Collins, Jim. 2001. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don’t. New York, NY. HarperCollins Publishers.
Jim Collins researches great companies to learn how they grow. He takes what he learns and teaches good companies how to become great companies. He has written and co-written four books including Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, which he co-wrote with Jerry I. Porras. Collins 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. 1
The thesis of this book is that “almost any organization can substantially improve its stature and performance, perhaps even become great, if it conscientiously applies the framework of ideas” (5) presented in the book.
Collins takes nine chapters to develop and defend his thesis. Chapter 1 is an introduction to the thesis of the book along with a description of the research process followed by Collins and his staff. The next seven chapters each discuss one of the key concepts Collins presents as key to going from good to great. These concepts are, Level 5 Leadership, First Who...Then What, Confront the Brutal Facts (Yet Never Lose Faith), The Hedgehog Concept (Simplicity within the Three Circles, A Culture of Discipline, Technology Accelerators and The Flywheel and the Doom Loop. In the final chapter, From Good to Great to Built to Last, Collins links the findings from this present book to his findings from his previous book, Built to Last.
I liked this book and believe that Collins did a good job of developing and defending his thesis. I feel that Built to Last provided more practical applications than Good to Great, but Collins’ discussion in the last chapter of how the two studies go together and how Good to Great is like a prequel to Built to Last helped provide some synthesis and overlap between the books.
I am reading from a non-profit, ministry context. I found solid concepts in each chapter that will help me in my leadership. There were two, however, that stood out to me above all others. There were Level 5 Leadership and Confront the Brutal Facts (Yet Never Lose Faith).
Level 5 Leadership describes several characteristics of great leaders. Level 5 leaders are “a paradoxical mix of personal humility and professional will” (39). They are driven to achieve great things beyond themselves and are able to put the goals of the company, or ministry, above their own personal goals. They are also able to accept the blame when things go wrong. The key, in my opinion, to being a Level 5 Leader is humility. As I read this chapter I was drawn to Matthew 20:20-28, where Jesus discusses with his disciples the practice of servant leadership. We must learn to lead through humility. This will result in great things.
Collins discusses what he calls the Stockdale Paradox in Chapter 4. The Stockdale Paradox requires a leader to “retain absolute faith that you can and will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties, AND at the same time confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be” (88). This concept speaks of bravery and perseverance. It speaks of an ability to confront issues head on and get to the root cause without wavering from fear. It reminds me again of Jesus’ teaching his disciples to persevere in the face of persecution (see Matthew 24:3-14). Strong leaders and ministries must do the same. This is both our calling and the example we have been given.
1 Jim Collins “Biography,” http://www.jimcollins.com/bio/index.html (accessed March 8, 2009).
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