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In context all of his principles seem relevant to much more than just business. Very easy read. Should be read in conjunction with his follow up book that explains the demise of some of the touted successful companies in the book.
Two thumbs up - i'd definitely buy from her again. I actually had to return the book, and Mary made it extremely easy. Quick and attentive service - what more could you ask for.
Anyone in upper management should read this book as it documents a significant contribution to management science. In this age of motivational speakers, leadership Gurus, and other hoopla artists, it is refreshing to read a study based on serious research that uncovers new insights into what can transform a good company into a great one.
Read Good to Great. Want to learn something about running a business. Good to Great is solid and is based on researching why companies make the step from the norm to the exceptional. There are terrific examples of companies pinpointing both "how" and "what" the leadership did to take the businesses to the next level.
I don't like this kind of book, allegedly based on exhaustive research, that sets down a pattern of behaviors that allegedly made some companies rich -- that suggests your company will be prosperous and outperform the competition if you follow the precepts set down herein. The truth is, there's nothing new about the new economy." Anyone that had money in the stock market in September 2008, especially those that held stock in General Motors, knows the "new" economy is much different than the one anyone's seen going back to 1930. My boss at work forced us to read it and talk about it.I'd never have done this on my own, and for good reason. Jim Collins, who wrote another book thousands have read, led the research team that set out to find out why the highest performing companies outperformed their competition.
Your time will be best spent reading this book to understand for yourself that no one has a formula for success that is longlasting that can be summed up in a book. And all Collins' exemplars in this book bit the dust -- most doing so long before 2008.Collins proof is in the pudding exemplars are 11 corporations whose stock values shot up at twice the rate of their competitiors during his period of research in the bamboozled economy of the 1990s that burned white hot. Because many of its formulae are time-tested and used by people everywhere.Fortunately, you don't have to read this book to understand what these are. The precepts of success in business are the same today as they were in the earlier days of the free market. Just read some of the other 750 or so reviews here. So why did I read it.
Today, less than two decades later, two of those companies are out of business, one has been liquidated, another had been bought by a bigger corporation, and all but one of the 11 had serious stock value declines by 2006, before the market meltdown of autumn 2008.So, if Collins' 11 exemplars all went backwards less than 15 years after this famous book -- and its recipe for success -- were written, how can it still be relevant as a model of business success in 2010. Most of those values and practices aren't cited herein, although some are. First, this book was written and researched during the roaring 1990s when profits piled up faster than leaves in the autumn where I live. He did this by saying it was the result of a laundry list of characteristics from having humble CEOs recruited from inside the company to not particularly paying attention to technology to hiring the right people to get the job done.While all these attributes may contribute to succeess, the falure of this book was presaged in its first chapter, on pages 14-15 of the hardcopy version, where it asks and answers the mock question: "Will your findings continue in the new economy.
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