Jim Collins’ “Good to Great” explores the key factors differentiating companies that achieve enduring greatness from those that remain merely good, emphasizing the importance of disciplined leadership, strategic focus, and a culture of excellence.

Primary Implication

Good to Great is a must-have business book for every business owner.  Particularly chapter 3, “First Who … Then What,” if you have issues with getting the people who work for you to accomplish what needs to be done each day and week to earn a profit with cash reserves in the bank.

Overview

In the book Good to Great, released in 2001 by Jim Collins, we learn why some companies leap to greatness while others do not.  The overarching theme from this book is that “good” is the enemy of “great.”

In this follow-up book to his 1994 success, Built to Last, Collins’ observes that the vast majority of companies never become great, because they become good enough, which is the real problem.  In this follow-up book, he focuses on the question, “What did these few good-to-great companies share in common that distinguished them from comparable companies who did not make this journey?”

Collins developed numerous valuable insights, including: “Level 5 Leadership,” “First Who…Then What,” “Confront the Brutal Facts (Yet Never Lose Faith),” and the “Hedgehog Concept,“ which leads to a “Culture of Discipline” that creates either a “Flywheel” or “Doomloop.”  These foundations of business thinking are important for every business leader who aspires to own a great business.

Good to Great is a must-buy book to study and make a permanent part of your business library.