Good to Great

Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't

By: Jim Collins

Narrated by: Jim Collins

Length: 10 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Built to Last, the defining management study of the '90s, showed how great companies triumph over time and how long-term sustained performance can be engineered into the DNA of an enterprise from the very beginning.

But what about companies that are not born with great DNA? How can good companies, mediocre companies, even bad companies achieve enduring greatness? Are there those that convert long-term mediocrity or worse into long-term superiority? If so, what are the distinguishing characteristics that cause a company to go from good to great?

Over five years, Jim Collins and his research team have analyzed the histories of 28 companies, discovering why some companies make the leap and others don't. The findings include:

• Level 5 Leadership: A surprising style, required for greatness
• The Hedgehog Concept: Finding your three circles, to transcend the curse of competence
• A Culture of Discipline: The alchemy of great results
• Technology Accelerators: How good-to-great companies think differently about technology
• The Flywheel and the Doom Loop: Why those who do frequent restructuring fail to make the leap

©2001 Jim Collins (P)2005 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Like Built to Last, Good to Great is one of those books that managers and CEOs will be reading and rereading for years to come." (Amazon.com review)

"If you believe that a visionary leader with a strong ego is an essential component of sustained business success, then Jim Collins has a few thousand words for you. His carefully researched audiobook explains that the success of companies that outperform the market for 15 years in a row comes from selfless leadership, rigorous focus, and a culture of discipline....[T]here's another reason this book has burst through as a bestseller, which you can feel in Collins's narration: He is honestly excited about his research and unconventional findings. ( AudioFile)

Great book, delivered greatly

Jim Collins is not just a great thinker, writer & teacher, he's also a great speaker

Loved the book

My dad used to say some books are to be read and some to be digested. This is the latter.

Fantastic book for businesses and others

Must read about level 5 Management. read by the author. Provides incredible insights to life.

Great info, entertaining performance

I have so many tools to use after hearing this book. and I'm not convinced I would have gotten through it reading. It's data heavy, but Jim's reading style was engaging and deliberate.

Helpful summaries at the end of each chapter, entertaining metaphors, and the data to back it up.

A path

Good to Great provides a path to work towards being a level five leader. Every reader should be able to glean how they can become a level 5 leader and take their own micro-bus from good to great. Even considering that most of the 11 Good to Great companies experienced hard times and even failed since the publication of the book, it is clear that operating like the 11 gtg company leaders and companies will improve your career and performance. Well done Jim and team.

My personal bible

Top notch book. Incredible ammount of research and verifiable information to support every word in the book.

Enduring guide to business

Classic, thought provoking and refocusing book, even after 19 years since ite popular release. Enjoy!

Great Read

Great read and enjoyed story of how you can become good to great. Will recommend

For life as well

I come back to the principles of this book over and over and over. a quality resource

interesting

interesting concepts. I like that it tried to be scientific and data driven but topics like these have so many uncontrolled variables that a true unbiased study would be prohibitively expensive. the most valuable info was at the beginning to listen to the information with healthy skepticism and take what you can. would be interesting to dig through the research appendices