Rating: 
Summary: An interesting study that conveys some basic business truths
Review: Collins begins with a fascinating premise: identify those companies that underwent a long-term shift from mediocre/good performance to market-beating great performance, and attempt to explain what they did differently than other companies in the same businesses that did not make the same transition. Thanks to the success of his previous book, "Built to Last", Collins was able to assemble a large team of B-school students to do the grunt work, while he could concentrate on organizing the findings and summarizing them in this book.Collins presents his findings in the chronological order of the steps he feels must be taken to transition from good to great. All in all, his findings will make sense to any student of Peter Drucker's, and they mostly ring true with my own 20 years of experience in the world of business. Collins advocates a very straightforward, fad-avoiding, "stick to your knitting" approach to business, with an emphasis on rational thinking, consistent action, and substance over style. So, the book presents a very strong case that these basic principles can, applied consistently over long periods of time, lead to major success (the good guys win in the end). That said, I do feel that Collins overreaches a bit. He preaches with the zeal of a true believer, at one point stating "Furthermore, if you ever stop doing any one of the key ideas, your organization will inevitably slide backward toward mediocrity." However, he occasionally bends the facts to fit his theories. After heaping immense praise on Nucor's CEO Ken Iverson (Collins obviously shares Iverson's strict egalitarian philosophy of compensation), Collins explains Nucor's recent troubles by finding one person to claim that Iverson had actually degenerated as a leader. Collins also rails against companies that stray outside their core businesses, but then concocts a questionable core business for the very successful yet highly diversified GE, claiming that its core business is the production of great General Managers to run businesses from aircraft engines to TV broadcasting. But given the challenge of simplifying a very complex world, Collins can be forgiven these minor sins. The book is an easy read for the busy executive, roughly 200 pages of narrative text divided into bite-sized 20 page chapters. Collins communicates clearly and crisply, and sprinkles in illustrative anecdotes that occasionally tug on emotional heartstrings. Some of his terminology (e.g. "Level 5 Leadership") will no doubt enter the American business lexicon just as BHAG (from "Built to Last") has, although I wish he had chosen a more serious term than "Hedgehog Concept".
Rating:
Summary: Level 5 leadership - from Good to Great
Review: It has always been my contention that makes a company great is not their products, not even their salespeople...but leadership at level 5!People won't buy products no matter how great they are without leaders moving them.Salespeople will not sell, no matter how great their products or compensation plan is...without leadership.Leadership...Level 5 leadership take you from good to great.
Rating:
Summary: Is great the best we can do?
Review: I enjoyed this book because of the unique research it presented. I recommend this book to general management with the proviso that it presents and extraordinary but suboptimal perspective. As the Exec VP of a Fortune 100 Company who has worked with various management philosophies, I unequivocally recommend Optimal Thinking--How to Be Your Best Self as the optimal resource to leap above mediocre and extraordinary performance to consistently create the best results under any circumstance. Everyone in our company is trained in Optimal Thinking.
Rating: 
Summary: Good to great is a fantastic book!
Review: If you own a business or are planning on owning one, read this excellent book by Jim Collins and find out what makes great companies great. Hint: It's not hype, a fancy widget or a charismatic guru. What is it? Read the book and find out. It's worth the read and you'll thank me later.
Rating:
Summary: Collins delivers again
Review: This is a prequel to "Built to Last"; if you haven't read that one yet read this one first, even though they were written in reverse order. Taken together these two books provide a step by step guideline to building and maintaining greatness that can be applied to any company, and department, any team, any family, any life. Interestingly, immediately following this book I stumbled across one of my dearest old friends, "Zen and the Art of Motercycle Maintenance", which I hadn't read in about 10 years. Reading it again I found the parallels with Collins' books to be stunning. A "Level 5 Leader" is clearly someone who exists with the fundamental attitude that Pirsig argues so heroically for in his work. It seems that Quality (emphasis on the capital "Q") as described by Pirsig is fundamental to achieving greatness as described by Collins.
Rating:
Summary: Good to Great.....
Review: Why do some companies have continuing, sustained growth in excess of those companies around them? What is it that makes them different? Is it charismatic leadership? Right place, right time? Unique product? This is the question that Jim Collins attempts to answer in Good to Great. He and a team of 20 researchers spent five years and more than 15,000 manhours researching the question, Why Some Companies Make the Leap, Good to Great...and Others Don't. They reviewed thousands of books, articles, and annual reports; conducted financial analyses on records that totaled 980 years of combined business records. They interviewed 84 senior executives and board members, scrutinized the personal and professional records of 56 of the CEO's, and researched the executive compensation plans. They analyzed the patterns in layoffs, how media exposure affected the financial results, and finally, how technology was used and it's effect, if any on the financial performance of the companies. The team researched every aspect that could be quantified, codified, analyzed or compared. The study begins with 1,435 Fortune 500 companies and narrows the list down to 11 that made the transition from good-to-great companies. These are companies that stand out as being different from their direct competition.This book shows you objectively what it was that made these companies financial returns 3,4, to 18 times better than stock market averages for 15 years. And, it tells you
how to apply these findings to your business. Level 5 Leadership: Moving from good to great starts with leadership, with the will and drive to succeed. Not on a personal level, but for the company to succeed. First Who...Then What: Next find the right people to manage and run the business. Control the Brutal Facts: Then look at the facts objectively. What are your core competencies? Hedgehog Concept: Then take action based on being the best at what you can be the best at. Culture of Discipline: Implement the resulting plan rigorously, with discipline and focus. Good to Great is a textbook on how to run a successful organization. It includes extensive appendices detailing the methodologies of the research and comphrehensive notes and references. Good to Great is a must-read for anyone building or leading a business or group. And it challenges a lot of the current hype
about makes a company successful. Whether it be the charismatic CEO, to the hype of IT, or merger mania, none of these contributed to the success of the top 11 companies covered in Good-to-Great. At 300 pages, Good-to-Great is a comphrehensive research project, well written and entertaining too. If you enjoyed Built to Last, you will love Good-to-Great.
Rating:
Summary: YOU HAVE A COMPANY OR BUSINESS ?? A MUST READ !
Review: AN AWESOME BOOK IF YOU WANT INFORMATION THAT REALLY COULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR COMPANY OR BUSINESS
Rating:
Summary: Good to Great is Built to Last
Review: This is a book that has profound insight which is nicely based on empirical data. It is refreshing to read a full case study written by an author that admits to personal leadership flaws and who is in search of bettering himself by applying the rules learned during his research. In this book, you won't get deluged with leadership principals offered by an oracle who wants you to enact his insight. You get the facts as displayed through research into 11 proven great companies and the leadership that got them there. The principals that are reported in this book are timeless and yet newly reported. From a biographical standpoint, you will learn how to be a better business and human leader. As a person that loves leadership, I have spent many years reading books such as Primal Leadership, Developing the Leader Within, Lincoln on Leadership, etc. What Good to Great does is show you how it works in real life. It teaches that you can be you and still be great without having to develop some smarmy charisma. It shows that the toughest challenge is the people you put "on the bus" rather than how you motivate them and manage them. It proves that building great organizations is about diligence rather than magic or markets. Get this book, find a good highlighter and a few hours. This is one of few business books that you cannot afford to miss.
Rating:
Summary: A pie in the face of SuperManagers
Review: It is refreshing to see that fundamental values and deep commmon sense are supported by so much data coming from the few large companies that actually enjoy enduring success. It's a pie in the face of the super-managers. What a revolution if these recommendations take hold in the industry and Wall Street! From Level 5 leadership (humble, servant, people oriented, etc.) to the hedgehog concept (the simple concept of the business) the findings in this book make a lot of sense. Now somebody publish the field book to show how to start on that path. People looking for quick fix, abstain. Others, buy this book and leave it on your boss'desk, and your boss' boss desk. The more people read it, the better everybody will be.
Rating:
Summary: Intriguing Look Into Reasons For Success
Review: I found great information and inspiration in Jim Collins' bestselling book, "Good To Great". This is a book that anyone who is ambitious and interested in success should read. I don't think that leaves many people out! Several reviewers have also mentioned Norman Thomas Remick's book, "West Point: Character Leadership..." as a great follow-on to "Good To Great". I have now read it and can subscribe to its being an intriguing look into the more basic reasons for success. I am now recommending both books to everyone in the world who makes enquires to our consulting firm.
| 
