Good To Great

The third book by Jim Collins, Good to Great, is a good read for anyone involved in developing and/or running a business. This book aims to answer some of the questions he ended up with after writing his well known first book, Built to Last.

In it, Jim and his amazing research team look into how average companies can transition into great companies. They analyze 40 years of performance of companies on the NYSE, looking for ones that exceeded the general stock market by at least three times over 15 years.

The key factors they discover are: (thanks wikipedia)

* Level 5 Leadership: Leaders who are humble, but driven to do what’s best for the company.

* First Who, Then What: Get the right people on the bus, then figure out where to go. Finding the right people and trying them out in different positions.

* Confront the Brutal Facts: The Stockdale paradox – Confront the brutal truth of the situation, yet at the same time, never give up hope.

* Hedgehog Concept: Three overlapping circles: What makes you money? What could you be best in the world at? and What lights your fire?

* Culture of Discipline: Rinsing the cottage cheese.

* Technology Accelerators: Using technology to accelerate growth, within the three circles of the hedgehog concept.

* The Flywheel: The additive effect of many small initiatives; they act on each other like compound interest.

I’d recommend this book to anyone involved in making a business a success.