May 04, 2007 12:22 PM
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*Good to Great for Corporate and Personal Development
*After Jim Collins wrote the famous “Built To Last”, in which he outlined key characteristics of successful companies, he was challenged by a Senior Partner at McKinsey, telling that the book did not mention how just a good company can become great. This triggered Jim Collins to write “Good to Great”
*Different from other management books:
Based on Research, Not just theoryThis book unlike most other management books is based on 5 years of research of a team formed by Jim. It also is an outcome a numerous discussions, debates of the team and interviews with CEOs.
Challenges the myths of management
One management myth the book breaks out-right is-Leaders have to be charismatic. The book proves that 90% of the CEOs of “Great” companies were leaders who were not so charismatic, but had commitment to takie the company from “Good to Great”. The book also points out that “great” companies were the ones that sustained greatness even after their best CEO(s) had left the company.
Concepts- Tested and Proven
Good is the enemy of great: This concept describes that companies/ leaders that are complacent in their current state of affairs are the ones that do not make it great. The “Great” companies had an insatiable desire to excel in the current activities that they were pursuing. Based on research, Jim proposes that the choice of moving from “Good” to “great” lies solely within us/ within a company/ or within a CEO who is running a company.
Level 5 leadership: This concept of leadership challenges the myths of leadership of being charismatic, personal ego over company, etc. Leaders who fell into this category displayed a tremendous competent supervision and ability of strategic execution. Personal financial gain came much below company’s vision. The one common quality these leaders displayed was “humility”
First “who” then “what”: Almost all “good” to “great” companies in their path to being “great” identified the people they wanted to be in the journey and only then did they decide on which path to be taken. The findings suggest that, committed people even without a clear path will be together in the journey an din the vent that the whole team was wandering about which paths, these people can team up to create a path. The research also suggested that the companies clearly identified which people they did not want to take in the journey.
Confront brutal facts: Facing the current state of affairs, and affirmation and acknowledging the weaknesses is the first step towards being “great”. While companies that acknowledged some of their challenges such as – losses, nose diving stock performance, management turbulence, and then went ahead to focus on ways to get away from it, other companies just made smart moves to avoid these facts. And the results, the former companies overtook the latter ones.
Culture of discipline: By culture of discipline, Jim’s research suggests that not authoritative leadership style, but the culture of commitment as a discipline.
Hedgehog concept: This concept, and the most interesting one for me, is the one which orients us to know about three things:
§ What thing(s) we can be best at
§ If it drives our finances
§ If we are passionate about it.
- Once these three things are determined, the book suggests that, relentless perseverance can lead us to the path of “greatness.” This leads to the next important and interesting concept.
The Flywheel concept:The book mentions that most people get to notice a company when it has reached a status of “great.” At this stage there are endless articles in the media telling about the “greatness” story. The point to note is that, magazines, journalists fail to capture the perseverance that goes behind mobbing from good to great. A large flywheel does not make thousands of revolutions per minute, right form the start. If it’s a manual one, the person moves the flywheel with a lot of effort, until the time the flywheel gathers momentum and rotates by its own weight. The same concept is the core of all companies that have traversed the route from “good to great.”
What’s in the book for personal development?
The same concepts that have worked for companies are more likely to work for individuals, if the concepts are applied diligently. Some of the concepts that actually tie-in to personal development are:
- Good is the enemy of great: Complacency with our current state-of-affairs is the beginning of the end of path to “greatness.”
- The Flywheel concept: Perseverance to excel in the areas identified in the hedgehog concept can make people committed to excellence.
- Confront brutal facts: Accepting that change for betterment is needed can help individuals to excel.
Noteworthy examples:
The companies discussed in this book and those that have taken the journey towards “greatness” are: Abbott, Fannie Mae, Circuit City, Gillette, Kimberley-Clark, Kroger, Nucor, Philip Morris, Pitney Bowes, Walgreens, and Wells Fargo.
