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)

Awesome book

I was gifted this audiobook and it definitely didn’t disappoint. Very well-written and thought provoking.

A very interesting analysis

A very interesting analysis into the primary themes that exist among great companies. Although one can assume what it takes to build and sustain a great company, this evidence-based approach hammers home some concepts that might often be overlooked.

Almost a great book

It provides data that supports the ideas in my favorite books by Patrick Lencioni and Eli Goldratt.
It provides a study of what makes companies that go from good to great different from those which stay 'just' good or deteriorate.
While the study method is solid it's hard to tell from the audiobook version (without the appendix) whether there was a selection bias.
My main problem with the book is that speculation is mixed in without any disclaimers. However, it's not too hard to tell what's speculation.

Fabulous

I appreciate all the work that went into writing this book. It is very informative and life-changing.

Brilliant

Should be on everyone’s reading list once per year. I just finished it for the second time.

Interesting but Requires Revision

if you can get past the list of 'great' company's that haven't done that great. its a worth while read as it is so frequently referenced (often badly) in current literature.

I think the basic message of this book that the right type of simplicity is very hard but very worthwhile is still valid.

Incredible - Read it Again and Again

Most business books are rubbish... this is a gem. Read it again and again. Absolutely priceless.

Essential for anyone in business

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. No matter if you are an entrepreneur or an aspiring corporate executive, this book has great ideas that can apply in your business life.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

"First who, then what"

Any additional comments?

Must read. Despite its research-based background (which gives it much validity), Jim Collins narrates and brings the book to life, even when describing their research methodology.

Wonderful

I've been on a business book binge for a year now trying to learn how to create a good business. I'm an engineer by profession. So I've followed the trail of books from work the system. To emyth, built to sell and even economics books to get a well rounded understand of the systems that make up a business. Between emyth and this Good to great I think I've found the two best business book gems of the modern era.

I love the bus analogy. It's so clear and reminds me of think and grow rich. The chapter on the master mind group is akin to the get the right people on the bus concept. Jim Collins goes a step further "put the right people in the right seats"..... awwww that's what's did it for me and made this book all the more valuable. I love that.

Another great concept is the hedgehog strategy and the process of recursively asking the right questions and meeting with your master mind team over and over until you come to a simple eureka moment. This can only happen with the right people on the bus.

Anyway. This is a great book, carefully prepared and naturally read almost like a guest lecture. If you like this kind of stuff, listen to it, read it and take notes. If not, find another bus.

A coherent synthesis of essential business ideas

As of this review, this book is now 15 years old -- ancient history in the "business book industrial complex". Yet this one still worth your time. The book is thoroughly researched, and the business anecdotes illustrate the concepts well.

Other reviews comment on how much of this book is common sense. It is. And I am not sure if the book has not influenced what is now -- 15 years later -- business common sense? Another great seller from the 1980s, In Search of Excellence, introduced the concept of MBWA (Management by Wandering Around). And for a while, that became "common sense". Over the past years, I have heard the term BHAG (pronounced "bee - hag") used. It stands for Big Hairy Audacious Goal. I was introduced to this in Good to Great.

With all great business books, I find that they help me to understand and articulate what is already known and to be able to pursue that myself. For instance, "Confronting the Brutal Facts" as a business concept is not revolutionary, but it is essential. The "shut down the mills" decision of Kimberly Clark, told in this book, informed some difficult decisions I have made in my career.

You will find this book a great synthesizer of business concepts that are essential for any well-run organization. And in the end, the findings and concepts in this book are not surprising. What is surprising is that more firms do not adhere to these principles.

Put this on the list with Peter Drucker and other must-read/listens. You will not regret it.