"Jim Collins"Jim Collins: one of the few business writers that has delivered thoroughly fact-based and academic conclusions as to how companies become not only successful, but also sustainable. Written in a very readable and understandable way that anyone can use, Good to Great inspires me both professionally and personally.
Why do some companies have continuing, sustained growth in excess of those companies around them? What is it that makes them different? Is it charismatic leadership? Right place, right time? Unique product?
This is the question that Jim Collins answers in Good to Great.
He and a team of 20 researchers spent five years and more than 15,000 manhours researching the question, Why some companies make the leap from good to great...and others don't. Collins' answers have profound personal and professional implications. Jim Collins reviewed thousands of books, articles, and annual reports; conducted financial analyses on records that totaled 980 years of combined business records. He interviewed 84 senior executives and board members, scrutinized the personal and professional records of 56 of the CEO's, and researched the executive compensation plans. He analyzed the patterns in layoffs, how media exposure affected the financial results, and finally, how technology was used and it's effect, if any on the financial performance of the companies. Jim Collins researched every aspect that could be quantified, codified, analyzed or compared. The study begins with 1,435 Fortune 500 companies and narrows the list down to 11 that made the transition from good-to-great companies. These are companies that stand out as being different from their direct competition. Jim Collins shows you objectively what it was that made these companies financial returns 3,4, to 18 times better than stock market averages for 15 years. And, Jim Collins tells you how to apply these findings to your business. Level 5 Leadership: Moving from good to great starts with leadership - with the will and drive to succeed. Not on a personal level, but for the company to succeed. First Who...Then What: Next find the right people to manage and run the business. Control the Brutal Facts: Then look at the facts objectively. What are your core competencies? Hedgehog Concept: Then take action based on being the best at what you can be the best at. Culture of Discipline: Implement the resulting plan rigorously, with discipline and focus. Good to Great is a textbook on how to run a successful organization and a successful life. Jim Collins includes extensive appendices detailing the methodologies of the research and comphrehensive notes and references. Jim Collins' Good to Great is a must-read for anyone building or leading a business or group or who wants to improve their personal business life. Jim Collis challenges a lot of the current hype about what makes a company successful. Whether it be the charismatic CEO, to the hype of IT, or merger mania, none of these contributed to the success of the top 11 companies covered in Good to Great. At 300 pages, Good to Great is a comphrehensive research project, well written and entertaining too. You will love Jim Collins' Good to Great and I say your personal success library is incomplete without it.
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