BOOK REVIEW: GOOD TO GREAT

NARSEE MONJEE INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT

STUDIES, HYDERABAD
By:
Nikunj Gor (80303120016)
Karteek Nandhana (80303120034)
Shubham Singhal (80303120053)
About the author
 Jim Collins is a student and teacher of enduring great companies—how they
grow, how they attain superior performance, and how good companies can become
great companies.
 He holds degrees in business administration and mathematical sciences from Stanford
University, and honorary doctoral degrees from the University of Colorado and the
Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University
 Driven by a relentless curiosity, Jim began his research and teaching career as the
faculty at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, where he received
the Distinguished Teaching Award in 1992.
 Having invested nearly a quarter of a century of research into the topic, Jim has
authored or coauthored six books that have sold in total more than ten million copies
worldwide(Build to last, Good to Great and How the mighty fall)
 In 1995, he founded a management laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, where he now
conducts research and consults with executives from the corporate and social sectors.
 Jim has worked with senior executives and CEOs at over a hundred corporations.
About the book
 Good To Great is not a book, its
research work done by Jim Collins
along with his team of 22 members on
various companies for decades.

 15000 man hours have been spent for

this research work of differentiating
great companies from other companies.

 Start with 1,435 good companies.

Examine their performance over 40
years. Find the companies that became
great.

 The whole idea behind this book is

"Good is never enough".
Good is the Enemy of Great
 It is easier to do the basics for
something good than to really work for
something great.

 The Collins team selected two sets of

comparison companies.

 Direct Companies.
 Unsustained Companies.
Level 5 Leadership

 Level 5 Leadership formula- The Right

people (culture, character) + humility +
strong professional will = SUCCESS

 Level 5 leaders channel their ego needs

away from themselves and into the
larger goal of building a great company.
First Who . . . Then What
First Who . . . Then What
• Its easy to adopt CHANGES of world with right people.
• Not need to be tightly managed or instructed at every
step.
• Self-Motivated.
• First Who, Great Companies, and A Great Life.
• Gillette CEO.
• Rigorous, Not Ruthless.
Confront the Brutal Facts
(Yet Never Lose Faith)
Confront the Brutal Facts
(Yet Never Lose Faith)
• Facts are better than Dreams.
• A climate where truth is heard.
• Lead with questions, Not answers.
• Conduct autopsies, without blame.
• Engage in dialogue and debate, not coercion.
• Red flag.
• Retained absolute faith that you can and will prevail in the
end, regardless of the difficulties AND confront the most
brutal facts of current reality.
The Hedgehog Concept
(Simplicity within the Three Circles)
The Flywheel and not the Doom Loop
Learnings
 The main learning of Good to Great is that any company can become a great
company by systematically implementing key principles mentioned.

 Good- to-great companies paid limited attention to managing change. Motivating

people or creating alignment.

 Good- to-great companies had no big name, tag line, launch event or program to
signify their transformations.

 Charisma can be as much as a liability as an asset.

 Good- to-great companies paid attention to what to do and what to stop doing.
??????
• Why only 11 companies make cut?
• Why only US?
• Why no TECH-giants ?
• I am not CEO. What can I do with these findings?
• Where and how should I begin?
11 Good to Great Companies.
 Abbott Laboratories(71st )
 Circuit City Stores (bankrupt in 2009)
 Fannie Mae (8th)
 Gillette Company(P&G)
 Kimberly-Clark(137th )
 Kroger(23rd)
 Nucor(138th )
 Philip Morris(99th )
 Pitney Bowes(461st )
 Walgreens(32nd )
 Wells Fargo(26th )