Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don't (Review)
My friend, Jeffrey Alderman, gave me this book after he brought me on board to ACBSP, and I’m grateful he did. Despite not being my typical genre of book, I found Jim Collins to be an insightful and helpful guide as I began my entry into direct management. Early on, I found the principles that Collins highlights are also the themes and ideas I often seek when I read my normal selection of history and biographies.
Here is an example of the similarities. In Chapter 2, Collins looked at Darwin Smith and Kimberly-Clark Paper as an example of humility in the workplace. He highlighted that the first step to successful organizational leadership is putting ego and effort toward advancing the organization—not self. I immediately thought of a quote I pulled from a biography of the Marquis de Lafayette (The Marquis: Lafayette Reconsidered by Laura Auricchio).
Lafayette was disappointed after France rejected him for the role of French commander during the American Revolution. The man who received the command, Comte de Rochambeau, wrote a letter to Marquis de Lafayette with the following insight: “There are no troops more easily beaten than when they have lost confidence in their commander, and they lose it immediately when exposed to danger through private and personal ambition.” History often provides insight into success and failures with context to consider what led to the eventual outcomes. “Good to Great” looks at recent business history to do the same.
Collins looked at businesses that experienced sustained success, and he distills the principles that guided those organizations into accessible and supported ideas. “Good to Great” does this without devolving to a superficial presentation of pithy catchphrases. Instead Collins backs his characteristics of success with data and vignettes that make the book both helpful and engaging.
Here are some of the ideas that stuck with me from “Good to Great:”
• Collins made the off-handed comment that “[w]e all have a strength or two in life.” Though not a primary point of his book, it struck me how essential it is to assess and understand your primary strengths. And it’s all the better if you pursue work that enables using those strengths. Similarly, a good organization will set its people up to do the same.
• I appreciated the assessment of Colman Mockler, head of Gillette. Collins described Mockler as “[a] quiet and reserved man, always courteous…” He “had the reputation of a gracious, almost patrician gentlemen.” As someone who values these characteristics, the conclusion was satisfying: “Those who mistook Mockler’s reserved nature for weakness found themselves beaten in the end.”
• When looking for good leaders, Collins offers this advice: look at projects or organizations that succeed where no single person is taking credit. Your potential leaders are there.
• Wells Fargo’s approach in the 80s was to find the best people, irrespective of their job duties or title. This meant accepting that some would leave for other great positions—becoming CEOs themselves. But it was most important that they had good people in a position to give leadership and wisdom to the organization while they were there.
• Collins provided an important observation on the difficulty with charisma. Winston Churchill was worried his charisma and bold vision to expel Hitler would lead those around him to filter information—only feeding him what they thought he wanted to hear. As a result, he created the Central Statistical Office outside the chain of command to give him unfiltered information: “I had no need for cheering dreams. Facts are better than dreams.”
• “Good to Great” reminded me how the principle behind the Socratic method is essential to good meetings and understanding. Good leaders ask “why” with the genuine goal of better understanding, rather than encouraging others to simply agree with what they think a leader wants to hear. In this setting, the group can develop openness to solve problems by looking at the information without a preconceived notion of just pleasing the boss.
• Collins discussed the passion element of the Hedgehog Principle by noting that without passion, the only objective is making money. “You can’t manufacture passion or ‘motivate’ people to feel passionate. You can only discover what ignites your passion and the passions of those around you.”
• “Good to Great” emphasized a principle I value after a decade working with government: “Avoid bureaucracy and hierarchy and instead create a culture of discipline.” As organizations grow, this is a challenge, and it is understandable why rules emerge instead of nurturing discipline. Yet it is worth nurturing discipline to avoid stifling creativity and freedom to respond to changes that emerge.
• At the end of “Good to Great,” Collins assessed the book against his previous publication, “Built to Last.” Collins found that enduring companies need not have traditionally good or moral values. What mattered is just having core values built explicitly into the organization. This is an idea I would like to further explore, but the point remains that it is important to know what you stand for and that you nurture values within your organization.
• Collins connected “Good to Great” to “Built to Last” by distinguishing good BHAGs (“Big Hairy Audacious Goals”) from bad BHAGs. He noted bad BHAGs are set with bravado, while good BHAGs are set with understanding. His example: swimming from Australia to New Zealand would be a BHAG for Collins. But it would also kill him. Understanding of who you are and where you’re going is an important step—set goals with context.
As much as I enjoyed “Good to Great,” it would serve even better as a book for discussion with a small group of leaders or as part of a team-building exercise with a department for specific application. I enjoy the quiet nature of books and the opportunity to think—particularly when an idea lingers and burrows into your psyche to change the way you view your surroundings. Yet some books call for more than a solitary contemplation. James Joyce’s “Ulysses” was a book that made me yearn for discussion. “Master of the Senate” by Robert Caro and “Brothers Karamazov” are two others. “Good to Great” also joined the list.
It is a dear principle to give my best in the way I work. Collins provides tools to do so with intentionality and do so with a clear idea on why and how. “Good to Great” may not be the typical book on my shelf, but it undoubtedly will serve me well in my current role and for years to come.
