This book has generated so many successful business practices among my client base that who can genuinely put it down? As a companion to my own book, "The Expert's Edge," it completes the picture for business success. Read it over and over and over!

I ordered Good to Great along with Amazon's recommended pairing Squawk!: How to Stop Making Noise and Start Getting Results and they are a great match!

First, Good to Great provides a macro level view of what strategies various companies have employed over the last few decades and speculates a link between these strategies and the company's stock performance. As a leader, this book is helpful to consider your own strategies for your organization against some of the best companies in the world.

Squawk! is the perfect pairing for G2G because it covers the strategies an individual leader needs to employ to get commitment from his or her employees, top-notch teamwork and top performance. No leader can operate optimally without the skills to succeed on the one-on-one level, and this is what makes Squawk! such a great match!

A few years ago, the company I was with purchased copies of Good to Great for managers. I was blown away by the information the book contained. The book went against my thinking at the time. In quick order, I changed my mind-set about several topics and found my `new ways' were more productive to my employer and my career.

Perplexed, I wondered why the executive management of the organization didn't practice the theories advanced in this book. They were after all, the ones that had purchased copies for their managers. Sad to say, the company began a downward spiral and several divisions were sold - myself included.

To my surprise, my new CEO was a huge fan of Good to Great and referred to it often. Outside of his office was a copy of the book permanently resting on a coffee table. In my good fortune, I learned that this CEO and the organization, took the lessons from Good to Great to heart. The company grew and my career grew.

I highly recommend this book to anyone in management. I have included it on my Amazon lists and my Amazon guides. I have stated this is, quite simply, the best book on management available. Michael L. Gooch, SPHR Author of Wingtips with Spurs

The book arrived much sooner than expected and in great shape. Very pleased with the service and product.

Working in Church leadership, I found Mr. Miller and team's work challenging and appealing. What seems obvious in being great is actually the antithesis of 'conistent greatness'. I would recommend this book for any organization. A+ for those of us in ministry!

This book by Jim Collins is one of the most successful books to be found in the "Business" section of your local megabookstore, and given how it purports to tell you how to take a merely good company and make it great, it's not difficult to see why that might be so. Collins and his crack team of researchers say they swam through stacks of business literature in search of info on how to pull this feat off, and came up with a list of great companies that illustrate some concepts central to the puzzle. They also present for each great company what they call a "comparison company," which is kind of that company with a goatee and a much less impressive earnings record. The balance of the book is spent expanding on pithy catch phrases that describe the great companies, like "First Who, Then What" or "Be a Hedgehog" or "Grasp the Flywheel, not the Doom Loop." No, no, I'm totally serious.

I've got several problems with this book, the biggest of which stem from fundamentally viewpoints on how to do research. Collin's brand of research is not my kind. It's not systematic, it's not replicable, it's not generalizable, it's not systematic, it's not free of bias, it's not model driven, and it's not collaborative. It's not, in short, scientific in any way. That's not to say that other methods of inquiry are without merit --the Harvard Business Review makes pretty darn good use of case studies, for example-- but way too often Collins's great truths seemed like square pegs crammed into round holes, because a round hole is what he wants. For example, there's no reported search for information that disconfirms his hypotheses. Are there other companies that don't make use of a Culture of Discipline (Chapter 6, natch) but yet are still great according to Collins's definition? Are there great companies that fail to do some of the things he says should make them great? The way that the book focuses strictly on pairs of great/comparison companies smacks of confirmatory information bias, which is a kink in the human mind that drives us to seek out and pay attention to information that confirms our pre-existing suppositions and ignore information that fails to support them.

Relatedly, a lot of the book's themes and platitudes strike me as owing their popularity to the same factors that make the horoscope or certain personality tests like the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator so popular: they're so general and loosely defined that almost anyone can look at that and not only say that wow, that make sense, and I've always felt the same way! This guy and me? We're geniuses! The chapter about "getting the right people on the bus" that extols the virtue of hiring really super people is perhaps the most obvious example. Really, did anyone read this part and think "Oh, man. I've been hiring half retarded chimps. THAT'S my problem! I should hire GOOD people!" Probably not, and given that Collins doesn't go into any detail about HOW to do this or any of his other good to great pro tips, I'm not really sure where the value is supposed to be.

It also irked me that Good to Great seems to try and exist in a vacuum, failing to relate its findings to any other body of research except Collins's other book, Built to Last. The most egregious example of this is early on in Chapter 2 where Collins talks about his concept of "Level 5 Leadership," which characterizes those very special folks who perch atop a supposed leadership hierarchy. The author actually goes into some detail describing Level 5 leaders, but toward the end of the chapter he just shrugs his figurative shoulders and says "But we don't know how people get to be better leaders. Some people just are." Wait, what? People in fields like Industrial-Organizational Psychology and Organizational Development have been studying, scientifically, what great leaders do and how to do it for decades. We know TONS about how to become a better leader. There are entire industries built around it. You would think that somebody on the Good to Great research team may have done a cursory Google search on this.

So while Good to Great does have some interesting thoughts and a handful of amusing or even fascinating stories to tell about the companies it profiles (I liked, for example, learning about why Walgreens opens so many shops in the same area, even to the point of having stores across the street from each other in some cities), ultimately it strikes me as vague generalities and little to no practical information about how to actually DO anything to make your company great.

Great book on leadership and promotes excellent ideas for company success. Easy read and very useful. The points presented make perfect sense and are very practical. Not a good book but a great book!

I bought the book after seeing him on PBS. I must say I am a little diappointed. I was really hoping for some deep insight and inspiration. Instead I read about a bunch of research from newspaper clippings by some 20-something reasearch students who could not run a Quicky-Mart as well as Apu.

Collins has some great concepts Level 5 Leaders and the "Stockdale Principle" and then some things to turn on the eclectic filter as you read.

Find or steal one of Tom Peters books on Excellence - Before you read this

The egoism, hubris, and cold-bloodedness that is sanctioned by this book is frightening. Loyalty becomes the only virtue. If you've worked for an executive who has bought into this, you'll understand how we ended up in Iraq.

Good to Great is a great book for anyone in business. I was amazed at some of the less obvious lessons learned from the years of research as well as the simple truths that seemed obvious after they were revealed.
I am a small business owner with a professional degree but with no formal business education. It was good to read "research" that was not all stuffy and dry. A particularly strong point for me was the argument for why I should strive to be great and not just "good" or even "mediocre". I am planning on reading Jim Collins' other book, Built to Last.

"Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't" by Jim Collins was a real eye opener for me.

In this book, Jim Collins, observes 28 companies over the span of 5 years. Over this period of time 11 of the companies make the leap from "Good to Great". The findings in this book were truly eye opening and inspirational. I loved the chapter on Level 5 leadership. Collins starts the chapter using a quote by Harry S. Truman "You can accomplish anything in life, provided that you do not mind who gets the credit". This is the essence of the book.

I also loved that in this book he speaks about how the executives that ignited the transformation for companies that went from good to great, did not figure out how to drive the bus, but how to get the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off) and then they figured out where to drive it.

Another book I really enjoyed reading about transformation is Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment. Any person who is looking to grow their business would greatly benefit from reading both these books.

The condition of this book was excellent. I recieved it in a very timely manner. If you currently own or are looking to own your own business, this book is invaluable. The concepts are concrete, realistic, and attainable. I highly recommend this book.

If you are like me and struggle to keep a business running at a profitable level, then you need books like this one. In my opinion, "The Businessman's Bible" is an alternative title for this great and informative text.

This book is gleaned from facts acquired through years of researching the ups and downs of thousands of companies, to learn what works and why, and what definitely should be avoided in the business world.

If you are in business or even contemplating going into business, then you must read this book.

Real Life Dramas - Volume One

Darren G. Burton

This is one of the most quotable books around. There are excellent tidbits, which can be applied to everyday business. For example, Right people on the bus, Hedgehog concept, Level 5 leadership....a dabbling for everyone to enjoy and quote.

Nutshell review - This is an excellent book. Great insights and ways of thinking about being better than just good. Very motivating and a must read for every manager.

I find that I spontaneously use and spout out "Jim Collinisms" (is that a word!) based on the concepts in this book. As a business owner of a marketing firm that helps contract manufacturers get new customers, every day I use the principles of

* Getting the right people on the bus and then getting them in the right seats.
* Creating a Big Hairy Audacious Goal and using that as the vision to keep all the horses pulling in the same direction.
* Focusing on what you're really really good at that is your USP - Unique Selling Proposition, your niche, your sweet spot.

Thanks Jim -- I hope to someday be a level 5 leader, but need to get beyond the 3's/4's of just good...

Good to Great is about a research to discover how an ordinary company can make the transition from being good, to achieving breakthrough and becoming great. He begins the book by describing the transition from good to great as a flywheel that consists of 3 stages of discipline with each stage containing 2 key concepts. What's important to understand is that becoming a great company takes time; it is a slow build up process that takes disciplined people, disciplined thought, and disciplined action leading to breakthrough. A great company does not become great overnight through a single defining miracle moment, savior, or revolutionary idea.

Jim Collins stresses the idea of Level 5 Leaders and having the right people on the bus, which is crucial to having a great company. These concepts are discussed in the first stage of the process, which really makes one re-evaluate the type of companies that one would want to be associated with. These first two ideas had me questioning my own personal work ethics, abilities, attitude, and overall character, hoping that I can be the right person on the bus and someday evolve into a Level 5 Leader. It takes great people to make a great company, so the question is are you or can you be someone great? The next stage of disciplined thought explains how one must confront the brutal facts of the current reality, you can't overcome obstacles or challenges unless you face them head on and have faith that you will prevail. Once this has been accomplished, a clear understanding of what the company can be the best in the world at, what the people in the company can be deeply passionate about, and what drives the economic engine of the company should be addressed. The intersection of these three ideas is what Collins calls the "hedgehog concept" and is another significant factor in becoming a great company. Without this insight and understanding, the company has no direction or light to follow. This stage is, in my opinion, the most difficult of this process. It is probably where most companies get stuck and are not able to clearly grasp and understand what is their hedgehog concept. The final stage is really just following through and having the discipline to make the right decisions and choices, by creating a "culture of discipline", which completely relies on the establishment of the first two stages. This is the chapter that really brings all the concepts together and how to put it all into action. The idea is not having to manage the people in the system, but rather managing the system itself.

Overall, this book was a very easy and intriguing read. Collins does a great job at keeping the reader interested with the various examples and stories that he incorporates into the ideas that he is trying to get across. He uses a lot of fascinating jargons or statements that really stuck in my mind such as "rinsing your cottage cheese." I believe the ideas that are presented in Good to Great can really open some people eyes and give better understanding of why we sometimes find ourselves dreading the idea of work at one company and excited about going to work at another. On that note, I would highly recommend this book and leave you with a quote from Pablo Picasso, which was used, in the last chapter of the book, "It is your Work in life that is the ultimate seduction."

I would rate this book as a five star book. It gives the reader different points of view regarding the management of different companies that made the transition from good companies to great companies. The most important subject of the book revolves around the people. In the book, Jim Collins describes how great companies made the transition because they had Great people working for them that understood the Hedgehog concept. Overall, I would really recommend this book to management because it describes how to improve the quality and the performance of your company.

Ismael Favela

Jim Collins did a great job at analyzing how companies go from Good to Great.

Jim and his staff of researchers were able to compile data on the great companies to compare with the mediocre or weaker companies. This data portrayed very well how simplicity is a key component to great success. The hedgehog concept displays how a simple idea can be useful. Staying away from confusion and too much clutter allows a company to stay focused on what they want to do. Also, finding the right people for the company philosophy makes establishing and maintaining a great company much easier.

The book was a great guideline for transforming average companies into great ones. He also established why reading both books would help in building great companies. He ties the concepts together very well.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to go beyond being satisfied with success alone. Basically, everyone should remember to do what they do best and take control of those opportunities that are made available.

I rarely if ever write reviews, but thought it important to reflect on the impact Good to Great has had on my business consciousness. The real world examples are aspirational and show the impact leaders committed to being the best in their sector can have on the achievement of success. Whilst my use of these concepts does not relate to the management of a multinational blue chip, they are very relevant to my approach to sales within the recruitment business I manage. Recruitment focused on core areas of specialisation and the development of key communities of candidates is very much a driver of success and this is the power of the headhog concept at its most basic level. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't

Jim Collins and his research team have done an extraordinary job! There is a reason why this book has sold way over two million copies and why it was named the #1 Bestseller.
When I first purchased a copy of the book and flipped through the pages, I was a little overwhelmed with all the charts illustrated throughout the text. I thought to myself, "oh no, it's going to be another book where I will be hugging the dictionary and scratching my head!" However, it was nothing that I had predicted. It was so easy to read and comprehend as every chart and figure was carefully explained and simply exemplified.
What I enjoyed most about reading the book was the fact that everything here is common sense, nothing is new. For example, we know that hiring the right people is essential in running a great company and being able to insert them into the right tasks (their strengths) will not only create a better working atmosphere and environment, but establishes a comfort zone and constructs a relationship between management and employee in regards to trust and understanding. Additionally, as in every company, the sooner the company is able to understand, accept, and confront their brutal facts (weaknesses), then the better and stronger the company can become. "Good to great companies faced just as much adversity as the comparison companies, but responded to that adversity differently." Lastly, knowing and understanding what you are passionate about, what you can be the best in the world at, and getting paid to do just that will help push and drive yourself to become Great, as the motivation is there.
This is all common sense knowledge, and a stroke of genius on how Jim Collins and his research team were able to validate and justify it. They have proven what we know is true and what we know should work with years of research through company comparisons and specific examples.
Overall, this is definitely a book worth purchasing. It provides numerous examples of specific scenarios that reflect the concepts and theory related. And most notably, it is written so simply that a sixth grade student will be able to understand it.

This book challenges every business, school, and organization to uncover the reasons why we settle for "good enough" instead of great. As a school administrator willing to search and push for continuous improvement, I have kept this book close by. The author Jim Collins, with his research team uses data from successful organizations to support the belief that any organization can substantially improve its performance to the point of becoming great. The good to great ideas presented are straightforward, conclusive with great realistic strategies, and well supported with data. Among their findings are 1) Level 5 Leadership: It all starts with a leader who possesses personal humility and professional will, 2) First Who...Then What: Any organization must get the right people on the bus first before it moves forward 3) Confront the Brutal Facts: An organization must objectively look at the current reality through examination of the facts. 4) Hedgehog Concept: A very simple concept that any organization must find its core, and be the best in the world around that core. 5) A Culture of Discipline: Disciplined people and disciplined thought bring disciplined action and greater performance. 6) Technology Accelerators: Technology can take a significant role in helping an organization transform to greatness. I believe that any organization can make a conscious choice to follow "Good to Great" concepts and after time, see itself accomplish a breakthrough similar to what Collins illustrates with a sustainable momentum similar to a heavy flywheel.

Greg Tiemann
Assistant Principal
Millard North High School

I like the way 'Good to Great' outlines many corporate leadership attributes, especially discipline, which is rare these days. I can honestly say Mr Collins' book is helping my company go from OK-ordinary-good to great, as shown by our bottom line. Lately, I picked up the book by Norman Thomas Remick, '..Going Beyond Leadership of Character..', and I can honestly say it is already helping me, personally, to grow as a leader, and is the 'Good to Great' counterpart dealing, not with taking a business or corporation from OK-ordinary-good to great, but taking an individual from good to great in leadership. The Collins book is obviously the gold standard for companies, the Remick book is the new guy on the block for ambitious leaders of character.

In one of the best examples of literature on paradigm shift thinking, Jim Collins writes a book that challenges the very core of organizational thinking and how companies function. At the very heart of the book is the premise that "Good is the enemy of great". Collins then provides examples of top companies that made a concerted effort to get beyond good and become great companies that have sustained growth for decades.

In order to go from good to great, Collins outlines an approach that all organizations need to go through. One major point of emphasis is to get the right people on the bus. This clever analogy is echoed throughout the book and points to the fact that in order to move an organization forward, that organization needs to have the right employees doing the right jobs and if they aren't move them around until they are.

Another fascinating concept that Collins introduces is the Hedgehog Concept. Collins describes this process in three very important questions that all organizations need to answer. What are you deeply passionate about? What can you be the best in the world at? What drives your economic engine? Finding the answers to these questions ultimately will lead an organization to the flywheel of success or the doom loop.

Overall, Jim Collins has created a masterful design in paradigm shift thinking. In order to change an organization, a shift from the present paradigms to ones that are permeating on the edge needs to take place. In order to do this, the right people need to be on the bus and the paradigm needs to contribute to your organization being the best in the world at something. If not, an organization might continue to be good, but will never be great.

I bought this because I have to read this for a class and wanted to listen to it in the car while on the road. This is definitely a "must read" for anyone that has aspirations of becoming a top level manager. It is very inspirational. The difficult part is trying to make the changes necessary to become great. Very thought provoking.

This book outlined many areas of leadership especially in the area of discipline which I find the most telling. His matrix of creative discipline is particularly insightful for anyone looking to improve their leadership skills in a team environment.

There's not a lot to this book, but for me it was a must read. The author explains his findings simply, but since everything is based on research instead of subjective opinion there's really no reason for him to ramble on. I also bought the audio CDs, which I recommend for air travel.

Having read Good to Great and implementing its principles into the every day operation of my company I can say without question this book is one of the best ever written. Billing Precision would not be the same without this book. We have used it as a guide or road map to our success. Today Billing Precision is the fastest growing billing company for Chiropractors in the US and in just three short years has grabbed a significant portion of its' market. Using the Good to Great principles Billing Precision has redefined how outsourced insurance billing and practice management software is used by chiropractors across the country. I can honestly say that Jim Collins' work has made a huge impact on my business and I definitely recommend that everyone read this book.

Let's see the results of these great companies...did they even keep up with the general market since this book was publish...no...not only that many are doing abysmally such as Circuit City and Fannie Mae. Even though Jim Collins stood firm against the idea of a 'new economy' and he wisely advocates against high-profile CEOs and golden parachutes, he didn't see the massive bubble that these companies were a part of and that attributed to their 'greatness'. The empirical analysis wasn't really empirical at all and failed to see the hidden assumptions in the research. I recommend potential buyers spend money on a good economics text or course, not on this overrated junk bond of a book.

I read this book along with its companion piece for non-profit organizations. It is filled with good, practical advice that can be applied to almost any organization. It's also a very easy read.

I have owned this book on CD since '03 and just this year purchased the hardcover edition. Through his teams research and analysis, Jim Collins has constructed a potentially timeless classic for business people and leaders. GTG will add to your professional talents, it is inspiring and compelling for those of us that border on obsession with our professional lives. This book has helped me to hire and fire. I revisit it regularly for inspiration. GTG is truly an investment in your own future. If you can apply the techniques written about here you will see a difference in the quality of the life for you and those that you work with daily. The simple concepts of first who, then what and the hedgehog, bring a simplistic and valuable way to approach our day to day challenges. Those very simple core values of GTG leaders are easy to articulate but very difficult to practice and execute consistently. Once mastered they are very powerful and rewarding. Time spent with GTG will certainly provide a return. Don't wait any longer. Your thoughts and opinions are always welcome.

This book does a great job of making business interesting. It literally reads like a novel. I couldn't put it down, even though I just completed it for the third time. Although I do not subscribe to it in totality, its concepts are based upon thousands of research hours and are well presented with plenty of examples from the famous companies included in the book. I have handed it out to the management team of a recently purchased company and have no doubt that at the very least it will stimulate strategic thinking. I recommend it highly!

Jim Collins is a business professor and author of three previous business books. Good to Great seeks to answer the questions, "Is it possible for a good company with an ingrained culture of average performance to become truly great?" and, if so, "how?"

Indeed, Collins argues, the answer is "yes," (hence the name oft the book) and then provides seven characteristics of companies that make such a transition. After engaging in a thorough analysis of several years worth of Fortune 500 companies (the research is explained in the first chapter and several indices), Collins identified a handful of companies that made such a leap (in markets average or difficult markets) and contrasted them with nearly identical companies that remained average.

Collins argues that good-to-great companies begin with disciplined people--putting a highly self-differentiated person as the CEO (or its equivalent), and then hiring other self-differentiated people/firing weak or aggressive people/placing strong employees in places with the most growth potential. Good-to-great companies also practiced disciplined thought in that they came to terms with difficult facts while maintaining optimism and followed a business plan with a limited focus. Finally, these companies displayed disciplined action in that they were self-disciplined (no bureaucratic policies or carrot-and-stick policies were needed to force productivity), and used technology wisely to keep within their narrow focus (not adopting technology for technology's sake or allowing its siren song to change the narrow business plan). Finally, Collins argues that success was difficult for these good-to-great companies to come by at first, but then mild successes yielded moderate successes; moderate successes yielded good successes; good successes yielded wild success to the point that the organization seemed to be on autopilot.

I found Collin's arguments compelling and I enjoyed his writing style. He presented concepts in memorable ways and presented stories to illustrate his points. I also appreciated his constant continual comparison of specific good-to-great companies with always-good companies (and even declining companies). It should be noted that this reader is not a businessman and some of the jargon was lost on me, but nevertheless the use of jargon didn't prevent me from understanding his main points.

It should also be noted that Collins has written a follow-up monograph for those in not-for-profit organizations. This reader found that there were certain aspects of this business book that didn't loan itself well to church work or work in other social sector organizations. The monograph is called "Good to Great and the Social Sector"

Recommended.

Fascinating case studies and example from the business world of success, failure and the reason for both. This is a good read for anyone interested in transforming their business or organization. More than that, it's a great read for anyone who is even part of a business or organization.

As Mark Twain said "There are lies, dam lies and statics". Jim Collins missed the point at what makes a great company, Common Sense. He lost me at his Hedgehog concept and show his Stanford biases. Anyone who can speak well of Carl Marx I have a problem with. This is the problem with America business today. Too many satiations like Mr. Collins here. Keep it simple, use Common Sense, make great companies.

in this book you will find a long blablabla about some succesfull companies.

problem is that many other companies, plenty of them and plenty of Business Owners followed the same ideas and went BANKRUPT

but this book doesnt say about them.

just hype here... a reason to waste time and money:(

This book is a must-have but only because it is a concise summary of a much more detailed work by Peter Drucker.

My bosses boss loves this and I was made to read it as part of my annual P-928. I read it on the plane over to Rome from Detroit and it was a good solid read. Its a well documented research study on companies who were average performers who then had 15 years of sustained 2.5 or 3x stock market performance. I did appreciate the explanations as to the choices the researchers made and why.
Nevertheless, it seems to be more for middle level managers and above given that the main thesis appears to be you want a work horse CEO and not a show boat as well as one who digs down into what their company can do best and then drags the company through his dogeddness and sheer will into makeing any and all changes necessary to pursue that goal.

The basic concept of "Good to Great" is that there appear to be companies that outperform others quite spectacularly for a number of years. Jim Collins sets out the results of his research team that looked at "why?"

I'm not a statistician, but whenever I read a book such as this I get worried about the selection criteria. Who says these companies are great? The key measure used by Collins is "Ratio of Cumulative Stock Returns to General Market". Such a measure only looks at the company through the eyes of one stakeholder - the owners. There are also stakeholders called customers, suppliers, staff, the industry and the community - these do not seem to be considered. Taking just one stakeholder measurement does not in my mind, deem the company "great".

The author lists eight reasons for the selected companies success. Ranging from what he calls "level 5 leadership" through to continual persistence - akin to pushing against a giant flywheel. These may or may not be accurate reflections of the reasons for success. But how does one emulate them?

This is a dense book on leadership - perhaps a little too dense for me. Nothing wrong with the concepts, but I found it a little hard to concentrate. I would have liked to see shorter chapters that engaged my thinking, rather than long winded explanations. I'd also like to hear how these "great" companies manage their other stakeholders.

If you liked "In Search Of Excellence", you'll like this book.

Bob Selden, author What To Do When You Become The Boss: How new managers become successful managers

This fast paced book was required reading for my company's management team and then became required reading for the entire company! Full of interesting case studies and comparisons, it sheds light on key concepts that will be helpful to any size organization.

Watch as these companies dominate their industry with CEOs that put the company before their own personas.

As CEO Coach, Poet and author of a leadership book that help leaders unleash their genius and the genius of their corporations, I find this book and valuale resource. It creates a profound framework to lead from. Many of my clients have used it as a resource, as have I. Paul David Walker Unleashing Genius: Leading Yourself, Teams and Corporations

Jim Collins has done everyone a favor by writing this book. That's right. Everyone. This is not just a book about business, although it is of course true that the research done for this book was conducted in the corporate world. Nevertheless, Collins points out very early in the book (p. 15) that the book is not strictly about business but rather timeless principles of good to great.

One cannot help but be impressed with the thoroughness of the research itself. There are about 40 pages in the appendices explaining the research project (I'm still wondering where appendices 3-4 and 6-7 went, however). The goal was to find out what differentiated companies that became "great" from companies that were merely "good." In other words, this is not a book about how to succeed in business; this is a book about how to excel in business (and in anything else for that matter).

The principles of greatness begin with "Level 5 Leadership." Collins' identification of great leaders is very helpful. It's not that good or mediocre companies do not have very good and talented leaders. But the jump from level 4 to level 5 leadership is truly a great from good to great. The second principle is "First Who . . . Then What" where Collins shows that the great companies concerned themselves first with getting the right people "on the bus" before deciding on the direction the company should go. Third, great companies must be able to "Confront the Brutal Facts (Yet Never Lose Faith)." Such companies always believe that they will become the best, but they do not hold this faith in spite of the evidence. They do not ignore reality; they engage it with tenacity and optimism, even when the news around them is not all that encouraging. Fourth is what Collins calls "The Hedgehog Concept." Great companies learn to identify what they are passionate about, what they can be the best in, and what drives your resource engine. The ability to maintain simplicity within these "three circles" and to resist the temptation to chase every possible opportunity around them is a key factor in helping companies go from good to great. Fifth, great companies maintain "A Culture of Discipline" and sixth they make use of "Technology Accelerators" (leveraging technology to accelerate momentum and not to initiate momentum. All of these principles work together to create the seventh principle, "The Flywheel Effect," in which the business gains momentum on their way to greatness.

Collins points out that there is a moment of breakthrough that every good-to-great company achieves. "Ultimately, to reach breakthrough means having the discipline to make a series of good decisions consistent with your Hedgehog Concept--disciplined action, following from disciplined people who exercise disciplined thought. That's it. That's the essence of the breakthrough process" (p. 184). And he argues that this moment of breakthrough is attainable for all companies.

As an aside, I must say a few words that anyone wishing to read Good to Great needs to also avail themselves of Collins' work Good to Great and the Social Sectors: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great (NP: 2005). Collins states that at least one third of the readers of Good to Great did not come from the business world. Many of them were involved with the social sector, and Collins is eager to show in this short work the many similarities (and a few differences) that exist in seeking greatness both inside and outside of business.

For anyone eager to explore some objective ways that they can become better in their work, I would highly recommend these two works by Jim Collins. They are enjoyable to read even for those of us who are not involved in business. I'm confident that anyone who picks up these works will find some very useful information. Perhaps that's one factor that makes a book go from good to great. I give this book 4 ½ stars.

What a great book! Although I own a small recording studio and graphic design business, there was so much in this book that I can apply to these endeavors, just like the big corporations that "made the cut." The first chapter may be a tough go but everything discussed is later covered in detail. In retrospect, I recommend starting on the last page of chapter 1 and then going to the end of the book. After that, read chapter one and it will all come together. "Good to Great" is yet another step up towards the success of our businesses!

James C. Collin, the author of this book, is a business consultant, author, and lecturer on the subject of company sustainability and growth. He frequently contributes to Harvard Business Review, Business Week, Fortune and other magazines and journals.

What is prominent about the book "Good to Great" is that it doesn't attribute corporate success to a single set of factor. Instead, it makes you think differently about the conventional wisdoms and rules of thumbs which are frequently (and falsely) associated with prominent organizations.

Collins encourages to lead with questions, not answers; to engage in dialogue and debate, not coercion; to conduct autopsies without blame; and to build red flag mechanisms that turn information into information that cannot be ignored. The concept of making tough questions was first embraced by Ronald Heifetz in his book "Leadership Without Easy Answers", but it is more focused to individuals, while "Good to Great" mostly spotlights an organization as a whole.

There is another prominent book about great companies: "Leading the Revolution" by Gary Hamel. While Hamel mostly draws attention to technology accelerators, Collins, in contrast, cautions that technology should not be regarded as a potential panacea for all that ails a company. The folly of this kind of thinking was revealed in the aftermath of the crash of the tech bubble in the early 2000s. Collins contends that the good-to-great companies approach the prospect of new and emerging technologies with the same prudence and careful deliberation that characterizes all of their other business decisions.

Good to Great. It's such a goog book that it has not only become the best selling business book of all times, but it's title has become a very common phase. "...let's take things from good to great...". "...we went from good to great..."...etc. and so on.

Yes, a great book. But I also found Good to Great to be an even better tool. I've used it a number of times to build new teams, correct teams, build a business and correct businesses.

If you've yet to read it do so. But approach it as a great book and even better tool and you will get a lot more out of it.

Wow! Good to Great is a wonderful book! It's full of fantastic ideas on how to build and sustain a powerful company! I suggest that you pick up a copy of this inspiring book right away!

The book was receive in the condition that was expected and was delivered on time.

Having been born in the 1950s, this was a fascinating read about companies that I remember growing up with, and seeing how the leadership in these companies succeeded or failed. It is a very interesting read, with applications that could be made to leadership in any genre. Worth the time to read.

Review of: "Good to Great - Why Some Companies Make the Leap ... and Others Don't"

By: Jim Collins

The book "Good to Great" is a report on the results of a lengthy business research study. Jim Collins and a team of researchers asked the question: "Why do some companies make the leap from being good companies to being great companies, and why not others?" Over the course of the book this foundational question is asked several different ways.

In chapter eight of "Good to Great" the author says that the fundamental question a CEO should ask is: "What can we do better than any other company in the world, that fits our economic denominator and that we have passion for?" (Page 180)

In chapter nine of "Good to Great" the author introspectively asked what motivated him to undertake the huge project in the first place. His motivation was to understand man's search for meaning, in his own words: "... why greatness ... the search for meaning, or more precisely, the search for meaningful work." (Page 208)

Jim Collins' previous book, "Built to Last" (NS) is a description of sustained greatness in American companies. After publishing "Built to Last" the author asked how companies got to be great in the first place. "Good to Great" answers that question.

Book Summary

Jim Collins and a team of twenty researchers studied the difference between companies that are good and companies that become great. The definition of greatness was made in very practical terms. A great company yields a sustained high return to the owners. For this research a high yield was seven times the general stock market over a fifteen-year period. The study took 10 ½ years of researcher effort and resulted in 2,000 pages of interview transcripts.

The change from "good to great" is guided by, what the author calls, a level five leader. The common characteristics of level five leaders are: modesty, humility, willfulness, courage and company orientation. Level five leaders are unselfish.

Executive compensation plans don't matter between good and great companies. The important thing is that they are reasonable and fair. Executive compensation has to make sense, but will not move a company from "good to great".

Great companies place more emphasis on character than on skills, education, special knowledge or work experience. Skills can be taught.

Great companies are tough places to work. Great companies are rigorous, but not ruthless. Managers and employees are held to high standards. Standards are ferocious and consistent. Great companies seldom have cost cutting layoffs, but underperformers are fired.

Practical disciplines for being rigorous rather than ruthless:
1. When in doubt, don't hire - keep looking. Place tremendous emphasis on finding the right people.
2. When you know you need to make a people change, act instead of delay. If you feel the need to tightly manage someone, you've made a hiring mistake. Do not hire a lot of people and keep the best.
3. Put your best people on the best opportunities and not the biggest problems.

Breakthrough results come about by a series of good decisions, diligently executed and accumulated, one on top of another. Start with an honest and diligent effort to determine the truth of the current situation. The right decisions often become self-evident. You absolutely cannot make good decisions without first confronting the brutal truth.

Four principles of creating an atmosphere where the truth is heard:
1. Lead with questions, not answers.
2. Engage in dialog and debate, not coercion.
3. Conduct autopsies without blame. With the right people it's not necessary to assign blame, but only to search for understanding and learning.
4. Build red flag mechanisms.

Organize the entire world into simple ideas. All the "good to great" companies had simple strategies. The simple strategy guided all their actions.

The simple strategic concepts come from three ideas:
1. Discover what the company can be best in the world at. Focus on this world-class strength.
2. Use insight into what drives your economic engine. Determine what single thing dominates profit and cash flow.
3. Decide what you are deeply passionate about.

Just because you have done something for a long time doesn't mean you can be best in the world.

A culture of discipline
1. Build a culture of freedom and responsibility within a framework.
2. Fill the culture with self disciplined people willing to go to extreme lengths to fulfill their responsibility.
3. Don't confuse discipline with being a tyrannical disciplinarian.
4. Exercise focus.

Freedom and responsibility together allow management to manage the system and not the people. People in great companies go to great extremes to fulfill their responsibilities, bordering on fanaticism. Interview and secondary sources made continual use of words like disciplined, dogged, rigorous, determined, diligent, precise, fastidious, systematic, methodical, workmanlike, demanding, consistent, focused, accountable and responsible.

The fact that something is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is irrelevant unless it fits into the corporate focus.

On the use of technology, the author quotes Bertrand Russell: "Men would rather die than think, many do." Technology, when used correctly, is an accelerator of momentum and not a creator of momentum.

Personal reaction to "Good to Great"

This entire study is just the sort of thing a statistician is trained and inclined to do. It was highly dependent on good experimental design, data collection and statistical technique.

Most readers want to be level five leaders and will see some of the traits in themselves. Most readers will realize that they are not yet there.

Jim Collins found quite a list of differences between his great companies and typical companies. In my opinion the most important difference is in leadership. The one most obvious difference between the two types of companies is the magnanimity of their leaders. Company executives usually rise within an organization by personal ambition. A level five leader makes the company great for the enhancement of the company, not for personal gain.

This book forces the reader to confront realities. Some common uncomfortable realities are:
- Most hiring policies will not get a company from good to great. Most hiring is based too much on skill and not enough on character. The level five leader needs to find people with the passion for the business.
- Focus is crucial and every leader knows it. However, many of us still allow ouryselfs to take on projects for reasons that seem good at the time and bad later. I call these projects one-off projects. They always take on far more energy and resources (especially time) than expected at the start. One-off projects sometimes are good opportunities, but they always take too much time and delay more strategic projects.

If a leader wants his/her company to go from good to great, the process will start with him/her.

References:

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't

Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies