheel. These may or may not be accurate reflections of the reasons for success. But how does one emulate them?
This is a dense book on leadership - perhaps a little too dense for me. Nothing wrong with the concepts, but I found it a little hard to concentrate. I would have liked to see shorter chapters that engaged my thinking, rather than long winded explanations. I'd also like to hear how these "great" companies manage their other stakeholders.
If you liked "In Search Of Excellence", you'll like this book.
Bob Selden, author [[ASIN:1432714287 What To Do When You Become The Boss: How new managers become successful managers]]
Unlike the ego-based, "Look how great I am" books!
Watch as these companies dominate their industry with CEOs that put the company before their own personas.
Required To Read But Still Enjoyed It
My bosses boss loves this and I was made to read it as part of my annual P-928. I read it on the plane over to Rome from Detroit and it was a good solid read. Its a well documented research study on companies who were average performers who then had 15 years of sustained 2.5 or 3x stock market performance. I did appreciate the explanations as to the choices the researchers made and why.
Nevertheless, it seems to be more for middle level managers and above given that the main thesis appears to be you want a work horse CEO and not a show boat as well as one who digs down into what their company can do best and then drags the company through his dogeddness and sheer will into makeing any and all changes necessary to pursue that goal.
Great as in "what"?
The basic concept of "Good to Great" is that there appear to be companies that outperform others quite spectacularly for a number of years. Jim Collins sets out the results of his research team that looked at "why?"
I'm not a statistician, but whenever I read a book such as this I get worried about the selection criteria. Who says these companies are great? The key measure used by Collins is "Ratio of Cumulative Stock Returns to General Market". Such a measure only looks at the company through the eyes of one stakeholder - the owners. There are also stakeholders called customers, suppliers, staff, the industry and the community - these do not seem to be considered. Taking just one stakeholder measurement does not in my mind, deem the company "great".
The author lists eight reasons for the selected companies success. Ranging from what he calls "level 5 leadership" through to continual persistence - akin to pushing against a giant flywheel. These may or may not be accurate reflections of the reasons for success. But how does one emulate them?
This is a dense book on leadership - perhaps a little too dense for me. Nothing wrong with the concepts, but I found it a little hard to concentrate. I would have liked to see shorter chapters that engaged my thinking, rather than long winded explanations. I'd also like to hear how these "great" companies manage their other stakeholders.
If you liked "In Search Of Excellence", you'll like this book.
Bob Selden, author [[ASIN:1432714287 What To Do When You Become The Boss: How new managers become successful managers]]
Unlike the ego-based, "Look how great I am" books!
Watch as these companies dominate their industry with CEOs that put the company before their own personas.
Required To Read But Still Enjoyed It
My bosses boss loves this and I was made to read it as part of my annual P-928. I read it on the plane over to Rome from Detroit and it was a good solid read. Its a well documented research study on companies who were average performers who then had 15 years of sustained 2.5 or 3x stock market performance. I did appreciate the explanations as to the choices the researchers made and why.
Nevertheless, it seems to be more for middle level managers and above given that the main thesis appears to be you want a work horse CEO and not a show boat as well as one who digs down into what their company can do best and then drags the company through his dogeddness and sheer will into makeing any and all changes necessary to pursue that goal.
Great as in "what"?
The basic concept of "Good to Great" is that there appear to be companies that outperform others quite spectacularly for a number of years. Jim Collins sets out the results of his research team that looked at "why?"
I'm not a statistician, but whenever I read a book such as this I get worried about the selection criteria. Who says these companies are great? The key measure used by Collins is "Ratio of Cumulative Stock Returns to General Market". Such a measure only looks at the company through the eyes of one stakeholder - the owners. There are also stakeholders called customers, suppliers, staff, the industry and the community - these do not seem to be considered. Taking just one stakeholder measurement does not in my mind, deem the company "great".
The author lists eight reasons for the selected companies success. Ranging from what he calls "level 5 leadership" through to continual persistence - akin to pushing against a giant flywheel. These may or may not be accurate reflections of the reasons for success. But how does one emulate them?
This is a dense book on leadership - perhaps a little too dense for me. Nothing wrong with the concepts, but I found it a little hard to concentrate. I would have liked to see shorter chapters that engaged my thinking, rather than long winded explanations. I'd also like to hear how these "great" companies manage their other stakeholders.
If you liked "In Search Of Excellence", you'll like this book.
Bob Selden, author [[ASIN:1432714287 What To Do When You Become The Boss: How new managers become successful managers]]
Unlike the ego-based, "Look how great I am" books!
Watch as these companies dominate their industry with CEOs that put the company before their own personas.
Required To Read But Still Enjoyed It
My bosses boss loves this and I was made to read it as part of my annual P-928. I read it on the plane over to Rome from Detroit and it was a good solid read. Its a well documented research study on companies who were average performers who then had 15 years of sustained 2.5 or 3x stock market performance. I did appreciate the explanations as to the choices the researchers made and why.
Nevertheless, it seems to be more for middle level managers and above given that the main thesis appears to be you want a work horse CEO and not a show boat as well as one who digs down into what their company can do best and then drags the company through his dogeddness and sheer will into makeing any and all changes necessary to pursue that goal.
Great as in "what"?
The basic concept of "Good to Great" is that there appear to be companies that outperform others quite spectacularly for a number of years. Jim Collins sets out the results of his research team that looked at "why?"
I'm not a statistician, but whenever I read a book such as this I get worried about the selection criteria. Who says these companies are great? The key measure used by Collins is "Ratio of Cumulative Stock Returns to General Market". Such a measure only looks at the company through the eyes of one stakeholder - the owners. There are also stakeholders called customers, suppliers, staff, the industry and the community - these do not seem to be considered. Taking just one stakeholder measurement does not in my mind, deem the company "great".
The author lists eight reasons for the selected companies success. Ranging from what he calls "level 5 leadership" through to continual persistence - akin to pushing against a giant flywheel. These may or may not be accurate reflections of the reasons for success. But how does one emulate them?
This is a dense book on leadership - perhaps a little too dense for me. Nothing wrong with the concepts, but I found it a little hard to concentrate. I would have liked to see shorter chapters that engaged my thinking, rather than long winded explanations. I'd also like to hear how these "great" companies manage their other stakeholders.
If you liked "In Search Of Excellence", you'll like this book.
Bob Selden, author [[ASIN:1432714287 What To Do When You Become The Boss: How new managers become successful managers]]
Unlike the ego-based, "Look how great I am" books!
Watch as these companies dominate their industry with CEOs that put the company before their own personas.
Required To Read But Still Enjoyed It
My bosses boss loves this and I was made to read it as part of my annual P-928. I read it on the plane over to Rome from Detroit and it was a good solid read. Its a well documented research study on companies who were average performers who then had 15 years of sustained 2.5 or 3x stock market performance. I did appreciate the explanations as to the choices the researchers made and why.
Nevertheless, it seems to be more for middle level managers and above given that the main thesis appears to be you want a work horse CEO and not a show boat as well as one who digs down into what their company can do best and then drags the company through his dogeddness and sheer will into makeing any and all changes necessary to pursue that goal.
Great as in "what"?
The basic concept of "Good to Great" is that there appear to be companies that outperform others quite spectacularly for a number of years. Jim Collins sets out the results of his research team that looked at "why?"
I'm not a statistician, but whenever I read a book such as this I get worried about the selection criteria. Who says these companies are great? The key measure used by Collins is "Ratio of Cumulative Stock Returns to General Market". Such a measure only looks at the company through the eyes of one stakeholder - the owners. There are also stakeholders called customers, suppliers, staff, the industry and the community - these do not seem to be considered. Taking just one stakeholder measurement does not in my mind, deem the company "great".
The author lists eight reasons for the selected companies success. Ranging from what he calls "level 5 leadership" through to continual persistence - akin to pushing against a giant flywheel. These may or may not be accurate reflections of the reasons for success. But how does one emulate them?
This is a dense book on leadership - perhaps a little too dense for me. Nothing wrong with the concepts, but I found it a little hard to concentrate. I would have liked to see shorter chapters that engaged my thinking, rather than long winded explanations. I'd also like to hear how these "great" companies manage their other stakeholders.
If you liked "In Search Of Excellence", you'll like this book.
Bob Selden, author [[ASIN:1432714287 What To Do When You Become The Boss: How new managers become successful managers]]
Unlike the ego-based, "Look how great I am" books!
Watch as these companies dominate their industry with CEOs that put the company before their own personas.
Required To Read But Still Enjoyed It
My bosses boss loves this and I was made to read it as part of my annual P-928. I read it on the plane over to Rome from Detroit and it was a good solid read. Its a well documented research study on companies who were average performers who then had 15 years of sustained 2.5 or 3x stock market performance. I did appreciate the explanations as to the choices the researchers made and why.
Nevertheless, it seems to be more for middle level managers and above given that the main thesis appears to be you want a work horse CEO and not a show boat as well as one who digs down into what their company can do best and then drags the company through his dogeddness and sheer will into makeing any and all changes necessary to pursue that goal.
Great as in "what"?
The basic concept of "Good to Great" is that there appear to be companies that outperform others quite spectacularly for a number of years. Jim Collins sets out the results of his research team that looked at "why?"
I'm not a statistician, but whenever I read a book such as this I get worried about the selection criteria. Who says these companies are great? The key measure used by Collins is "Ratio of Cumulative Stock Returns to General Market". Such a measure only looks at the company through the eyes of one stakeholder - the owners. There are also stakeholders called customers, suppliers, staff, the industry and the community - these do not seem to be considered. Taking just one stakeholder measurement does not in my mind, deem the company "great".
The author lists eight reasons for the selected companies success. Ranging from what he calls "level 5 leadership" through to continual persistence - akin to pushing against a giant flywheel. These may or may not be accurate reflections of the reasons for success. But how does one emulate them?
This is a dense book on leadership - perhaps a little too dense for me. Nothing wrong with the concepts, but I found it a little hard to concentrate. I would have liked to see shorter chapters that engaged my thinking, rather than long winded explanations. I'd also like to hear how these "great" companies manage their other stakeholders.
If you liked "In Search Of Excellence", you'll like this book.
Bob Selden, author [[ASIN:1432714287 What To Do When You Become The Boss: How new managers become successful managers]]
Unlike the ego-based, "Look how great I am" books!
Watch as these companies dominate their industry with CEOs that put the company before their own personas.
Required To Read But Still Enjoyed It
My bosses boss loves this and I was made to read it as part of my annual P-928. I read it on the plane over to Rome from Detroit and it was a good solid read. Its a well documented research study on companies who were average performers who then had 15 years of sustained 2.5 or 3x stock market performance. I did appreciate the explanations as to the choices the researchers made and why.
Nevertheless, it seems to be more for middle level managers and above given that the main thesis appears to be you want a work horse CEO and not a show boat as well as one who digs down into what their company can do best and then drags the company through his dogeddness and sheer will into makeing any and all changes necessary to pursue that goal.
Great as in "what"?
The basic concept of "Good to Great" is that there appear to be companies that outperform others quite spectacularly for a number of years. Jim Collins sets out the results of his research team that looked at "why?"
I'm not a statistician, but whenever I read a book such as this I get worried about the selection criteria. Who says these companies are great? The key measure used by Collins is "Ratio of Cumulative Stock Returns to General Market". Such a measure only looks at the company through the eyes of one stakeholder - the owners. There are also stakeholders called customers, suppliers, staff, the industry and the community - these do not seem to be considered. Taking just one stakeholder measurement does not in my mind, deem the company "great".
The author lists eight reasons for the selected companies success. Ranging from what he calls "level 5 leadership" through to continual persistence - akin to pushing against a giant flywheel. These may or may not be accurate reflections of the reasons for success. But how does one emulate them?
This is a dense book on leadership - perhaps a little too dense for me. Nothing wrong with the concepts, but I found it a little hard to concentrate. I would have liked to see shorter chapters that engaged my thinking, rather than long winded explanations. I'd also like to hear how these "great" companies manage their other stakeholders.
If you liked "In Search Of Excellence", you'll like this book.
Bob Selden, author [[ASIN:1432714287 What To Do When You Become The Boss: How new managers become successful managers]]
Unlike the ego-based, "Look how great I am" books!
Watch as these companies dominate their industry with CEOs that put the company before their own personas.
Required To Read But Still Enjoyed It
My bosses boss loves this and I was made to read it as part of my annual P-928. I read it on the plane over to Rome from Detroit and it was a good solid read. Its a well documented research study on companies who were average performers who then had 15 years of sustained 2.5 or 3x stock market performance. I did appreciate the explanations as to the choices the researchers made and why.
Nevertheless, it seems to be more for middle level managers and above given that the main thesis appears to be you want a work horse CEO and not a show boat as well as one who digs down into what their company can do best and then drags the company through his dogeddness and sheer will into makeing any and all changes necessary to pursue that goal.
Great as in "what"?
The basic concept of "Good to Great" is that there appear to be companies that outperform others quite spectacularly for a number of years. Jim Collins sets out the results of his research team that looked at "why?"
I'm not a statistician, but whenever I read a book such as this I get worried about the selection criteria. Who says these companies are great? The key measure used by Collins is "Ratio of Cumulative Stock Returns to General Market". Such a measure only looks at the company through the eyes of one stakeholder - the owners. There are also stakeholders called customers, suppliers, staff, the industry and the community - these do not seem to be considered. Taking just one stakeholder measurement does not in my mind, deem the company "great".
The author lists eight reasons for the selected companies success. Ranging from what he calls "level 5 leadership" through to continual persistence - akin to pushing against a giant flywheel. These may or may not be accurate reflections of the reasons for success. But how does one emulate them?
This is a dense book on leadership - perhaps a little too dense for me. Nothing wrong with the concepts, but I found it a little hard to concentrate. I would have liked to see shorter chapters that engaged my thinking, rather than long winded explanations. I'd also like to hear how these "great" companies manage their other stakeholders.
If you liked "In Search Of Excellence", you'll like this book.
Bob Selden, author [[ASIN:1432714287 What To Do When You Become The Boss: How new managers become successful managers]]
Unlike the ego-based, "Look how great I am" books!
Watch as these companies dominate their industry with CEOs that put the company before their own personas.
Excellent book but I have learned all this from Peter Drucker
This book is a must-have but only because it is a concise summary of a much more detailed work by Peter Drucker.
Plenty of Business Owners followed the same ideas and went BANKRUPT
in this book you will find a long blablabla about some succesfull companies.
problem is that many other companies, plenty of them and plenty of Business Owners followed the same ideas and went BANKRUPT
but this book doesnt say about them.
just hype here... a reason to waste time and money:(
Required To Read But Still Enjoyed It
My bosses boss loves this and I was made to read it as part of my annual P-928. I read it on the plane over to Rome from Detroit and it was a good solid read. Its a well documented research study on companies who were average performers who then had 15 years of sustained 2.5 or 3x stock market performance. I did appreciate the explanations as to the choices the researchers made and why.
Nevertheless, it seems to be more for middle level managers and above given that the main thesis appears to be you want a work horse CEO and not a show boat as well as one who digs down into what their company can do best and then drags the company through his dogeddness and sheer will into makeing any and all changes necessary to pursue that goal.
Excellent book but I have learned all this from Peter Drucker
This book is a must-have but only because it is a concise summary of a much more detailed work by Peter Drucker.
Plenty of Business Owners followed the same ideas and went BANKRUPT
in this book you will find a long blablabla about some succesfull companies.
problem is that many other companies, plenty of them and plenty of Business Owners followed the same ideas and went BANKRUPT
but this book doesnt say about them.
just hype here... a reason to waste time and money:(
Required To Read But Still Enjoyed It
My bosses boss loves this and I was made to read it as part of my annual P-928. I read it on the plane over to Rome from Detroit and it was a good solid read. Its a well documented research study on companies who were average performers who then had 15 years of sustained 2.5 or 3x stock market performance. I did appreciate the explanations as to the choices the researchers made and why.
Nevertheless, it seems to be more for middle level managers and above given that the main thesis appears to be you want a work horse CEO and not a show boat as well as one who digs down into what their company can do best and then drags the company through his dogeddness and sheer will into makeing any and all changes necessary to pursue that goal.
Excellent book but I have learned all this from Peter Drucker
This book is a must-have but only because it is a concise summary of a much more detailed work by Peter Drucker.
Plenty of Business Owners followed the same ideas and went BANKRUPT
in this book you will find a long blablabla about some succesfull companies.
problem is that many other companies, plenty of them and plenty of Business Owners followed the same ideas and went BANKRUPT
but this book doesnt say about them.
just hype here... a reason to waste time and money:(
Required To Read But Still Enjoyed It
My bosses boss loves this and I was made to read it as part of my annual P-928. I read it on the plane over to Rome from Detroit and it was a good solid read. Its a well documented research study on companies who were average performers who then had 15 years of sustained 2.5 or 3x stock market performance. I did appreciate the explanations as to the choices the researchers made and why.
Nevertheless, it seems to be more for middle level managers and above given that the main thesis appears to be you want a work horse CEO and not a show boat as well as one who digs down into what their company can do best and then drags the company through his dogeddness and sheer will into makeing any and all changes necessary to pursue that goal.
Excellent book but I have learned all this from Peter Drucker
This book is a must-have but only because it is a concise summary of a much more detailed work by Peter Drucker.
Plenty of Business Owners followed the same ideas and went BANKRUPT
in this book you will find a long blablabla about some succesfull companies.
problem is that many other companies, plenty of them and plenty of Business Owners followed the same ideas and went BANKRUPT
but this book doesnt say about them.
just hype here... a reason to waste time and money:(
Required To Read But Still Enjoyed It
My bosses boss loves this and I was made to read it as part of my annual P-928. I read it on the plane over to Rome from Detroit and it was a good solid read. Its a well documented research study on companies who were average performers who then had 15 years of sustained 2.5 or 3x stock market performance. I did appreciate the explanations as to the choices the researchers made and why.
Nevertheless, it seems to be more for middle level managers and above given that the main thesis appears to be you want a work horse CEO and not a show boat as well as one who digs down into what their company can do best and then drags the company through his dogeddness and sheer will into makeing any and all changes necessary to pursue that goal.
Excellent book but I have learned all this from Peter Drucker
This book is a must-have but only because it is a concise summary of a much more detailed work by Peter Drucker.
Plenty of Business Owners followed the same ideas and went BANKRUPT
in this book you will find a long blablabla about some succesfull companies.
problem is that many other companies, plenty of them and plenty of Business Owners followed the same ideas and went BANKRUPT
but this book doesnt say about them.
just hype here... a reason to waste time and money:(
Required To Read But Still Enjoyed It
My bosses boss loves this and I was made to read it as part of my annual P-928. I read it on the plane over to Rome from Detroit and it was a good solid read. Its a well documented research study on companies who were average performers who then had 15 years of sustained 2.5 or 3x stock market performance. I did appreciate the explanations as to the choices the researchers made and why.
Nevertheless, it seems to be more for middle level managers and above given that the main thesis appears to be you want a work horse CEO and not a show boat as well as one who digs down into what their company can do best and then drags the company through his dogeddness and sheer will into makeing any and all changes necessary to pursue that goal.
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