Rating: 
Summary: The practices are easy to understand...challenging to apply
Review: Some people have commented that the concepts in this book are elementary and have implied that the act of articulating them is insulting to readers' intelligence. By that logic, we should see many more great organizations than we currently do. If the practices outlined in this book are so easy--as some have said--then why aren't more organizations actually implementing them and seeing the success of the "good to great" companies? Because either we don't really believe that they're true, or we lack the courage to implement them, that's why. Because we need empirical evidence--offered brilliantly by Collins and his team in this book--to convince us otherwise. We'd rather believe that an outside, charistmatic CEO is the answer to all our problems. We'd rather believe that we can say "yes" to any business opportunity to come down the pike than have the discipline to say "no" to the good, which is the enemy of the great. Because we'd rather blame outside circumstances for our problems than face the ugly truth that we have met the enemy and he is us.
Rating:
Summary: Before you buy this book, know thyself
Review: I believe this book is brilliant (how often does one get a business book based on a broad set of DATA, and not assertions or a few case studies?) but it is not meant to be everything to everyone. It will not help a struggling company out of the dark ages. If you're looking for help with cash flow, basic business processes, stock pricing or market share or profitability or any of those many things we all sit at our desks worrying about 12 hours a day, don't look in here. The title says it all: GOOD to GREAT. That implies that you have to start with GOOD. Fortunately, Amazon carries a bushel basket of other titles which address these kinds of problems. What this book can do, however, is give even the struggling corporation some sense of down-the-road planning. You might be fighting with the Board on a daily basis over executive compensation...this book says forget that, focus on getting the right executives hired. (So true!) You might be struggling with prioritization of your projects for next year. This book will remind you how to refocus on your core competencies, so that you might not try that new product launch which really is outside your scope, no matter how tempting the margins look. Much of it IS aspirational (after all, how many of us really do work for good companies, especially in this economy?) but it allows us to remember some key, proven factors (remember that it is based on data) which might help us manage better day-to-day. And isn't that the point of a business book, anyway?
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing new and... can the author be more annoying?
Review: This review is based on the audio version of the book (which is narrated by the author himself). A good part of my dissatisfaction is related to the author's delivery and 'presentation skills'. Content-wise, although I'm not particularly impressed by those 8 or 9 'Good to Great' key concepts that the author pushed forth either, I still agree with them in most parts because I believe they are good points and they are the main findings from their 5 years research on this topic. Let me now clarify my points here. Perhaps I have much expectation on this book following other readers' comments both on this and the author's previous book "Built To Last", I was disappointed when I first heard him introducing those 8 to 9 key factors on how these 11 companies turned from good to great. I cannot dispute they're not important. In fact I do agree they're some differentiating ingredients that are not easy for an average person/company to achieve. However, these are HARDLY groundbreaking ideas. It's those same ideas how you should morally behave to become a good (or great, for that matter) person that everyone would have received since day 1 of the elementary school education. The very fact that it has taken the author and his team of 15-20 researchers 5 years's time to come up with such results that's neither deep nor thought-provoking make things even worse. It almost made me feel like the whole book is more a marketing pitch (for these 8-9 very ideas that the author is trying to sell, on behalf of his own valuable findings in these 5 years). Perhaps it's really true that these are the defining virtues that bring these 11 great companies the ultimate greatness, no more no less, as how the author claims this to be a result by induction, from the empirical hard facts that they've gathered throughout 5 years, instead of something that were set up to prove a certain theory. However, this hardly matters. The truth is that the book is still not as useful as it should be because there's nothing new nor insightful about these ideas (or at least with respect to how far the author has gone to study/explain each of them). The whole game is like "okay, there maybe 50 or 100 great management ideas out there people have talked about or have been time and proven. Let's now use a quantitative approach to deduce from stock price findings, to reverse engineer which are the 8 to 9 most important ones." To be clear, I have nothing against this approach. This is both a great concept and challenge. But in my opinion this is as far as the value of this book goes, once I heard what the findings are. The author stops short of producing further value-adding materials after singling out these ideas. It's hardly convincing by just citing some management reform stories + stock prices performance in these 11 companies to make a strong case that these are the holy truths of ultimate management skills. Every journalist can easily look at some companies' success and attribute it to certain factors. The sad fact is, circumstances change and it always affect your real-time decision. As a leader, how you cope with that does not necessarily depend on just these ideas. There's a lot more to it! The whole marketing pitch of this book becomes A LOT MORE obvious because this audio book is delivered by the author himself. Throughout the book he carries one of those exaggerating tone, creating, in my opinon, stupid jargons (such as BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal), The Three Circles, The Hedgehog concept, which were totally irrelevant) to embrace his key points . Why? I think that's because for a 5 years in-depth research project on 20 something companies, the book has terribly few hard facts to support his arguments, which are all good old ideas that everybody would have thought of at one point or another. Because of this, he has to create these seemingly non-intruitive jargons to sell his ideas, to imprint them on readers' memory and to fill up enough pages (in this case, enough recording) to explain the concepts. For that matter, he's a master of stating the obvious. This has really annoyed me a lot for much of the recording. My experience with the recording was very much ruined by this reason, more than anything else, on an original average to slightly (just slightly) above average content.
Rating: 
Summary: Empirical data leads to a Framework
Review: The other reviewers on this page have done a great job of summarizing the key takeaways of this book, so I won't repeat it. Instead, I'll focus on some random thoughts I have about this book: * Even though this book is 300+ pages long, only 217 pages of that is the actual "research paper". The other pages at the end contain appendices on footnotes, interview notes, research methodology and a list of companies and how each fared after the 4 elimination rounds leading up to the 11 good to great companies. It also contains an epilogue with some Q&A about the applicability and accuracy of the research results. * The framework talked about in this book is a product of close scrutiny of empirical data, i.e. all the conclusions were derived by looking at the data. In my opinion, the conclusions derived at by this book is only as good as the researchers that made them. A lot of the concepts in this book are the result of heated arguments and debates (down to which chapter should be included and why). * The book presents some interesting stories to stress its points, but some of them are flat out horrible analogies. I'm impressed with Mr. Collins network of friends/acquaintances. He tries to convince the reader that research based on companies can be applied to life in general as well. He goes as far to provide the analogy of his wife giving up everything (work, career, time and money) to win the IronMan competition in Hawaii as an example of the Hedgehog Concept. There's also a flimsy story of a football staff that he wants to use to show that going from good to great requires no more effort than remaining mediocre. * I feel the author was pushing it in some areas of the last chapter where he talks about how Good to Great relates to Built to Last. He comes up with this table with all the Built to Last concepts on the left column, and for each of those concepts he writes a sentence including all the concepts from Good to Great. It felt so artificial. It was evidently just a bunch of words strung together to convince the reader that both books mesh perfectly with one another. Whereas I don't deny that indeed there might be a link between the two research studies, I don't believe he was convincing in explaining it. Don't get me wrong. I like the idea of Good to Great as a prequel to Built to Last.
Rating: 
Summary: Quick Read Good Content
Review: Good to Great is a quick read, and it offers many interesting twists on common problems with good companies. The book provides some good ideas to start a company on a new path toward excellence.
Rating:
Summary: Achieving and continuing spectacular business success
Review: In 1994, Jim Collins and Jerry Porras wrote one of the most successful management books of the last decade: Built to Last. Collins and Porras had studied 18 visionairy companies, many of which had existed for 60 years or more. These companies had a strong focus on values and people and great ability to to learn and exchange knowledge. They gave less priority to maximalizing shareholder value but paradoxically outperformed the market enormously. In a conversation with Jim Collins, McKinsey director Bill Meehan said he, too, loved the book, but added: "Unfortunately, it's useless". He explained why. The companies featured in Built to Last had always been great companies. But because most companies are just good (not great) they are not interested in a book which shows how to stay great (Built to Last) but in a book that shows how to become great. The matter inspired Collins. He built a research team of 15 people and started a 5 year study. The team tried to identify companies that had jumped from good to great and had managed to continue their great growth for at least 15 years. They found 11 of these (Abbott, Circuit City, Fannie Mae, Gilette, Kimberly-Clark, Kroger, Nucor, Philip Morris, Pitney Bowes, Walgreens, Wells Fargo). These good-to-great companies (GTG's) outperformed the market by a factor 6.9 in the 15 year period of the analysis! (General Electric outperformed the market 'only' by a factor 2.8 between 1985 and 2000). The study focused on the question: what did the GTG's have in common that distinguished them from comparable companies in comparable circumstances? The GTG's were compared with two sets of other companies: 1) the direct-comparisons: companies within the same sector and in comparable circumstances, 2) the unsustained comparisons: companies that had had a breakthrough but that had not been able to continue their success. Collins intended to, from the ground up, build a theory which could explain the successful transformation of the GTG's. As it turned out, all of the GTG's had a period of build up, preparation (often lasting many years) before the breakthrough moment. Three phases could be identified: PHASE 1: DISCIPLINED PEOPLE
1. LEVEL 5 LEADERSHIP: contrary to the expectation, leaders of the GTG's turned out to be quiet, self effacing and even shy. At the same time, however, they were very determined. Mostly, they were leaders that came from within the company and that have remained unknown to the greater public. 2. FIRST WHO...THEN WHAT: also contrary to what you might expect was that GTG's first got the right people on the bus and the wrong people off and only then focused on strategic direction and vision. PHASE 2: DISCIPLINED THOUGHT
3. CONFRONT THE BRUTAL FACTS (..BUT NEVER LOSE HOPE). Characteristic was a combination of realism and hope.
4. THE HEDGEHOG CONCEPT (SIMPLICITY IN THREE CIRCLES): just like a hedgehog, the GTG's seemed to have a very simple but effective success formula: all of the activities of the company had to lie within the intersection of the following three circles: 1) what can we become best in the world at? 2) what are we passionate about? 3) what can we make money with? PHASE 3: DISCIPLINED ACTION
5. CULTURE OF DISCIPLINE: the GTG's turned out to have a culture of discipline that made hierarchy and bureaucracy largely superfluous.
6. TECHNOLOGY ACCELERATORS: none of the GTG's had technology as a cause of the success, but technology did play the role of accelerator of the success. Collins rather convincingly demonstrates the validity of this model. All of the GTG's showed these practices throughout the 15 year period, while none of the direct comparisons did. The unsustained comparisons showed some of these practises often right until the moment of their decline. Looking at the share price development of the GTG's, you might expect that there has been a clear marking point of the transformation because their share price stays rather flat at first (for many years) and then just suddenly takes off and keeps on going up. An important finding of the team was, however, that there were nó special change programs, and nó breakthrough decisions or products. On the contrary, the process evolved very fluently. To eplain, Collins uses the metaphor of the flying wheel. When you start to turn this wheel it goes heavily and moves slowly. But by continuously keeping on turning the wheel, it starts to build momentum and then, just suddenly, a point is reached at which the wheel turns at great speed without you having to turn it any harder than at first. Is this the practice of many companies? Not at all! The reality of many companies is nót consistently following a chosen path but rather swinging from one hype to another. I think this research evokes one principal issue. That the concept 'great' is operationalized in a financial way is easily understood from a practical standpoint. This criterion is clear and rather easily obtained and makes it easy to compare the companies scientifically. But is 'great' the best word to describe spectacular financial success? Does their financial success necessarily make GTG's 'great'? Wouldn't that be like saying that Bill Gates en Silvio Berlusconi are great people while implying Martin Luther King and Mother Theresa are not? But, having said that, demonstrating how companies achieve and continue spectacular financial success, in itself, is extremely interesting and valuable. This is a terrific book that, I think, has the quality to equal or perhaps even surpass the success of Built to Last. Unlike most management books (which contain creative but highly speculative ideas), the message of this book is based on well-designed research and mindful interpretation of results that is explained and justified terrifically. Despite this thoroughness, the book remains a pleasant read. A pity that the book does not offer some more practical suggestions to help readers get started. I think that would have made it even better.
Rating:
Summary: Good To Great
Review: I agree. I rate this book somewhere from good to great. That's why I give it 5 stars (there's no 41/2). Like all the other good to great "how to" books, it does lack the simple but comprehensive explanation of the philosophical underpinnings of leadership that is necessary for the reader/student to really understand. For that, I recommend a book titled "West Point" by Norman Thomas Remick. You can get it right here on Amazon.com, also.
Rating:
Summary: Jim Collins Does It Again
Review: Reader-friendly GOOD TO GREAT is one of those rare books that presents important research findings, and then explains in a clear, concise and compelling manner how to take that learning and directly apply it to effect a good-to-great transformation in any company. Collins' findings may shake up current perceptions of what it takes to make a company great. (The most crucial factor is to get the right people on the bus; charismatic leaders are a handicap; big change does not have to be wrenching, extreme, painful; you can't buy your way to greatness; people can't be motivated either by fear or by clever names or taglines for change programs...) The results from a five-year study of 11 companies that have sustained substantial gains over the market for 15 years speak for themselves - eloquently. If you are serious about changing the course of your company and you only have time to read one book this year, GOOD TO GREAT should be the one. Hats off to Jim Collins, who was not content to sit back and grin after co-authoring the highly successful BUILT TO LAST, but tackled a book that should make an even greater impact on the future of businesses, large and small. Favorite quote (Chapter 9): "Turning good into great takes energy, but the building of momentum adds more energy back into the pool than it takes out. Perpetuating mediocrity is an inherently depressing process and drains much more energy out of the pool than it puts back in... In the end, it is impossible to have a great life, unless it is a meangingful life. And it is very difficult to have a meaningful life without meaningful work." This one's a keeper.
Rating: 
Summary: Too much hype
Review: I bought this book after reading a lot of gushing reviews. I was disappointed. To me the author still does not answer the question of things managers should do in growing their companies under extreme uncertainty. There are lot of feel-good moments but very little practical and useful advice. Let me elaborate on this. I ran a B2B startup for several years. Yes, we wanted to build a great company. We had the vision, funding, the great people, and customers. Yet, we struggled to make the company work. The environment we were operating in went from "heaven" to "hell" in a matter of six months. Every operating plan we developed for "heaven" had to thrown out to adapt to "hell". I know that one needs to build a company to last and all the other cliches, but when you are in the midst of war, with no map, uncharted terrain and running out of food (funding) -- few of the principles in this book apply. That's exactly the environment most companies are in today. I am sure this book will do very well as many Fortune 1000 managers are now searching for comfort in a turbulent environment. The author probably will have many speaking engagements lecturing/cheerleading terrified managers who have never seen anything like this economy before. For instance, I predict that many retailers will be forced to go out of business by March. I wonder how the rules of this book help retailers survive this holiday season.
Rating:
Summary: A book for the ages! Excellent for managers and start-ups
Review: Jim Collins, co-author of Built To Last, has done it again! This time he spent 5 years trying to find out what differentiates good companies from great companies. This study can be applied to entrepreneurial ventures and to current corporate America. After reading this book you may see your company from a much different perspective than in the past and it may have you thinking about the effectiveness of senior managers within your company. I believe it is a book that business executives will read and keep handy for reference. This book is a study of companies that exceed their industry, the overall stock market and produce PHENOMENAL returns over a 15-year period (15 of them are very "normal" years and the next 15 years are full of explosive growth). Some key points you will take away from this book include: 1) Growth in most companies came after years and years of trying to adapt / mold a concept into something the company truly believed in. Once this happened the growth engine got going.
2) Great managers worry more about getting the right people on board and the wrong people off board BEFORE they establish a corporate stategy.
3) Most great CEOs came from within their own ranks and weren't recruited from the outside.
4) Executive compensation didn't appear to be a key driver of corporate performance
5) The respective great companies exceeded the overall stock market in creating shareholder value by at least 3x during their 15 year run measured (some for many more years). While some may say this is not much think about the steel industry and how many are filing for bankruptcy. Nucor Steel still managed to beat the S&P by more than 3x.
6) The great companies in this book blew away their comparable peer group. Wells Fargo vs. Bank of America, Kroger vs. other grocery chains, Walgreens vs. Eckerd, etc.
7) Collins describes a Level 5 leader. After reading this section I was amazed at how many CEOs I recognized as not being Level 5 leaders. This may, in the near future, shake up executive compensation plans, CEO searches and potentially affect corporate governance.
8) Technology accelerated a transformation but was regarded as a tool. It didn't define the company.
9) M&A activity played virtually no role in going from good to great. That is all I will write about the book. I could write on and on about how good this book is. Read it. It will change the way you think about business. Other very good books on the principles of business and entrepreneurship are Leading at the Speed of Growth by Catlin and Mathews and The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Jack Trout and Al Ries.
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