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Bucharest University of Economic Studies

Faculty of Business Administration in foreign languages


Ivan Marina
Group 134

GOOD TO GREAT
Jim Collins

When my Business Strategies Professor gave us as homework to make a short presentation of a


specific book, the first book I was thinking of was Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kyiosaki.
Then, it came into my mind one of the most famous Mihai Eminescu`s quotes: Citete! Citete
mereu, creierul tu va deveni un laborator de idei i imagini, din care vei ntocmi nelesul i
filosofia vieii. (Read! Always reading makes your brain become a laboratory of ideas and
images, out of which you make sense of life.). So, I started reading one of the most known
books of Jim Collins, Good to great. Due to a really good research made on the greatest
multinational companies: Abbott, Circuit City, Fannie Mae, Gillette, Kimberly-Clark, Kroger,
Nucor, Philip Morris, Pitney Bowes, Walgreens and Wells Fargo, the Jim Collins shares within
his book, the 7 keys for good companied to become great.
First of all, I want to say a few words about the author of the book. The famous Jim Collins is an
American business consultant, author, and lecturer on the subject of company sustainability and
growth at Standford University, also the University he graduated. Collins has authored or coauthored five books based on his research, including the classic Built to Last, a fixture on the
Business Week best-seller list for more than six years, and has been translated into 25 languages.
The most recent book is How the Mighty Fall: And Why Some Companies Never Give In. Good
to Great, his previous book, is "about the factors common to those few companies ... to sustain
remarkable success for a substantial period," attained long-running positions on the New York
Times, Wall Street Journal and Business Week best-seller lists, sold 2.5 million hardcover copies
since publication, and has been translated into 32 languages.
He frequently contributes to Harvard Business Review, Business Week, Fortune and other
magazines, journals, etc. He is also the author of several books: Built to Last: Successful Habits
of Visionary Companies, Good to Great, and How the Mighty Fall: And Why Some Companies
Never Give in and Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck - Why Some Thrive despite
Them All. (Wikipedia, 2014).
Then, coming back to the book I have read, Good to great, I can say that the information was
not too new for me, but it made me remember the most important strategies or principles that
must be adopted in order for a company to succeed. Through the study made on the 11 most
powerful companies in the world, the author realized a really useful research that makes you
think twice if you are running well your business, or the business you are working for:
The most effective measures named by the author are Level 5 Executive Leadership, First Who,
Then What, Confront the Brutal Facts (But Never Lose Faith in the Potential for Greatness), The
Hedgehog Concept, A Culture of Discipline, Technology Accelerators and The Flywheel and the
Doom Loop.

Bucharest University of Economic Studies


Faculty of Business Administration in foreign languages

Level 5 Executive Leadership is the first principle that transforms a business from good to great
and refers to that kind of leadership that let the employees be independent and responsible. The
employees are not told what they should or should not do, but they are guided, depending on the
level they work. Following a pyramid, the author starts with highly capable individual or
independent and finishes up with level 5 executive.
Le
vel
5
Ex
ec
E ffective
uti
L eader
ve
C om petent M anager

C ontributing Team M em ber


H ighly C apable Individual

The second principle, First Who, Then What, is related to change. Leaders must have a new
vision when they want to make a change. Jim Collins explains it through a very good metaphor.
Executives who made things from good to great did not first ask where to drive the bus, then get
the people to take it there, but they first got the right people on the bus and the unsuitable people
off and then decided where to drive it. Who questions must come before what decisions
before vision, before strategy, before organization structure, before tactics.
Confront the Brutal Facts (But Never Lose Faith in the Potential for Greatness) is one of the
most realistic advices for a business leader. This step involves a lot of communication with each
of the employees, expressing that a leader should start asking first what is going wrong within
the business and invite the entire employees share their opinion, no matter they level. You never
know where the idea comes from
Getting the Hedgehog Concept is a repetitive process, understanding of what you can be the best
at and, almost equally important, what you cannot be the best at. Here, the author tells us about
three main factors that contribute to this principle adoption, which he calls key dimensions: at
what you can be the best in the world, what drives your economic engine and what you are
deeply passionate about. Good-to great companies decided to encourage its employees to do only
those things that they could get passionate about. Discover which is everyone`s passion, you can
be sure that your employees won`t quite too soon, as this is a deep source of motivation, people
feeling happy and satisfied with their work.
The culture of Discipline is the principle which refers mostly to Standards of Internal Control
and to other internal rules. A culture of discipline requires disciplined, the single most important
form of discipline for sustained results being the adherence to the Hedgehog Concept and the
willingness to face opportunities.
A really valuable advice from Jim Collins, linked to this principle is: Stop doing lists are more
important than to do lists. He focuses more on the bad behaviors, as they pull on the trigger.

Bucharest University of Economic Studies


Faculty of Business Administration in foreign languages

We all know how much technology has evolved lately. So, technology accelerators are another
important principle that should be adopted by a good company, in order to become great. They
should avoid technology fads but become pioneers in applying carefully selected technologies.
The key technology question is does it fit your Hedgehog concept? If yes, then becoming a
pioneer in the technology makes sense. If no, you can settle for parity or ignore it entirely.
The last, but the most significant principle proposed by Jim Collins is the Flywheel and the
Doom Loop test. He suggests a set of questions through which you can figure out what type your
business is.
In conclusion, this book is really a good one, as most of people think first of what are their
strengths to emphasize them and this is maybe one of the worst mistakes. What Jim Collins
realized through this book is applicable both in business and in our personal life. We should ask
more often what is wrong with us and try to solve our weaknesses. In this way, we will be able to
do this at work too. Because this is life about: discovering and create a better you everyday.

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