Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don't

by Jim Collins

book data

3,451 ratings, 3.89 average rating, 637 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		27%
4		42%
3		23%
2		5%
1		1%

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published

June 1st 2005 (first published 2001) by Harpercollins Trade Sales Dept

binding

Audio CD

isbn

0060794410 (isbn13: 9780060794415)

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 au...more

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07/31/08

Jamie rated it:

(review of isbn 0066620996)

Read in June, 2008

This book by Jim Collins is one of the most successful books to be found in the "Business" section of your local megabookstore, and given how it purports to tell you how to take a merely good company and make it great, it's not difficult to see why that might be so. Collins and his crack team of researchers say they swam through stacks of business literature in search of info on how to pull this feat off, and came up with a list of great companies that illustrate some concepts central ...more This book by Jim Collins is one of the most successful books to be found in the "Business" section of your local megabookstore, and given how it purports to tell you how to take a merely good company and make it great, it's not difficult to see why that might be so. Collins and his crack team of researchers say they swam through stacks of business literature in search of info on how to pull this feat off, and came up with a list of great companies that illustrate some concepts central to the puzzle. They also present for each great company what they call a "comparison company," which is kind of that company with a goatee and a much less impressive earnings record. The balance of the book is spent expanding on pithy catch phrases that describe the great companies, like "First Who, Then What" or "Be a Hedgehog" or "Grasp the Flywheel, not the Doom Loop." No, no, I'm totally serious.

I've got several problems with this book, the biggest of which stem from fundamentally viewpoints on how to do research. Collin's brand of research is not my kind. It's not systematic, it's not replicable, it's not generalizable, it's not systematic, it's not free of bias, it's not model driven, and it's not collaborative. It's not, in short, scientific in any way. That's not to say that other methods of inquiry are without merit --the Harvard Business Review makes pretty darn good use of case studies, for example-- but way too often Collins's great truths seemed like square pegs crammed into round holes, because a round hole is what he wants. For example, there's no reported search for information that disconfirms his hypotheses. Are there other companies that don't make use of a Culture of Discipline (Chapter 6, natch) but yet are still great according to Collins's definition? Are there great companies that fail to do some of the things he says should make them great? The way that the book focuses strictly on pairs of great/comparison companies smacks of confirmatory information bias, which is a kink in the human mind that drives us to seek out and pay attention to information that confirms our pre-existing suppositions and ignore information that fails to support them.

Relatedly, a lot of the book's themes and platitudes strike me as owing their popularity to the same factors that make the horoscope or certain personality tests like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator so popular: they're so general and loosely defined that almost anyone can look at that and not only say that wow, that make sense, and I've always felt the same way! This guy and me? We're geniuses! The chapter about "getting the right people on the bus" that extols the virtue of hiring really super people is perhaps the most obvious example. Really, did anyone read this part and think "Oh, man. I've been hiring half retarded chimps. THAT'S my problem! I should hire GOOD people!" Probably not, and given that Collins doesn't go into any detail about HOW to do this or any of his other good to great pro tips, I'm not really sure where the value is supposed to be.

It also irked me that Good to Great seems to try and exist in a vacuum, failing to relate its findings to any other body of research except Collins's other book, Built to Last. The most egregious example of this is early on in Chapter 2 where Collins talks about his concept of "Level 5 Leadership," which characterizes those very special folks who perch atop a supposed leadership hierarchy. The author actually goes into some detail describing Level 5 leaders, but toward the end of the chapter he just shrugs his figurative shoulders and says "But we don't know how people get to be better leaders. Some people just are." Wait, what? People in fields like Industrial-Organizational Psychology and Organizational Development have been studying, scientifically, what great leaders do and how to do it for decades. We know TONS about how to become a better leader. There are entire industries built around it. You would think that somebody on the Good to Great research team may have done a cursory Google search on this.

So while Good to Great does have some interesting thoughts and a handful of amusing or even fascinating stories to tell about the companies it profiles (I liked, for example, learning about why Walgreens opens so many shops in the same area, even to the point of having stores across the street from each other in some cities), ultimately it strikes me as vague generalities and little to no practical information about how to actually DO anything to make your company great.(less)

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02/18/08

Giuliana rated it:

(review of isbn 0066620996)

bookshelves: reviews-

Read in February, 2008

recommended to Giuliana by: Alec

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

If you watched the corresponding documentary on PBS, you probably won't need to read this book. If you haven't, then maybe you might be interested in how certain companies manage to turn from good to great (i.e., from reasonable profit to outstanding performances that outshine established market leaders). You aren't? Well, you should, because the golden rules presented in this book can be applied to almost all aspects of life.

Alec, who is responsible for buying this book*, commented ...more

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11/18/07

Allen rated it:

(review of isbn 0066620996)

Read in December, 2007

I started reading it and then gave it to my boss. I'm currently listening to the audio book but I would like to own a hardcover copy.

The concept that has struck me as most applicable (so far), particularly with respect to businesses, is the need to get the right people on the team first and in the right positions, then decide what to do. Managers should not waste time and energy motivating people to excellence. Instead, they should give self-motivating people a vision they can su...more

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11/23/07

Sergei rated it:

(review of isbn 0066620996)

Read in January, 2005

This is yet another example of somebody trying to come up with a "how-to" looking into the proverbial rear-view mirror. All successes are infinitely unique. This book would be so-so as a "memoir" of particular companies, but in its attempt to extrapolate from that into some sort of a manual of how to run a business it becomes completely useless.

True, it has some common sense thoughts, but they are so obvious and, hmm... common sense that if you haven't thought of...more

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08/25/07

Deli rated it:

(review of isbn 0066620996)

recommends it for: anyone without common sense

OK, so I'm making my way through this book... painfully, slowly, pyromaniacly.... and, I do have to say it is FANTASTIC if you find yourself surrounded by people without common sense. Of course, I don't have a business degree... oh, wait, I'm not supposed to have common sense.

Anyways, now that I've trailed off into ADD tangents, my boss gave me this book to read and I do like the principles. I have one thing to say: way better than the teaching books I used to have to read. GEESH!

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05/15/07

Kristina rated it:

(review of isbn 0066620996)

If you are looking for sweeping generalizations and a unifying theory of everything, well hey, this offer has all of that and a bridge in Brooklyn that he wants to offer you.

Although this book does have some interesting information, it is also full of relationships that are declared by the author as causal, but may indeed just be coincidental or correlative.

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02/21/09

Kathleen Tallent rated it:

(review of isbn 0066620996)

I read this in a leadership class and it was very appropriate. I will never be the CEO of a major company, but I will help run a household, participate in a church family, help lead a therapy team, and will have many more opportunities to lead. This book gave a lot of insight into why companies are able to climb in growth and industry, but that same insight can be applied in most of life circumstances where people are grouped together. I recommended this book to multiple people working in large ...more

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04/19/09

Chad rated it:

(review of isbn 0066620996)

Read in April, 2009

recommended to Chad by: Jeff Disher

I was hoping this book would give me some guidelines to remember when I start my own business. There were a few good points, but nothing compelling. Reading this book wasn't a very good use of my time.

Tips from the book:

First Who, then What
First, get the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off it), then figure out where to drive. Having the right people in the company is more important than deciding what the company will do, because the right people will h...more

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01/15/09

The Knowledge Guy rated it:

(review of isbn 0066620996)

bookshelves: read-nonfiction

Read in March, 2008

Good to Great is Jim Collins’s follow-up to Built to Last, the 1994 management classic, which he co-wrote with Jerry Porras. Like Built to Last, Good to Great is built on Collins’s research. In fact, Collins spent five years of research assisted by 20 business school students, who analyzed 1,435 public companies for this book. Their findings - just 11 companies from were able to sustainable their good to great efforts.

Many experts have problems with the way Collins and his team p...more Good to Great is Jim Collins’s follow-up to Built to Last, the 1994 management classic, which he co-wrote with Jerry Porras. Like Built to Last, Good to Great is built on Collins’s research. In fact, Collins spent five years of research assisted by 20 business school students, who analyzed 1,435 public companies for this book. Their findings - just 11 companies from were able to sustainable their good to great efforts.

Many experts have problems with the way Collins and his team performed their “research.” And they may have a point. Some argue that the work is bias and his “greatness model” does pass the replicable test. Others argue that Collins’s measure for greatness is flawed. Additionally, Collins’s work fails to be classified as true research because it does not follow scientific method. These arguments may be a bit unfair because some of the variables in business do not lend themselves well to true research; greatness is a subjective quality; and the amount of immeasurable historical variables for this particular project is so immense. If research of this nature was an easy task, we should have written tried and tested formulas for perfect businesses, leaders, schools, cities, et alia during our 3,000 plus years of civilization.

Good to Great may not be perfect research but it is a good start in that direction. Unlike many business books that are based on hype and after-market consulting services, Good to Great is mainly based on good old fashion business principles. Sure, Collins renames some of them with gimmicky names like Hedgehog Concept and The Flywheel. And Level 5 Leadership smells of after-market money. But for the most part, Collins’s book has some sound principles in it that the reader shouldn’t necessarily take as a game plan, but rather a starting point for conversation, reflection and inspiration both for themselves and their team.

Collins's words can be very inspirational. Many groups outside of the business world use the book to motivate their people to aspire for greatness. Good to Great can be a useful tool when its principles are adapted to the user’s unique situation and variables. It can get the conversation moving in the right direction for deadlocked teams. And this is where the book truly shines - Good to Great gets you thinking and motivates you to take action.

Collins states that good is the enemy of great. Time will only tell if he believes his own advice. Good to Great is a very good book. We will have to see if its success inspires Collins forward to write a great business book or undoes Collins’s own quest for excellence.(less)

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01/28/08

Lorin rated it:

(review of isbn 0066620996)

Read in January, 2007

Excerpt from my book, Dynamic Markets Leadership, all rights reserved:

Collins notes correctly that some Level 5 leaders have had significant life experiences such as a bout with a terminal illness, a strong confrontation in war, a religious conversion, etc. Others seemingly led “normal” lives. I would hypothesize that the “normal” lives included some of the transformational factors:
• Experiences that highlight the benefits of helping and serving others
• Ex...more Excerpt from my book, Dynamic Markets Leadership, all rights reserved:

Collins notes correctly that some Level 5 leaders have had significant life experiences such as a bout with a terminal illness, a strong confrontation in war, a religious conversion, etc. Others seemingly led “normal” lives. I would hypothesize that the “normal” lives included some of the transformational factors:
• Experiences that highlight the benefits of helping and serving others
• Experiences with norms or philosophical insights into enlightened self-interest: you get more by supporting the common good
• Experiences with values oriented to giving back something to the community because people along the path of your development helped you
• Experiences that naïve materialism is simply not an adequate philosophical position to explain spiritual growth and higher levels of consciousness
• Experiences with inexplicable abilities in oneself and/or others that materialist theories of reality exclude as what cannot possibly be, such as premonitions, intuitive readings of others intentions, resonance with other’s feelings, non-verbal understanding of other’s philosophical position even though it was not adequately explained, etc.
• Experience with “higher” beings who are not embodied in what we call the material body, sometimes referred to as angels, spirits, etc.
• Experience with profound respect for and appreciation of Nature (as in Mother Nature), so that ecological values simply make sense
• Experiences with inexplicable healing that does not fit into the medical model of modern medicine based on material reality using material interventions like drugs, surgery, biotechnology, gene manipulation, etc. It is not so important what modality the healing takes; it could be through prayer, touch, meditation, etc.
• Experience with a deep sense of peace and forgiveness of others
• Experience with an inner conviction, a sense of urgency about a direction to take even though most other people do not yet see the importance of it.

The last item of inner conviction, urgency, that drives Level 5 leaders to achieve. The other experiences support their belief in the conviction so they are willing to be completely dedicated. I disagree with the blanket generalization that they will do “whatever it takes” to succeed. In fact, they have a deep ethical conviction as well. They are sure about their path not merely because it might be successful but because it is aligned with the good as well.
(less)

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01/12/08

Charles rated it:

(review of isbn 0066620996)

Read in January, 2008

I was reluctant to buy in to a management/business book because mostly, I think they're just cash cows for publishers. But this book was different, smart in a way I didn't expect. I felt like I actually gained valuable insight into not only the organizations profiled in the book, but also into my own.

Collins matches an easy, flowing style with raw data and visuals that further clarify his points. Although I think some of his classifications of concepts are gimmicky (The Hedgehog C...more

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08/01/07

Bonnie rated it:

(review of isbn 0066620996)

Read in January, 2006

Worth reading, because all your colleagues have read it or paid someone to give them the jist of it. :)

If you read this, don't bother with "Built to Last" since much of the content is the reiterated. Ok, so Built to Last is about companies that have lasted over many eras and are still going strong. That's nice - I still feel like that's luck and adaptability, but sometimes, pure diversifation that saved some companies from themselves over the years.

As for Go...more

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06/22/07

Surya Winata rated it:

(review of isbn 0066620996)

Read in January, 2006

recommends it for: everyone who want to have a company

buku ini buku yang ditulis berdasarkan riset bertahun-tahun yang serius, dan banyak sekali pemahaman yang sangat bertolak belakang sama pendapat umum yang sering kedengeran di dunia usaha, sbg contoh adalah pengidolaan orang dari luar untuk membuat perubahan yang radikal dalam suatu perusahaan, yang ternyata hanyalah sebuah pengaruh yang sangat kecil di perusahaan yang telah berhasil beranjak dari good to great..
salah satu yang paling menggema bagi gw setelah baca buku ini adalah tentang k...more

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01/25/08

Took4ever Hayes rated it:

(review of isbn 0066620996)

Read in June, 2007

Having worked for most of the companies that are used in this book, unfortunately, they authors only know the companies superficially.
Circuit City, as an example, is a train-wreck to work for. Their success has come at a horrible cost to their people who they do value any more than the penny their CEO walks on while on any city sidewalk. They have followed all of the worst traits of Best But ignoring any of Best Buy's favorable traits in favor of money...no people...just money.
The a...more

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01/15/09

Michael David Cobb added it (review of isbn 0066620996)

Collins, in the tradition of the case study, names names and finds unique properties in the management of a number of Fortune 500 companies over a 30 year period. From a unique set of criteria he pursues, with no preconceived notions, what it takes to sustain profitability in a large public corporation which had previously been only mediocre. His findings are clear, well thought out and often surprising. In the realm of business books, this one is especially refreshing for a number of reasons.[r...more Collins, in the tradition of the case study, names names and finds unique properties in the management of a number of Fortune 500 companies over a 30 year period. From a unique set of criteria he pursues, with no preconceived notions, what it takes to sustain profitability in a large public corporation which had previously been only mediocre. His findings are clear, well thought out and often surprising. In the realm of business books, this one is especially refreshing for a number of reasons.[return][return]This is a hardheaded skeptic's book. What makes it so special is that it does not assign magic to anyone, neither to himself as a writer or to any of the officers interviewed. Collins exposes his own learning process and allows the reader to understand the nuance in the emphasis of each of his concepts as he spells out the skeptical questions that his research team posed and the deliberation they went through. Collins doesn't come off as a `guru' who has found some magic that only he and a handful of CEOs can see so much as a disciplined and curious leader of a research team struggling with difficult questions. So not only do you understand what he means as he moves from `chaos to concept', you also see arguments against his initial reasoning. And since he is dedicated only those conclusions supported by facts rather than fitting random companies into some grand theory we see exactly what he sees and why. There is none of breathless exuberance that characterizes so much of business writing.[return][return]What is most refreshing and reassuring about this book's studies is that it puts us back in a sensible framework for understanding long term success without making a fetish of `leadership' or `innovation' or `excellence' or other buzzwords. This is the kind of book that demonstrates the sort of objectivity possible in business - it doesn't obfuscate or take the position that there is something mysterious out there. Rather he makes the complex comprehensible and when the answers are simple, they are presented simply. He constantly checks and compares the difference between unsustainable and sustainable profitability. All of Collins' concepts lend themselves to the sorts of metrics upon which rugged methodologies can be built. This is more than a book of management theory; it is a learning tool, which explains itself. I cannot remember the last book where the appendices were as interesting (and sometimes more interesting) than the main text.[return][return]It might be corny to say so, but I think his findings are self-rewarding. Working from the premises put forth, it makes sense for smaller companies and organizations some of which might not even be businesses at all. `Good to Great' offers solid lessons among which are that it doesn't take more energy to behave smartly but it does take nerve. Collins dared to work smartly and has created a great book.(less)

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12/31/08

Rob rated it:

(review of isbn 0066620996)

bookshelves: business, nonfiction

Read in February, 2008

Good to Great looks at about a dozen companies that have beaten the stock market solidly (by something like 3%) consistently over a period of 15 years (not necessarily the 15 years preceding the writing of the book). There are shockingly few of them in America; indeed, the book looks at 100% of the companies that fit this criteria. These companies are defined to be the "Great" companies.

The point is to try to figure out what makes these companies great. The interesting t...more

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02/23/09

Mathew rated it:

(review of isbn 0066620996)

bookshelves: dropped

Read in February, 2009

How do great companies like Circuit City and Fannie Mae become and stay great while companies like GE and At&t just slog along? Circuit City and Fannie Mae are awesome and fantastic and are sure to be companies we look to far into the future for their management and business wisdom. Oh wait.
Hindsight aside, I couldn't finish the book because level five leadership skills (level one to four are not defined - save that level one vodka is required to read the book) in the three circles of succ...more

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01/17/09

Andrew rated it:

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Read in July, 2008

The book is all about how some companies push past being just “good” and move on to being “great”. The case is presented for a dozen or so companies that met a certain criteria for “good to great” and then there were comparison companies as well. Comparisons like Kroger vs. A & P, Walgreens vs. Eckerd, Wells Fargo vs. Bank of America, etc. There is a lot of data presented, and a lot of interviews with executives of those companies.

What I liked best is the summarization of...more

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11/21/08

Chip rated it:

(review of isbn 0066620996)

Read in January, 2006

recommended to Chip by: Supervisors at work (required reading)
recommends it for: Anyone interested in why some business fail and other thrive

As a business major this one of the few books where I read and said to myself "I know now how to go and make my organization better". So many business books are anecdotal in nature - where one story of sucess using a certain principle is supposed to illustrate how you can use the same. Collins lays out a very good methodology and explains that his quest was to find business who thrived while nearly identical businessed failed, and then using some very complex research explain why there...more

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06/19/08

Renee rated it:

(review of isbn 0066620996)

This is a book about characteristics of great companies. There are a lot of things in this book that can apply to many organizations, though, including the family. I learned a lot from this book. I actually listened to it on CD. It would make a great one for a trip, because you can pause it and talk about it.

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