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Summary: Exceptionally well researched.
Review: I was led to this book while I was doing research on ROI for equity investments. I was very impressed with the findings in the Good to Great study as they pertain to management strategies and practices. The companies chosen to participate in the study exercised discipline and the leadership inspired focused activity. I believe this book is a must for all who want to build and maintain a highly successful business. I would also recommend Optimal Thinking: How To be Your Best Self as the resource to empower managers to become optimizers and poor, good and great companies to become optimized companies.
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Summary: The most influential book of its kind.
Review: It's been some time since I read this (about 2 years ago), but I was at the order page (getting a couple of copies for employees) and curiously scrolled down expecting to see nothing but glowing reviews for what has been the most influential "biz book" I've ever read.I was surprised at the widely varying opinions of this gem. I guess I shouldn't be, corporate strategies (in similar verticals) are as varied as political ideology. I'm convinced that just like there will unlikely be any book that unites Republicans and Democrats in one happy envelope of agreement, there will never be one book about business designed to focus companies on "The Right Way", that everyone will agree is totally valid. I can only offer my personal testimony to how important this book has been. Since my first read, my business' annual sales have doubled, profit is up ten fold, and we're more organized and focused than ever. The most significant takeways for me were: Figure out what your company is best at doing, then focus myopically on developing it. Get the right people on the bus BEFORE you drive it where you want to go. Each sound so rudimentary, in fact, I went into the book with a cursory understanding of its lessons and believed "I'm observing all the central tenets...duh..) only in reading the book and "unpacking" the supporting basis for each lesson did I realize just how out of alignment my business was. Exquisitely researched, intelligently organized, and well written. I recommend this book highly to anyone who has a business, or desires to run one. Hope this was helpful.
Rating:
Summary: A must read
Review: Collins (2001) "Good to Great" is a must read. It represents the value of research, analysis, and debate of data for the goal of deeper understanding. His research is so well grounded that it is difficult to identify any gaps in his findings. Some of his findings are controversial and he discusses these at the end of his book in an honest and open way. We would have liked the book to have even more detail: more stories, biographies, data, and analysis since it was so well written. The "great" companies and their comparison companies offer incredibly rich environments for the research - we especially enjoyed the discussions of Nucor and Bethlehem Steel. The reader should take time to reflect and personalize the "Hedgehog Concept" and identify where their three circles intersect. It may take some time and it may even require the reader to reread the book; but these central concepts are crucial for personal and professional growth. We look forward to Collin's future works.
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Summary: Offshore Outsourcing Trend and "good to great"
Review: As more and more corporations and leaders listed in Collins book race to implement offshore outsourcing, I wonder whether they would go from great to good. One of the metrics of a great company is their ability to take care of employees. As more and more firms practice offshoring the implications are rather alarming. After reading Collins book, I happened to read this book titled: Offshore Outsourcing -- Business Models and Best Practices by Marcia Robinson and Ravi Kalakota. I was amazed to read that over 70% of Fortune 500 corporations are adopting this practice and moving very high quality jobs overseas. And the strategy they are using is not outsourcing but building their own captive centers in places like India and the Phillipines. The captive center, basically their own subsidiary, gives them a platform as well as significant tax advantages. There was a detailed case study on GE that was illuminating. According to this book GE has over 20,000 employees in India performing back-office activities for all the different business units. Another case study on American Express illustrates a similar captive center model. This is an alarming trend. Assuming that India, China and the Philippines and Russia grow by 2M jobs every year, that means that U.S and Europe where the bulk of offshore outsourcing is happening are going to suffer 2M job losses. That scenario means an increase in unemployment of .75 to 1% per year in the U.S alone in the next three to five years. This will be catastrophic to the standard of living if this scenario plays out. I am only scratching the surface of what this book talks about. But it got me thinking... what is the role of offshore outsourcing strategies in assessing the greatness of a company? What would Jim Collins have to say about offshore outsourcing?
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Summary: Empirically based advice
Review: There are many leadership books containing leadership advice but have no solid grounding. GOOD TO GREAT contains valuable leadership advice on how to build a high performing business organization, and it is based on empirical evidence. Whether you agree with the matricies that identify "great" companies, you have to agree that the companies studied and placed in this category far out-perform the "good" companies with straight forward explanations as to why. I highly recommend this book to organizational leaders....Author of LEADERSHIP IN HIGH-PERFORMANCE ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURES.
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Summary: Why settle for good when you can become great?
Review: This well researched thesis covers the winning strategies of the most successful companies. Starting with 1,600 companies, Collins narrows it down to 11 companies that grew at astronomical rates. Another great book to read is Double Digit Growth. These books are must reading for any company that wants to achieve maximum results, to go from merely good to becoming great. The ideas are good for individuals as well.
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Summary: Great for the workers to know
Review: As an individual contributor at my company (and an MBA student), reading this book helped me to see what type of company I work for, and where the company is headed. Although it doesn't bode well for the organization I work in, at least I'll know why it'll never be a Great Company and may flounder as a mediocre one for some time.
An excellent read for anyone interested in the "inner workings" of a great company and the flaws of many average companies. This book clears alot of the fog and hype around flash in the pan organizations and helps one understand what bis involved in attaining nad maintaining great success.
Anther group who could benefit greatly are investors and potential investors. Some of the stories and examples can be applied to current day leaders and used as a litmus test for future investment. If the leaders of the companies you hope to invest in aren't practicing these behaviors, find a company whose leaders are. Make sure they have "the right people on the bus"
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Summary: Prepare for the next level
Review: Collins and his assembled team examine companies that have existed and then developed a focused cultural meme that propelled them from surviving (in some cases profitably) to excelling. This surge is measured by the stock's appreciation relative to the overall market and specific companies that are in the same industry. Is this the most significant way to measure a company's performance? It may well be if you are attempting to do it over many years, as Collins does. Unfortunately, it precluded his examination of non-publicly traded companies. He creates some new jargon to describe how this focused meme manifests itself in the examined companies. If learning this new parlance bores you, you will have a tough slog ahead. However there is much of value here. The methods and tools of adherence to a metric that is at the essence of the company are described in rich detail. It is possible to take this and replicate it at any size company or organization. I won't repeat the description of the ideas in the book that some of the other reviewers have exposed. I will commend this title to those who would like to learn how to propel their organizations to a higher level.
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Summary: Leap above mediocrity.
Review: This book is extremely well researched and offers insights that are significant in the new millenium. The book states that great leaders are low key, humble, team players who focus on results. Companies who place their efforts behind the key profitability ratio achieve better results than their mediocre competitors. I recommend this book specifically because it dispels the myth of the high profile CEO, an issue I have struggled with for many years. I agree with other reviewers that we are now in the era of Optimization (a leap above good and great) so I strongly recommend Optimal Thinking: How To Be Your Best Self to optimize mental, emotional and financial intelligence for individual and corporate optimization.
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Summary: I Like Reading About Winners
Review: I have read two books lately that have really let me inside the world of winners, Good to Great, which was actually Great, and The Craps Underground: The Inside Story of How Dice Controllers Are Winning Millions from the Casinos! Both books explain how success is achieved by hard work and insight, and how people can position themselves to be winners. This book is definitely worth reading.
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