Good To Great

I have just read the Jim Collins big seller – Good To Great. A few people in marketing , Norwich business people and MBA colleagues, have mentioned the book to me.

I was surprised when I finished reading the book that there is actually quite a lot of criticism about the book. It is true that some of the conclusions such as the benefits of level five leadership are not spelt out in great detail. What exactly is a level 5 leader? Then there is the fact that many of the companies cited as “Great”…….. are no longer even “good” or even in existence in some cases!

But I actually really really rate the book. It is easy to read and easy to understand, and personally I intuitively understood even the conclusions with less clarity such as the Level 5 Leader. The most compelling outtake from the book to me, is the importance of getting the right people to buy into your vision. Jim Collins uses the analogy of a bus…… get the right people on the bus, then let them work out where they should sit, then you can work out where you can go! It may sound strange, or perhaps obvious, but that conclusion helped me to crystallise my thoughts on a number of projects I have worked on in the past and am currently engaged in.

Below I have summarised the books conclusions:-

– Level 5 Leadership: Leaders who are humble, but driven to do what’s best for the company.

– First Who, Then What: Get the right people on the bus, then figure out where to go. Finding the right people and trying them out in different positions.

– Confront the Brutal Facts: Confront the brutal truth of the situation, yet at the same time, never give up hope.

– Hedgehog Concept: Three overlapping circles: What makes you money? What could you be best in the world at? and What lights your fire?

– Culture of Discipline: Being able to stay entirely focused in a changing, challenging environment

– Technology Accelerators: Using technology to accelerate growth, within the three circles of the hedgehog concept.

– The Flywheel: The additive effect of many small initiatives; they act on each other like compound interest.

As a marketing consultant in Norwich I get involved in some of these areas more than others, but I do think they are a robust set of principles to at least influence business management.