Rating: 
Summary: An Intirguing Look Into Success
Review: In exploring the business world author Jim Collins researches hundreds of "good" companies and selects a handful of "great" companies. While most are successful, only a few rise above the rest. Among these successful companies are Circuit City, Walgreens and General Electric. To determine such success, the author searches for key practices that separate these certain businesses from the rest. In this search, the author explores the history of many companies in a series of intriguing stories, my favorite being the background on Kimberly Clark. The study focuses on how dedicated and strong willed employees make the difference. "Work smarter, not harder." Successful management techniques tend to arise from those of discipline and focus. Going back to the Kimberly Clark story, Darwin Smith was a newly appointed CEO in 1971. Although he did not feel qualified, he held the responsibility that came with the title and had the determination and strong will to learn and succeed, for over 20 years. With an interest in the business world myself, I found this book quite interesting and highly recommend it to others.
Rating: 
Summary: Good to great
Review: Collins analyzes companies that have transformed themselves from good to great and concisely delivers his assessment of the characteristics that have made these companies so successful. Fantastic advice. He talks about The Hedgehog Concept - Simplicity Within the Three Circles (the intersection of What you're deeply passionate about, What drives your economic engine and What you can be the best in the world in). Many companies and organizations that are satisfied being "good" who could be but never aspire to being "great." I am a sophomore, and after reading this book I am changing my major from Finance to Marketing, because that fits my Hedgehog circle.
Rating:
Summary: It'll make you think
Review: I put off reading this book because I didn't think it would apply to VC-backed companies. I was wrong. The framework set out here has changed the way I think about leadership, strategy and time.
Rating: 
Summary: Not for all Bookshelves; Basic Truths; More What than How
Review: The information in GOOD TO GREAT came about from an extensive study of Fortune 500 companies by Jim Collins and his graduate student researchers resulting in an interesting collection of a few coherent but largely predictable conclusions. One of the few surprises is the relatively dowdy-seeming companies who actually performed well where many of the household "go-go" companies didn't make the cut. Reported are 11 firms that had outperformed the market by at least a factor of 3 consistently for at least 15 years; excluded from consideration were companies whose entire industry group was skyrocketing. These were each compared to a companion company from the same industry that did not do nearly as well. There were also 6 companies that were unsustained comparisons. From this the researchers uncovered a core set of success factors largely present in the Greats and missing from the not Greats: Outstanding leadership on a continuing basis following the same vision & mission (not necessarily the same person, but staying largely on the same direction). Start and maintain the necessary changes. First Who than What - the right people on the bus in the right seats Have honest facts to evaluate, but keep faith in success from competency (not wishful thinking) - encourage and use healthy debate. The Hedgehog Concept - Simplicity Within the Three Circles (the intersection of What you're deeply passionate about, What drives your economic engine and What you can be the best in the world in). Tied into this is insight into your economic engine "what is your denominator" more appropriately what do you measure and what do you measure it against; the key metric is not always obvious. This might be sales per employee (Abbott), sales per local population (Kroger), profit per customer visit (Walgreens), or profit per mortgage risk level (Fannie Mae) The culture of discipline having honest and disciplined people eliminates the need for hierarchy or oppressive rules. Use technology appropriately to advance your mission, not as your core competence. The Flywheel and Doom Loop - Overcome inertia and maintain the effort - recognize that it takes time and effort applied in a consistent direction to get things going faster and faster; if the effort wanes or the direction changes, momentum is lost.
Rating:
Summary: Good to Great - Implications
Review: The principle premise of the book, Good to Great by Jim Collins, is that there are many companies and organizations that are satisfied being "good" who could be but never aspire to being "great". Collins analyzes companies that have transformed themselves from good to great and concisely delivers his assessment of the characteristics that have made these companies so successful. Jim Collins, a former faculty member at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business and recipient of their Distinguished Teaching Award wrote the bestselling management study "Built to Last" in the 1990's outlining how long-term sustained performance could be engineered into the DNA of an organization. In his new book "Good to Great", Jim and his team of colleagues reveal their research findings on how to transform a mediocre or average company into a firm with sustained long-term performance. The concepts and findings in this study are surprising and may even shock some people because they run contrary to many of the practices, myths and rituals of modern business. Collins and his team researched a total population of 11 companies that had made the leap from "good" to "great" and carefully compared them to 17 benchmark companies that did not make the transition. A good to great (G2G) company is a company with a history of stock price performance that beats the market by 300% over a consecutive 15+ year period following a previously sustained 10+ year period of average or below average stock performance. After five years of research, Collins and his team identified seven key characteristics that any company can embrace to make the leap from "good to great". The pause in our domestic and world economy has executives scrambling for new answers and competitive strategies; however, as this study shows, now more than ever, companies need to preserve their core values, stick to their core competencies and put the right people on the bus. With recent corporate downsizing there is more underemployed talent than we've seen in over a decade, perhaps even back to the great depression. The great companies of tomorrow are quietly scooping up the best talent and investing in their Hedgehog Concept, with the simple, unwavering understanding that they will prevail. These companies have a vision of the future and it has not been changed by the rise and fall of the dot-com era; they are still moving forward, capturing top talent in a weak job market. They are getting the right people in the right seats and figuring out how to be the very best in the world at what they do. ThoughtForce can help you steer your company from "good to great" to "built to last" as you develop Level 5 leaders, hire the "right people", replace the "wrong people" and vigorously pursue your Hedgehog Concept. We'll help you identify the characteristics of top performers, hire people passionate about your Hedgehog Concept and build a culture that makes people want to return each and every day. ThoughtForce helps companies achieve competitive advantage through culture-aligned employment practices.
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Summary: GREAT BOOK
Review: In pursuit of an answer to the question of "Can a good company become a great company and if so, how?" In Good to Great Collins, the author of Built to Last, concludes that it is possible, but finds there are no magic formulas. Collins identified 11 companies who fit the ¡¥good-to-great model¡¦--including Fannie Mae, Gillette, Walgreens, and Wells Fargo--and discovered common traits that challenged many of the conventional notions of corporate success. Making the transition from good to great doesn't require: „Ï a high-profile, chrismatic CEO, the latest technology,
„Ï innovative change management,
„Ï or even a fine-tuned business strategy. The author excels at developing catchy metaphors ¡V
„Ï "Level 5 Leadership", referring to the type of leadership or leadership traits, which Collins identified in the g2G companies, and were not found in their comparison companies, namely first and foremost concern for the company or the ¡¥cause¡¦ outside of selfish or personal desire (Ego). The typical level 5 leader exhibited humility and personal passion for the work and the company, beyond personal gain and/or desire to shine or impress others. Hence, rarely claimed credit for success ( was more likely to pass credit on to others). Meanwhile, claimed FULL responsibility when things didn¡¦t work out.
„Ï ¡§Who vs. What¡¨, refers to the approach which Collins identified in the g2G companies, namely- when confronted with challenges- first concern is ¡¥who¡¦ is qualified to solve this problem, ¡¥who¡¦ should we involve, ¡¥who¡¦ is best suited for this; before being concerned with the ¡¥what¡¦ (i.e., what is the solution, what ought we do, etc.)
„Ï "The Hedgehog Concept", refers the strategic approach which Collins identified in the g2G companies, namely their focus on simple (centeral) idea in their mission, versus the scattered companies that pursued ¡¥everything for everyone¡¦ , and-thus- lacked the focus and the sense of mission of the g2G companies.
„Ï "The Flywheel vs The Doom Loop", refers the long-term approach which Collins identified in the g2G companies, namely their focus on the long-haul, building a foundation day-after-day, month-after-month, year-after-year¡Ktill breakthrough. These companies exhibited a great abilities to stay the couse and not get sidetracked by being scattered. They remained consistent over time, building momentum with time, till ¡¥launch¡¦.
„Ï ¡§The Scotsdale Paradox¡¨, referes to a phonemeonen which Collins identified in the g2G companies, concern with ¡¥facing the brutal facts¡¦ despite how difficult their challenges are, meanwhile not withering or ¡¥losing faith¡¦ in the end-result, never losing hope of the outcome, versus the comparison companies which tended to deny or hide unpleasant news often till it was too late. Overall I found Good to Great to be extremely thought-provoking and more practical to most exisiting businesses than his first book ¡¥Built to Last¡¦. It¡¦s well-written, with plenty of case studies and research material. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in the study of 'greatnes'
Rating:
Summary: Seemingly simple yet backed by solid statistics.
Review: Using a compelling statistical model Jim Collins produces an easy to read and interpret road map for putting a company on the path to greatness. No hard sell new management techniques, no hero to zero story of bloody battles in the work place Jim gives us a time tested statistically backed way to view the transformation of any company into the next generation. Unlike so many other management books this one describes in detail how valuable a life and career of service can be.
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Summary: Delivers the roadmap from good to great!
Review: Collins' research into eleven public companies over a thirty year period provides important insights into corporate success. I was impressed by the emphasis on the right people -- instead of people in general -- as the greatest asset of a company. I also respect Collins' suggestion to "Confront the brutal facts." Optimism is a bad strategy when the price of failure or probability of failure are high. Good to Great provides the leap from mediocre thinking to extraordinarily positive thinking for a company. In the optimal thinking corporate world, good and great performance are considered positive, but suboptimal. Leaders and employees are using optimal thinking to be their best. I recommend this book highly because of its unique perspective and scientifically valid research.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This is a wonderful piece of research and a very well-written book. The scientific foundation is robust, findings are thought-provoking and at times shocking, reading is easy, and evidence for arguments plentiful. What a joy to read a book like this. Congratulations to the author and the research team and many thanks.
Rating:
Summary: Insightful
Review: What an incredibly insightful book! Throw away speculation and hypothesis and theories. This book is based on fact gained from honest to goodness research. It is amazing to see how the "great" companies do many things that defy traditional business logic. This book really got me thinking and, more importantly, growing - both as a business person and leader.
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