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READING REFLECTION 2 – COLLINS, GOOD TO GREAT
Concepts from Good to Great by Jim Collins
Jim Collins is one of the most prolific and best-selling authors. His curiosity and desire to know the differences between the good and great organizations propelled him into research. He wanted to know why some companies were great while others are just good. According to him, the greatness of a company is measured by the number of times it beats the market average over a period of more than fifteen years[1]. He describes “good” as the opposite of “great”. In his quest for answers, he took his team and researched the reasons behind the success and failure of companies[2]. After five years of rigorous research, he wrote the book “Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t”. This section of the paper outlines some of the key concepts from his findings.
One of the distinguishing marks between good and great organizations is the type of leadership present. Great companies have level-5 leadership while good companies run short of the leaders. Level-5 leaders are competent supervisors and top executives who know what they are doing[3]. They are characterised by high-level determination, humility and a personal sense of commitment to the success of the organization. Level-5 leaders get their motivation from the desire to achieve more which makes them rise in the company’s ranks. Their personal ego and financial benefits are second to the long-term success of their teams and company objectives.
The second concept Jim Collins brings out is the concept of “First Who, Then What”[4]. The organization which seeks to move from good to great must ensure that it has the right leadership team before embarking on its mission and vision. Before developing the winning strategy, an organization must have a highly skilled team that is self-motivated, high-quality and talented. Having the right team in place will eradicate any management or structural adjustment processes that may arise in the running of the business since the team will help in decision-making.
The third concept expressed in the book is the ability to confront the brutal facts without losing faith[5]. Once an organization gets the right team, the team should identify and assess the facts which contribute to its status quo and what should be done to propel it to greatness. In order to get answers to the brutal facts, the team must ask hard questions, engage in debates and dialogue, dissect the available evidence without blaming each other and create mechanisms which can synthesize data into useful information.
The fourth concept is the hedgehog concept[6]. Jim uses the hedgehog metaphor to illustrate the transition from good to great. Just as the hedgehog uses a simple technique of rolling into a ball to outwit its predators, organizations should use simple but repetitive and effective methods. Furthermore, like the hedgehog, every organization that wants to be great must focus on one great thing instead of doing small mediocre stuffs. Although it may take long to identify the one great thing, it is better than doing small insignificant things. To know great things, the organization must know what it does not stand for, what drives its economy and its passion[7].
Other concepts include developing a culture of discipline, using technology accelerators, pushing the flywheel consistently and eventually moving from good to great[8]. A culture of discipline is not similar to authoritarian management. Discipline is the strict adherence to goals, proper work ethics, morality, personal empowerment and self-determination. Using the hedgehog concept, the organization should select the best technological principles and keep applying all other principles until the business gains flywheel momentum which will propel it from good to great.
Application of the Concepts to My Personal Life
Throughout my life, I have been an entrepreneur. I have invested in farming, stocks and ecommerce businesses. I have some leadership skills like high self-esteem, courage, determination, time management and investment skills. However, contrary to Jim Collins’ concept of great level-5 leaders, I have some pride and inadequate humility. I cannot say that I have perfected level-5 leadership. I am somewhere between level-3 and level-4. My leadership ineptitude has cost me great investments. I have been juggling the investments with a team of semi-skilled workers which lead me to the next point.
According to Jim Collins’ concept of growth from good to great, I should have created a great team before developing a roadmap to success. However, I put the “What” before the “Who”. The reading has made me realise that I should have looked for a great team of highly skilled professionals who can advise me. I have been the proverbial authoritarian boss who has a great vision without the means of actualizing it.
On the concept of confronting the brutal facts, I have failed terribly. I have always run out of funds but I have never humbled myself to ask why and how to avoid the perennial financial crises. I have been pumping money into the farming and ecommerce business with occasional profits and losses. I cannot confidently say that I have been making great profits. At the same time, I have never admitted nor stopped to question my investment decisions.
Fourthly, I seem to have had many small ideas instead of developing one great and unbeatable idea. Instead of investing in farming, stocks and ecommerce businesses, I should have sat with my team and identified one great idea to pursue. I have been acting as Jim Collins’ metaphorical fox which has many small ideas instead of becoming the wise hedgehog which has one great idea.
On the use of technology, I have been applying the fox technique. Other concepts include developing a culture of discipline, using technology accelerators, pushing the flywheel consistently and eventually moving from good to great. I have been migrating to the newest internet technique[9]. First, I used Google in advertising my businesses. Later, I started using Facebook, then Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Pinterest. Had I followed Jim, I could have chosen one technological tool to propel my business instead of wasting time on many tools. Finally, it is sad to note that I have always worked hard using bad techniques. No wonder, I have remained with a good but not a great business. Jim Collins’ Good to Great has become my biggest eye-opener.
Bibliography
Collins, Jim. Good To Great: Why Some Companies Make The Leap And Other Don’t. [San Francisco]: Instaread, 2016.
Opdyke, Jeff D. Protecting Your Parents’ Money. New York, NY: Harper Business, 2011.
Sivaev, Dmitry. “How Should We Help Business Grow? Delivering Business Support”. Local Economy 28, no. 7-8 (2013): 906-910.
[1] Jim Collins, Good To Great: Why Some Companies Make The Leap And Other Don’t ([San Francisco]: Instaread, 2016).
[2] Jim Collins
[3] Jeff D Opdyke, Protecting Your Parents’ Money (New York, NY: Harper Business, 2011).
[4] Jim Collins
[5] Jim Collins, Good To Great: Why Some Companies Make The Leap And Other Don’t ([San Francisco]: Instaread, 2016).
[6] Jim Collins
[7] Dmitry Sivaev, “How Should We Help Business Grow? Delivering Business Support”, Local Economy28, no. 7-8 (2013): 906-910.
[8] Jim Collins
[9] Jeff D Opdyke, Protecting Your Parents’ Money (New York, NY: Harper Business, 2011).
