Good to Great

Good to Great, by Author Jim Collins, discusses 11 companies that became great and the things they had in common.  

3 elements were evident:

1. Disciplined people – getting the right people and keeping them focused “get the right people on the bus”
2. Disciplined Thought – being able to be honest, brutally honest about what is going on, and focusing on the right things.
3. Disciplined action – spending time on the right things

These three elements can be broken down into six key concepts. The first three elements begin to build moment and take the players to push and push, the second three elements are the results of the flywheel effect.  A flywheel, after being pushed for so long, eventually starts to gain its own momentum and pushes itself with little outside effort or influence.  Great companies keep the flywheel moving so that it comes to that breakthrough and truly takes off.  Bad leaders start and stop the flywheel over and over keeping the momentum from ever reaching breakthrough.

• Element 1 – Level 5 leadership: leaders that are humble, professional, hardworking, blame their success on luck rather than skill or personal greatness. Usually come from within the company.
• Element 2 – First ‘who’, then ‘what’: Make sure you have the right people on the bus.  If you have the right people, they will figure out what needs to be done.  The wrong people slow things down and mess up the flywheel.  Don’t waste time on the wrong people.
• Element 3 – Confront the true facts: honesty and candor allow companies to make the right decisions to move forward, rather than deal with distorted facts that can lead them to focus on the wrong things.
• Element 4 – Hedgehog Concept: hedgehogs are simple animals that know one big thing and do it well.  Companies should be the same. They stick to what they are doing and avoid getting deterred by other things or opportunities. They stick to their mission.  They know what they are best at, what makes money, and what their people are passionate about.
• Element 5 – Culture of Discipline: Disciplined people don’t need managers or hierarchy to make them do their work.  Discipline combined with an entrepreneurial effort tend to make for excellent performance.
• Element 6 – Technology Accelerator: Don’t get caught up in tech fads.  Use technology to make what you are doing better, not just so you are high tech.  Find the technology that will improve your business, don’t mold your business around new technology.