Books : Good to Great CD: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't
from: HarperAudio
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Binding: Audio CD
Dewey Decimal Number: 658
EAN: 9780060794415
Format: Unabridged
ISBN: 0060794410
Label: HarperAudio
Manufacturer: HarperAudio
Number Of Items: 1
Publication Date: June 01, 2005
Publisher: HarperAudio
Release Date: June 14, 2005
Sales Rank: 6020
Studio: HarperAudio
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
Built To Last, the defining management study of the nineties, showed how great companies triumph over time and how long-term sustained performance can be engineered into the DNA of an enterprise from the very beginning.
But what about companies that are not born with great DNA? How can good companies, mediocre companies, even bad companies achieve enduring greatness? Are there those that convert long-term mediocrity or worse into long-term superiority? If so, what are the distinguishing characteristics that cause a company to go from good to great?
Over five years, Jim Collins and his research team have analyzed the histories of 28 companies, discovering why some companies make the leap and others don't. The findings include:
- Level 5 Leadership: A surprising style, required for greatness.
- The Hedgehog Concept: Finding your three circles, to transcend the curse of competence.
- A Culture of Discipline: The alchemy of great results.
- Technology Accelerators: How good-to-great companies think differently about technology.
- The Flywheel and the Doom Loop: Why those who do frequent restructuring fail to make the leap.
Amazon.com Review:
Five years ago, Jim Collins asked the question, "Can a good company become a great company and if so, how?" In Good to Great Collins, the author of Built to Last, concludes that it is possible, but finds there are no silver bullets. Collins and his team of researchers began their quest by sorting through a list of 1,435 companies, looking for those that made substantial improvements in their performance over time. They finally settled on 11--including Fannie Mae, Gillette, Walgreens, and Wells Fargo--and discovered common traits that challenged many of the conventional notions of corporate success. Making the transition from good to great doesn't require a high-profile CEO, the latest technology, innovative change management, or even a fine-tuned business strategy. At the heart of those rare and truly great companies was a corporate culture that rigorously found and promoted disciplined people to think and act in a disciplined manner. Peppered with dozens of stories and examples from the great and not so great, the book offers a well-reasoned road map to excellence that any organization would do well to consider. Like Built to Last, Good to Great is one of those books that managers and CEOs will be reading and rereading for years to come. --Harry C. Edwards
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
Jim Collins and his team of researchers have surveyed over 1,400 companies, systematically analysed 6,000 publicly available articles, and carried out numerous face to face interviews with senior managers. The finding, the single most important factor to the health of a company - Leadership. The author asserted that they purposely steer away from such attribute as there are no shortage of business books paying the same platitude.
Every company vision statement reads like the next one. When did anyone last read a company which doesn't claim its employee is its greatest asset ? Yet, most see it fit to outsource its most critical function - finding the "right people". If every great company gets it right, there wouldn't be much of a recruitment industry. Recruitment agents will becomes redundant. It is the responsibility of every employee to find the right co-workers. Wait, isn't Google doing exactly that ? Jack Welch, John Chambers, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have all said their main job was to find the right people. Hire the right people first, then create a position to suit the person. Find passionate people, find people with integrity, find someone who would run the company like he/she owns it, hire this person straight away. This is how the author puts it,
"Widen your definition of "right people" to focus more on the character attributes of the person and less on specialised knowledge. People can learn skills and acquire knowledge, but they can ... Read More
Rating: -
"Good to Great" is an exceptional analytical review, focused on leadership, documenting the attributes of leaders of enduring great companies. The text effectively differentiates the leadership attributes of great companies from enduring great companies.
Rating: -
Stock findings aside, this book has good talent management strategies, including getting the right people on the bus and making sure everyone is going towards the same goal. Nothing revolutionary, but still helpful. I also found the monograph Good to Great and the Social Sectors: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great helpful in the non profit arena.
Rating:  -
This book is easy and interesting reading. Not only is it required text for my class, but the Vice President of the company that I work for actually told me to read it. Imagine her surprise when I informed her that it was required reading for my masters in social work class.
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Great practical ideas. How refreshing it is to see a passionate individual pursue an idea to completion and take the time to fully investigate all possibilities.
It's been a great addition to my book club at work.
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