The document summarizes key findings from Jim Collins' book "Good to Great". It discusses that some companies are able to make the leap from good to great while others do not. It identifies several factors that helped companies transition, including having Level 5 leadership with professional will and personal humility, getting the right people in leadership positions before defining strategies, confronting brutal facts about performance, focusing resources in areas of greatest strength or "hedgehog concept", developing a culture of discipline, and building momentum slowly over time like a flywheel rather than trying to force quick changes.
2. INTRODUCTION
‘Good to Great’, was originally published in
2001.
Good to Great is not a book, it is a research
work done by Jim Collins along with his
team of 21 members
The Research work is about 1435
companies. Examine their performance,
Find the companies that became great.
The idea behind the book is “Good is never
enough”.
3. 1.GOOD IS THE ENEMY OF GREAT
Don’t settle for good. Demand Great.
Focus Equally
What to do
What not to do
What to stop doing
Merger & Acquisitions play no role in igniting
a transformation from Good to Great
Technology has nothing to do with a
transformation from Good to Great
4. Strategy did not separate the Good-to-Great
companies from comparison companies.
Celebrity leaders not required
Good-to-Great companies paid attention on
Motivating people
Managing change
Creating alignment (linkage of organizational
goals with employees personal goals)
The Timeless Physics.
5. 2. LEVEL 5 LEADERSHIP
Level 5 leaders channel their ego needs away
from themselves and into the larger goal of
building a great company.
Level 5 Leaders are incredibly ambitious, but
the ambition is to
Build Great company
Produce Great long term results
Setting up successors for success
Ambition first and foremost for the company
rather than one’s own riches
6. HUMILITY + WILL = LEVEL 5
Traits of a Level 5 leader :-
Modest
Wilful
Humble
Fearless
Quiet
Reserved
Mild Mannered
7. TWO SIDES OF LEVEL 5 LEADERSHIP
Professional Will
Creates superb results.
Strong resolve to
produce best long term
results.
Sets standards for
building an enduring
great company.
Takes responsibility for
poor results.
Looks into the mirror,
not out of the window
Personal Humility
Modest, never boastful.
Quiet, Calm. Relies on
inspired standards not
inspiring charisma.
Channels ambition into
company not self.
Credit of the success to
others, external factors,
good luck.
Looks out the window,
not in the mirror.
8. 3. FIRST WHO… THEN WHAT
No new vision or strategy instead get right people
on the bus, wrong off the bus and right people in
right seats.
People are your most important asset
Right people are the most important asset
If you begin with the “who,” rather than the “what,”
you can more easily adapt to a changing world.
9. Good-to-Great companies are rigorous :-
When in doubt, don’t hire keep looking.
When you need a change of people, Act.
Put best people on your biggest opportunities not on
your biggest problem.
10. 4. CONFRONT THE BRUTAL FACT
(NEVER LOSE FAITH)
Good-to-Great companies had discipline, to
confront the most brutal facts of the current reality
Creating a climate where truth is heard:-
Lead with questions, not answers.
Engage in dialogue and debate, not coercion.
Conduct autopsies, without blame.
Create Red Flag Mechanism
A key psychology for leading from Good-to-Great is
the Stockdale Paradox.
11. 5. THE HEDGEHOG CONCEPT
The Hedgehog concept is not a goal, strategy
or intention.
Three Key Dimensions
What are you deeply passionate about
What you can be the best in the world at
What drives your economic engine
The Key is to understand what your organization can
be best at.
12. 6. A CULTURE OF DISCIPLINE
All companies have cultures
Some companies have discipline
But, few companies have culture of discipline
Disciplined people : Hierarchy not required
Disciplined thought : Bureaucracy not required
Disciplined action : Excessive controls not required
A Culture of discipline involves duality
Requires people who adhere to a consistent system
Gives people freedom and responsibility
13. 7. TECHNOLOGY ACCELERATORS
Great companies have a different approach
towards technological change
Technology is never used as a primary means of
transportation from good to great
But, the application of technology is carefully
selected
Across 84 interviews, 80 percent executives didn't
mention technology as one of the top five factors in
the transformation.
14. 8. THE FLYWHEEL AND THE DOOM LOOP
The Flywheel effect
Good-to-Great transformation never happened in
one fell swoop
There was no single action, no grand program,
no lucky break, no miracle moment.
Instead they followed a pattern from build-up to
break-trough
15. The Fly-wheel pattern is
Like, pushing on a giant, heavy flywheel, it takes a
lot of effort to get the things moving at all, but…
But, with persistent pushing…
in a consistent direction…
Over a long period of time…
The flywheel builds momentum…
Eventually hitting a point of breakthrough.
16. The Doom Loop
The Comparison companies followed a different
pattern
They tried to skip the build-up and jump to
breakthrough
Then, with the disappointing results they failed to
maintain consistent results