Good To Great Cd: Why Some Companies Make The Leap...And Others Don't

My rating:

add to my books

Good To Great Cd: Why Some Companies Make The Leap...And Others Don't

by Jim Collins

3.89 · rating details · 11,880 ratings · 1,183 reviews

Destined to be the business publishing event of the year, or even the decade, this is the long awaited new book by the co-author of Built To Last. In it, Jim Collins shares his latest long-term research - and shows how even mediocre companies can become long-term world beaters.

Jim Collins has become a best-selling classic business author, with 590,000 copies sold to date

...more

Published

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

This book is currently not featured on any Listopia lists. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 19,879)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Dec 21, 2011

Allen rated it

· review of another edition

Just (12/21/2011) re-read the book and love the concepts. But I knocked a star off of my rating since during this re-read I felt like the author puffed up the findings and, indirectly, himself. Sure, good-to-great principles seem to be true, insightful, and necessary for a transformation. I even found that re-reading this book helped me to realize I was being quite undisciplined in my use of time (trying to create momentum by doing, doing, doing instead of "unplugging extraneous junk."...moreJust (12/21/2011) re-read the book and love the concepts. But I knocked a star off of my rating since during this re-read I felt like the author puffed up the findings and, indirectly, himself. Sure, good-to-great principles seem to be true, insightful, and necessary for a transformation. I even found that re-reading this book helped me to realize I was being quite undisciplined in my use of time (trying to create momentum by doing, doing, doing instead of "unplugging extraneous junk.") But I don't think Collins has found the gospel and he plays it up to that level.

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. (2007)

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 support and work hard to bring to realization. Fewer great people on the team are better than lots of mediocre people. The mediocre people just make extra work for the great people and the net result is "good". It's easier to be great than good.

Another interesting concept I've been told about, but haven't read about yet, is the flywheel. Progress is made by implementing small changes at opportune times. Momentum is gained slowly and steadily by these small, periodic decisions. The image used by Collins is that of a flywheel with lots of inertia. Each little push eases the flywheel ahead. The wheel starts rotating slowly but as little pushes continue to be made, the wheel picks up momentum and is hard to stop. This concept is seen in the growth that companies like Google have experienced. Google started out as just a slightly better search engine. Small changes at opportune times have turned it into the booming multi-service company that it is today(less)

like 5 likes

· see review

Aug 01, 2008

Jamie rated it

· review of another edition

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 ...moreThis 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)

like 10 likes

· see review

Apr 24, 2008

Giuliana rated it

· review of another edition

Recommended to Giuliana by: Alec

Shelves: reviews

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

like 4 likes

· see review

Nov 27, 2007

Sergei Nemirovsky rated it

· review of another edition

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

like 3 likes

· see review

Aug 25, 2007

Deli rated it

· review of another edition

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!

like 3 likes

· see review

Jun 12, 2007

Kristina rated it

· review of another edition

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.

like 2 likes

· see review

Feb 21, 2009

Kathleen Tallent rated it

· review of another edition

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

like 2 likes

· see review

Jun 07, 2009

Chad Warner rated it

· review of another edition

Recommended to Chad by: Jeff Disher

Shelves: non-fiction, business

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

like 1 like

· see review

Jun 21, 2009

The Knowledge Guy rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: read-nonfiction

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 perfo...moreGood 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)

like 1 like

· see review

Jan 27, 2010

Sandy rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: business

I hope I don't get fired for not thinking this was the greatest book ever. Honestly, business books are not exactly my cup of tea. This book started off really interesting. The author talks about habits that great companies use to keep their companies run smoothly. Many of the suggestions the author gives seem very logical -- don't have negative people work for your company, don't try to put your hand in every pot, don't stop doing things that work well and do stop doing things that aren't w...moreI hope I don't get fired for not thinking this was the greatest book ever. Honestly, business books are not exactly my cup of tea. This book started off really interesting. The author talks about habits that great companies use to keep their companies run smoothly. Many of the suggestions the author gives seem very logical -- don't have negative people work for your company, don't try to put your hand in every pot, don't stop doing things that work well and do stop doing things that aren't working, etc.

I had two major concerns with this book. First was simply the manner in which it was written. The author spent hundreds of pages explaining what could have been explained much more succinctly. It's similar to my thesis. My completed thesis was 60+ pages, but the article I wrote to be published in a journal (which consists of the same material, more or less) was only about 15 pages. I would be more interested in this book if it was written in "journal" form, allowing me to cut out the redundancy. To the author's credit, however, I appreciated that he did give examples, as often I was very confused by his explanation of the concept, and wouldn't have understood without his providing an example they found in one of the companies.

My second major concern was the methodology. The author utilizes no scientific method for gathering data, but instead utilizes a "panning for gold" approach: throw everything into the pot and see what comes out. That, combined with overwhelming hindsight bias, makes me extremely suspicious of any and every conclusion drawn in the book. While reading this book, I was reminded of one of my undergraduate teachers explaining the advantage that Freud had as an early psychologist: because of his theories, he could not be proven wrong. How do you prove that someone isn't in denial? How do you prove that someone isn't obsessed with his mother? Likewise, how do you prove that these theories proposed by Jim Collins actually work? Indeed, Collins later predicts, at the end of his book, that any company that STOPS abiding by the principles he outlines will fail. With his "interesting" methodology, I doubt that his principles would have a causal link to either success or failure. I expect that many companies fail, and that many companies are very successful, without regard to his theories. In addition, a problem with his methodology is that he measured "greatness" by a company's sustained stock market value being a certain percentage (150%) above the general market--what about private companies? How can a private company measure greatness if that is the standard?

So, overall, I enjoyed this book at the beginning and became bored with it by the end. I think there are some good principles that can be pulled out of it, but I fear that some companies will take this book too much to heart and let other important factors slip.

Rob, please don't fire me. :)(less)

like 2 likes

· see review

Jan 28, 2008

Lorin rated it

· review of another edition

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 wi...moreExcerpt 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)

like 1 like

· see review

Jan 18, 2008

Charles rated it

· review of another edition

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

like 1 like

· see review

Aug 01, 2007

Bonnie rated it

· review of another edition

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

like 1 like

· see review

Jun 22, 2007

Surya Winata rated it

· review of another edition

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

like 1 like

· see review

Jan 25, 2008

Took4ever Hayes rated it

· review of another edition

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

like 1 like

· see review

Jan 15, 2009

Michael David Cobb added it · review of another edition

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...moreCollins, 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)

· see review

Dec 31, 2008

Rob rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, business

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

· see review

Jan 22, 2012

Jared Smith rated it

· review of another edition

It seems a recent trend that self-help books are backed with academic research. This gives the author more credibility, and rightfully so. Jim Collins is a professor in the ___ school of management at Boulder University, Colorado? and his newest book, Good to Great, is essentially a self-help book for business. Colllin’s first blockbuster success was Built to Last, a synopsis of the outstanding qualities of the greatest blue chip companies in America. But Good to Great chronicles something ...moreIt seems a recent trend that self-help books are backed with academic research. This gives the author more credibility, and rightfully so. Jim Collins is a professor in the ___ school of management at Boulder University, Colorado? and his newest book, Good to Great, is essentially a self-help book for business. Colllin’s first blockbuster success was Built to Last, a synopsis of the outstanding qualities of the greatest blue chip companies in America. But Good to Great chronicles something distinct: the transformation of average companies to long-standing excellent organizations.

Recognizing that the data sample in this study is enormous and much better cannot be reasonably expected, it is important to note the limitations of the selection criteria for model “great” companies in this study. Collins’ only parameter for a great company lies in the stock performance. Simply, if a company had an average stock return for ten years or so and then the stock return jumps, it was considered a great company. The research group required the stock’s average return to be at least three times the market average for a period of fifteen years, something uncommon at best. While stock price is the only simple, reasonable metric, it is skewed by Wall Street’s obsession with promises of future earnings. This selection criteria produced 11 companies on which the group focused its efforts. There were no more than the 11 examples of good companies becoming sustained, great companies. Then 11 comparison companies with average stock results were identified from the same industry as the great companies. What results is a focused and deep dissection of those 22 companies (along with a few more interesting examples). But the qualities that were identified from the great companies might not be the contributing factors to what made them great—this is why the research is somewhat inconclusive. For example, there is no telling that following the “hedgehog principle” is indeed one of the contributing factors of the greatness of the company, because we don’t know how many other publicly-traded companies followed the hedgehog principle and didn’t become great. How do we know that those “great” concepts and management styles were not contributors to greatness?

Regardless of the incompleteness of the research, the identified good-to-great concepts and organizational commitments are rational, good ideas. If organizations implement those ideas, they will not be worse off than they were before implementing them. The research is also unsurprising—strong “level five” leaders, the “right” team-members, slow “inertial” momentum, a simple, “hedgehog” strategy and others are fairly intuitive. But Jim Collins provides good data that supports those intuitive claims. Not since The Millionaire Next Door, by Stanley has an author produced a self-help book backed by data the way Collins has in Good to Great.
(less)

· see review

Jan 04, 2012

Nicholas rated it

· review of another edition

mleh. moderately interesting, but i have no idea why this (and Built to Last, also by the same author) are so lionized. (300,000 copies a year, etc.) lots of saying the same thing over and over again--leaders shouldn't micromanage, leaders should put their organization first, leaders who get all their people instinctively pulling in the same direction are successful, leaders need to be honest about their organization's weaknesses, etc. really nothing in there that i hadn't already learned from S...more

· see review

Jan 01, 2012

Alan rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: business-books

I first read this book soon after it was published and have kept coming back to it over the years - one of the few business books that I do this with.

My main reasons for doing this are:

- a strong research base using actual company performance. This is not a book written based on the author's understanding of a particular subject but is based on a research teams' interpretation of the long term performance of the subject companies.

- clearly written findings t...more

· see review

Dec 27, 2011

T. Edmund rated it

· review of another edition

I can't help feeling a sense of despair reading this book. Good to Great provides emperical evidence on what makes a company exceptional, covering leadership, technology, strategy and information gathering. Reading this book is likely to be more helpful than any stock/share advice book, and contains information that generalises to almost any organisation, whether the classroom, sports team or charity.

In fact this g2g provides the organisational guidance that Gladwell's Outliers provi...more

· see review

Nov 30, 2011

Glenn Williams rated it

· review of another edition

Good to Great is probably one of my favourite books on business and leadership.

In his landmark research comparing ‘good to great’ companies with companies that failed to make the leap from good to great, he presents a framework of concepts that emerged from his research that were distinctive in the good to great companies. Good to Great is a book I highly recommend to every leader no matter where you work or what line of work you are in.

While you’ll find no-one saying vision...more

· see review

Nov 27, 2011

Bill rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: business-marketing, dmingml, gml-dmin, leadership

I recently re-read this book, and was again reminded of how much I appreciated this book back in 2009 when I first read it. Collins has assembled an amazing collection of leadership wisdom through his research.

Being in the non-profit sector, I have approached this book a little differently than some, I'm sure. But my desire is nonetheless to see my organization prosper as we pursue our mission.

My top take-aways from this book?

1) Servant leadership is truly the best ...more

· see review

Nov 22, 2011

Kevin rated it

· review of another edition

I thought this book was good, but not great (cue the rimshot). It gives a number of principles that the author and his team of researchers found in common with 11 companies that exhibited stock returns that generally followed the market as a whole, and then over the next 15 years outperformed the market by 3x. The main principles were Level 5 leaders, doing what you’re great at (Hedgehog Concept), having a culture of discipline, utilizing technology to help larger concepts but not have technol...moreI thought this book was good, but not great (cue the rimshot). It gives a number of principles that the author and his team of researchers found in common with 11 companies that exhibited stock returns that generally followed the market as a whole, and then over the next 15 years outperformed the market by 3x. The main principles were Level 5 leaders, doing what you’re great at (Hedgehog Concept), having a culture of discipline, utilizing technology to help larger concepts but not have technology be the concept itself, and that greatness comes from many small efforts (the flywheel concept). I didn’t really like the total reliance on the stock market for distinguishing success. It’s one measure, but can be finicky and subject to different types of manipulation. It is an easy number, but it’s not one I was in love with. The other thing is that they only have 11 examples. It seems rather anecdotal. At the end they claim it’s statistically representative, but I’m not totally convinced. The fact that two of the companies they hold in such high esteem are Circuit City and Fannie Mae (especially) are rather amusing since they are either bankrupt or have essentially been nationalized. I understand that they’re looking at the 15 years after a change was made, and the behavior that existed then might not have existed in the subsequent years when the difficulties emerged, but lines like “Fannie Mae had no choice but to become the best capital markets player in the world at managing mortgage interest risk. Maxwell and his team set out to create a new business model that would depend much less on interest rates, involving the invention of very sophisticated mortgage finance instruments.” Yes, the exotic instruments and lending to risky borrowers has really paid off for Fannie Mae in the long run.
Additionally, I didn’t really enjoy the writing style. I really enjoy the way that Malcolm Gladwell encapsulates ideas in a story. It makes it much easier to remember and take to heart. Collins seems to have subject material that could be communicated better in longer stories. A big criticism is with his concept of what the book is. He views it as hard, concrete facts that he arrived at through painstakingly done research. It is some of those, but doesn’t seem as rigorous as what I’m accustomed to. He doesn’t view his conclusions as opinions, but as the obvious result from someone who looked at the information that he did. Additionally, I didn’t find the concepts he espouses as that useful to me, since I’m not a CEO, and probably not the specific audience he’s trying to reach. Overall, I thought it was an interesting book that went into some examples of companies that have had extraordinary success at some point in their existence, but wasn’t able to pull many useful and interesting takeaways as I had hoped.(less)

· see review

Sep 19, 2011

Jason rated it

· review of another edition

Jim Collins groundbreaking leadership book, Good to Great, Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't attempts to answer the question of how an organization can be led to resounding success and to the achievement of all its goals. The author's premise is that being simply good enough is acceptable to most individuals and that organizations need determined and focused leadership to grow into a great organization that maximizes all the potential that its members can muster. Good to Great wa...moreJim Collins groundbreaking leadership book, Good to Great, Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't attempts to answer the question of how an organization can be led to resounding success and to the achievement of all its goals. The author's premise is that being simply good enough is acceptable to most individuals and that organizations need determined and focused leadership to grow into a great organization that maximizes all the potential that its members can muster. Good to Great was the result of a five year study into what makes effective leadership and organizations.

Within this book, Collins attempts to profile exactly what type of leaders lead the transformation from a merely good to a great organization. In the process, he dismisses some common fallacies and assumptions about what is needed to advance an organization to a great organization. While Collins mostly uses case studies of large American businesses, he proposes that the principles he has studied can be used by any organization; government, school or church.

Collins strongly advocates that the central element to move an organization forward is not delineating goals or policies, but discovering individuals with talent who can lead an organization from all levels. The common assumption that an inspiring leader who takes an organization further is charismatic and is able to make sudden changes to push an organization are shown by his research to not be consistent with the profile of great leaders. Most great leaders, showing what he calls Level 5 Leadership, are humble, quiet, disciplined, placing the organization above their own personal egos, and have a relentless search for outstanding subordinate leaders.

Great leadership requires passion and discipline that are constantly looking to improve today and to slowly move towards the future. No one charged in an organization's turnaround can look for a quick fix, or some other event that lacks real substance. Tools, like technology, are never solutions; but are simply products that aid the discipline process.

Collins found that all great leaders make a habit of properly ascertaining intelligence about their present situation and are able to make calm decisions based on the brutal truth. He case that great leaders operate on the "hedgehog concept", or that concepts must constantly be refined to their simplest, nominalist objective is consistent with his concepts of disciplined, humble leadership.

Collins' concepts encourage a constant push towards quality discipleship and initiative. Humility and kindness at the top of the leadership will go a long way towards encouraging subordinate leaders to show the same traits to others. While rigor and exacting details in leadership are always required, ruthlessness and throwing the weight of leadership around to assert authority never are.(less)

· see review

Aug 28, 2011

Brett rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: leadership, non-fiction

Good is the enemy to great. Great organizations are not characterized by charismatic leaders, product trends, or media hype. Rather, great organizations are doggedly disciplined around what Collins terms a "hedgehog concept" - the singular intersection of what an organization is passionate about, what an organization can be best in the world at, and the economic engine of an organization. Once an organization understands its "hedgehog concept," greatness means discipline: ...more

· see review

Aug 16, 2011

Bryan Kim rated it

· review of another edition

Fairly anecdotal, qualitatively descriptive and moralistic for a biz book that purports to be objectively and quantitatively researched. The premise and research methods is what draws you in, but it's the anecdotes that stick. Most lessons and core concepts are fairly intuitive, which make the counter intuitive memorable: E.G.'s the myth of the charismatic leader, the fallacy of pure profit motives, "cult like" characteristics of great performing organizations, the unintended consequ...more

· see review

Jul 22, 2011

Chantal rated it

· review of another edition

I am learning that I love to read the books I pick off of my MBA friends' book shelves. This book was borrowed from my friend, Javier - a recent MBA graduate. This book is a study of companies who were good and then transitioned to being excellent, and discusses the factors that made the transition possible. The take home lesson I learned most from this book was the importance of self-discipline. The second concept I loved was the idea of a Council. Like learning a new word, I am now seein...more

· see review

May 23, 2011

Ethernight rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: about-business, as-audio, genre-nonfiction, my-library-audio, my-library-on-hand

Many of the ideas in this book really resonated with me. Some, like the "hedgehog concept" articulate ideas that are common wisdom in other areas--in this case, it is reminiscent of the "small sharp tools" mentality of the open source community. Others like the "flywheel and the doom loop," describing the difference between building momentum on successful results rather than fostering disappointment through hype without substance, were illuminating and thought pro...more

· see review

Apr 17, 2011

Em rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: work

i would recommend this as a good 'intro' book to management concepts for first-year graduate students or your average person without a management background who is interested in learning more about the topic. collins uses a matched-pair comparison approach to analyze factors that distinguished 11 companies that went from 'good' to 'great' (defined purely in terms of financial returns) from a comparison group on a 30-year horizon (15 years of just being good and then at least 15 years of being gr...more

· see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 662 663 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Management	1	43	Nov 28, 2008 06:51am

combine
Other Editions (21)

More editions...

Genres

Business

543 users

Non Fiction

207 users

Leadership

100 users

Self Help

14 users

Self Help > Personal Development

9 users

Economics

8 users

Reference

7 users

Adult

5 users

Academic > School

3 users

Book Club

3 users

See top shelves...

Readers Also Enjoyed

About Jim Collins

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Jim Collins is a student and teacher of enduring great companies — how they grow, how they attain superior performance, and how good companies can become great companies. Having invested over a decade of research into the topic, Jim has authored or co-authored f...moreLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Jim Collins is a student and teacher of enduring great companies — how they grow, how they attain superior performance, and how good companies can become great companies. Having invested over a decade of research into the topic, Jim has authored or co-authored four books, including the classic BUILT TO LAST, which has been a fixture on the Business Week best seller list for more than six years, and has been translated into 29 languages. His work has been featured in Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Harvard Business Review, and Fast Company.

Jim’s book, GOOD TO GREAT: Why Some Companies Make the Leap ... And Others Don’t, attained long-running positions on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Business Week best seller lists, has sold 3 million hardcover copies since publication and has been translated into 35 languages, including such languages as Latvian, Mongolian and Vietnamese.

His most recent book, HOW THE MIGHTY FALL: And Why Some Companies Never Give In, was published on May 19, 2009.

Driven by a relentless curiosity, Jim began his research and teaching career on the faculty at Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he received the Distinguished Teaching Award in 1992. In 1995, he founded a management laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, where he now conducts research and teaches executives from the corporate and social sectors. Jim holds degrees in business administration and mathematical sciences from Stanford University, and honorary doctoral degrees from the University of Colorado and the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University.

Jim has served as a teacher to senior executives and CEOs at over a hundred corporations. He has also worked with social sector organizations, such as: Johns Hopkins Medical School, the Girl Scouts of the USA, the Leadership Network of Churches, the American Association of K-12 School Superintendents, and the United States Marine Corps. In 2005 he published a monograph: Good to Great and the Social Sectors.

In addition, Jim is an avid rock climber and has made one-day ascents of the North Face of Half Dome and the Nose route on the South Face of El Capitan in Yosemite Valley. He continues to climb at the 5.13 grade. (less)

More about Jim Collins...

Books by Jim Collins

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck--Why Some Thrive Despite Them All

Beyond Positive Thinking: Success and Motivation in the Scriptures

Good to Great, Waarom sommige bedrijven een sprong vooruit maken...en anderen niet

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Pin It

Trivia About Good to Great: Wh...

1 quiz

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from Good to Great: Why Som...

“The purpose of bureaucracy is to compensate for incompetence and lack of discipline.” — 9 people liked it

“When [what you are deeply passionate about, what you can be best in the world at and what drives your economic engine] come together, not only does your work move toward greatness, but so does your life. For, in the end, it is impossible to have a great life unless it is a meaningful life. And it is very difficult to have a meaningful life without meaningful work. Perhaps, then, you might gain that rare tranquility that comes from knowing that you’ve had a hand in creating something of intrinsic excellence that makes a contribution. Indeed, you might even gain that deepest of all satisfactions: knowing that your short time here on this earth has been well spent, and that it mattered.” — 7 people liked it

More quotes…

Groups That Shelved Good to Great: Wh...

12 Books - Business & Per...

512 members

last activity Feb 08, 2012 03:06pm

shelf: read

Leadership Best Sellers

12 members

last activity Jan 19, 2012 12:43am

shelf: read

Switch Video Book Club

8 members

last activity Jan 20, 2012 09:09am

shelf: read

title link	preview: Good To Great Cd: Why Some Companies Make The Leap...And Others Don't
avg rating	preview: Good To Great Cd: Why Some Companies Make The Leap...And Others Don't Goodreads rating: 3.89 (11880 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1016082.Good_To_Great_Cd?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1180252450m/1016082.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1016082.Good_To_Great_Cd?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Good To Great Cd: Why Some Companies Make The Leap...And Others Don't by Jim Collins[/url]

Good To Great Cd: Why Some Companies Make The Leap...And Others Don't

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Readers Also Enjoyed

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website