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)

Amazing

This book has tons of great info and value. A must read. The world needs more level 5 leaders!

Resiliency is the one of the best ingredient

Hope to achieve level 5 attitude and skill set as well as the knowledge to become good to great!!

Mr. Self development

My friends were talking about this book years ago. I finally got a chance to listen to it, and it was just what I needed to hear in my pursuit of self development. You made it clear that winning is a mindset, a strategy, a mental recipe that has to be developed through me hedgehog concept and what I say yes or no to.

Thank you for all the hard work-studies you put in the book.
Thank you for the stories that brought your point home
Thank you for helping me be a better person.

Wow, Amazing Study Jim! You should receive a Nobel Prize for your work!

Absolutely amazing book. I am going to be using your work as a framework for my business. Thank you so much. Life changing information you have blessed us with!

Actually Helps

Not like other business books, this one is actually a research effort that was turned into a book so it hits differently, not one rich guy telling me why he is better than me, but science, business science 🙌🏽

Great thought provoking read

It left me feeling fired up about making changes at work. The right people are everything!

My favorite book

Incredible!!! The narration was fantastic and each and every story and data point we're amazing. Truly incredible

very applicable

I really understand how any company can take the information presented and make direct changes to focusing on a hedgehog concept and well not every company will always become great, every company can benefit from the information and become better than they were before applying the knowledge in this book

Business education at its best!!!

Excellent information! Well studied case histories, Jim's team thoroughly investigates each company's history used in the book, then gives a comparison company to allow us "the listener" know exactly what the companies people did to make that particular company succeed in certain area's or fail... each scenario is so detailed there is no room for error. This book is very well written.
Thank you so much Jim Collins & the people that helped you write this book, I loved it!!!
I Loved: "How the Mighty fall", too!

INSIGHTFUL, POWERFUL FINDINGS

What made the experience of listening to Good to Great the most enjoyable?

Jim Collins really is enjoyable to listen to, the way he reads is the way he intended this book to be read, the passion and enthusiasm he puts forward during the read makes this audio engaging and exciting. I continue to listen to this over and over.

What did you like best about this story?

The fact based findings and how simple it is to see how companies make the leap from Good to Great.

Have you listened to any of Jim Collins’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is my first listen but I will be enjoying many more since having picked this up.

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

The flywheel and the doom loop highlight some particular areas where I can improve as an individual