Great by Choice

By: Jim Collins, Morten T. Hansen

Narrated by: Jim Collins

Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

The new question: Ten years after the worldwide best seller Good to Great, Jim Collins returns to ask: Why do some companies thrive in uncertainty, even chaos, and others do not? In Great by Choice, Collins and his colleague, Morten T. Hansen, enumerate the principles for building a truly great enterprise in unpredictable, tumultuous, and fast-moving times.

The new study: Great by Choice distinguishes itself from Collins’s prior work by its focus on the type of unstable environments faced by leaders today.

The new findings:

• The best leaders were more disciplined, more empirical, and more paranoid.
• Following the belief that leading in a “fast world” always requires “fast decisions” and “fast action” is a good way to get killed.
• The great companies changed less in reaction to a radically changing world than the comparison companies.

This book is classic Collins: contrarian, data-driven, and uplifting. He and Hansen show convincingly that, even in a chaotic and uncertain world, greatness happens by choice, not by chance.

©2011 Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen (P)2011 HarperCollins Publishers

Helpful, practical, well read

The authors do a great job of making their research and findings come to life and of explaining their relevant applications in business. Lots of great lessons to learn from examining real businesses with extended periods of greatness. I really enjoyed the storytelling pieces as well because they helped make the book feel engaging and even exciting instead of like a dry research paper. I thoroughly enjoyed the reading that was done by Jim Collins in the audible version. He perfectly explains tables and diagrams in the book and read his book more like as if he were having a conversation with me. He read with energy and knowledge and understanding as if each one of the businesses studied were his very own business.

One of my new favs!

If you could sum up Great by Choice in three words, what would they be?

Vital Business Info

What does Jim Collins bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Emphasis and energy

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, too much information!

Any additional comments?

Loved this book, absolutely brilliantly rounds up Built to Last and From Good to Great by answering many of the questions that existed after those two books. Love that this is all based on very rigorous research and debate. Especially that the book doesn't SOUND like a research paper, despite the massive amount of info backing it up. Engaging and a recommended read for anyone - doubly so if you run a business!

Great book

Detailed and factual. No fluff just facts. This research based study can provide great advice to a vast variety of audiences.

Revolutionary for my business

Hansen and Collins endeavored to answer a truly great question: Why some companies thrive in uncertainty and others do not. The resulting book has proven revolutionary for me. This study is as worthy an investment as any other project Jim Collins has done. I appreciate the rigorous, data-driven approach that is his calling card, and I marvel at their respective teams' ability to turn mountains of data into simple, actionable concepts. I'm a fan.
By nature, I'm a seat-of-the-pants creative type. Anything that could excite me this much about becoming a more disciplined leader is truly a remarkable achievement. They have challenged me to a dramatic & necessary shift which will serve me the rest of my life.

Thought Provoking

Would you consider the audio edition of Great by Choice to be better than the print version?

It's better because it is easy to

What was one of the most memorable moments of Great by Choice?

The 20 mile march.

What does Jim Collins bring to the story that you wouldn???t experience if you just read the book?

Jim's passion for certain parts.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The way to win is the 20mile march

Every bit as good at Good to Great

Where does Great by Choice rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Like Good to Great - this is one of my favorite.

What did you like best about this story?

The key findings compliment the GTG findings and provide some new perspective.

What about Jim Collins’s performance did you like?

I love that it is research based.

Any additional comments?

Collins does a great job in reading his books. Very compelling listen.

Factual!

What did you love best about Great by Choice?

Very informative and factual. If you are a statistic nerd this is a great read. Interesting stories and great information and inspiration!

Great by Choice was a Great Choice

What made the experience of listening to Great by Choice the most enjoyable?

Jim Collins produces compelling research. I have read most of his books and learn much every time.

classic life principles

This book, on the surface, is a business book, but these principles work in life.

Greatness by Choice; not by Luck

In today's economy and news frontier we hear all the time "they just got lucky".. "Wrong place at the wrong time"... "Your cards are delt not drawn"... The book is the product of astute and thorough research disproving such claims. Luck and hazard fall on all; what will you do with it? Will you strives well, cheat, or give up? Only those who strive hard and well ultimately succeed with 10x (1,000%) results.