Good to Great

MDFP 2
Lecturer: Linda Te
Reading Quiz

1. What book did Jim Collins publish before

this one?
2. For how long did Collins and his team
conduct their studies for Good to Great?
3. What motivated him to research on this
topic?
4. What does he mean by “dogs that did not
bark”?
5. Explain one surprising finding that Collins
and his team made.
What Makes a Company
Successful?
Good is the Enemy of Great
Good is the Enemy of Great
I’m already pretty good, WHY BOTHER??

If you’re doing bad, you see the need to

improve!

If you FAIL a test, you know you need to get

focused…
But if you already got a DISTINCTION, you get
comfortable!
Why improve your
organization if you’re
already at the top?
Who is Jim Collins?

• Author of “Built to Last”

• He found a gap in his research, so he had to
LOOK AGAIN!
How?

Find out if companies went from being good

to GREAT!

BEFORE THAT…
How do we assess a company – to see how
good it is?

(Performance in the Stock Market)

What He Did

ANALYSIS ANALYSIS ANALYSIS!

Studied companies from 1965 to
1995 that:
Underperformed the stock market for
15 years…
But then shot up to THREE times the
stock market for 15 years!
Why 15 Years?

1) To eliminate “FLASH IN THE PAN”

successes

FLASH IN THE PAN??

A transient occurrence with no long-term
effect.

2) To eliminate the chance of depending on a

CEO (longer than the tenure of any CEO)
Booming Industries

Companies belonging to industries that were

booming –

ELIMINATED!
Which Companies?

Started with: 1,435

Ended with: 11
Abbot Laboratories Nucor
Circuit City Philip Morris
Fannie Mae Pitney Bowes
Gillette Walgreens
Kimberly-Clark Wells Fargo
Kroger
What Made a Good to Great
Company?

Buildup

Level 5 First Who… Confront the Hedgehog Culture of Technology

Leadership Then What Brutal Facts Concept Discipline Accelerators

Disciplined People Disciplined Thought Disciplined Action

A GREAT Organization

• Choose one organization to discuss in your

group
• What made that organization successful?
• How can these lessons be taught to other
organizations?
Homework

• Read Chapter 2 in Good to Great

• p. 17-27
• Tomorrow: Reading Quiz 
Questions/Comments/Concerns?