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on April 9, 2013
Many things have been said on the lack of rigor and statistically valid inferences in this book. But it is not the unique problem of this manuscript. Self-helping and cheerleading literature, in general, favors positive examples to "explain" the successes of the past. Hindsight is always 20/20 and everyone knows it.
What really signs death sentence to Collins work is the fact that he chose to study companies and companies that lived long enough to put shame on people who think they can predict the future with a pencil and a secretary. It's now 2013 and Good to Great was first published in 2001. It's been only 12 years since the publication and yet the list of hand-picked "companies of greatness" was blown by the wind of change. We all know what happened to Fannie Mae. Circuit City filed bankruptcy. The rest of the list underperformed compared to S&P 500.
In other words, Collins is not just "wrong" according to his own criteria. He is, in fact, completely random. He could as well throw a dart into a newspaper and come with similar results.
So is "Good to Great" completely without merit?
I don't think so. First, it pays to pick it up used for $0.99 and see how one of the most successful business series books are done. That is, sell pseudo-certainty to gullible people. Second, it teaches a student a whole lot about processes with infinite variance like stock performance. Third, Collins praises companies (like Fannie Mae) for exact same things (clever borrowing against future risks) that ultimately killed those companies.
Bottom line? Collins is a charlatan, but there are many lessons to be learned from his failures. It makes it worth one dollar.
What really signs death sentence to Collins work is the fact that he chose to study companies and companies that lived long enough to put shame on people who think they can predict the future with a pencil and a secretary. It's now 2013 and Good to Great was first published in 2001. It's been only 12 years since the publication and yet the list of hand-picked "companies of greatness" was blown by the wind of change. We all know what happened to Fannie Mae. Circuit City filed bankruptcy. The rest of the list underperformed compared to S&P 500.
In other words, Collins is not just "wrong" according to his own criteria. He is, in fact, completely random. He could as well throw a dart into a newspaper and come with similar results.
So is "Good to Great" completely without merit?
I don't think so. First, it pays to pick it up used for $0.99 and see how one of the most successful business series books are done. That is, sell pseudo-certainty to gullible people. Second, it teaches a student a whole lot about processes with infinite variance like stock performance. Third, Collins praises companies (like Fannie Mae) for exact same things (clever borrowing against future risks) that ultimately killed those companies.
Bottom line? Collins is a charlatan, but there are many lessons to be learned from his failures. It makes it worth one dollar.
on March 22, 2017
I didn't find anything particularly insightful,it felt like more of a book of catch phrases and pseudo wisdom than any kind of deep analysis. "Get the right people on the bus" "get the wrong people off the bus" "get the right people in the right seats on the bus" I bought it on a recommendation from a friend for beginning my business and all I really want is a refund of my time and energy reading it. Inspirational quotes would be better and have about the same amount of substance as this book and *bonus* there are a ton of free apps for that.
on September 16, 2015
One of the worst books I have ever read. It comes off very contrived and agenda driven. He dedicates full paragraphs to pronouncing his terms correctly and restates the same concepts multiple times.
Four of his so called "GREAT" companies are
1. Fannie Mae (mortgage scandal)
2. Circuit City (declared bankruptcy)
3. Wells Fargo ($25B bailout)
4. Gillette (bought by Proctor & Gamble).
He completely disregards tech companies, and only looks at publicly traded companies. Granted private companies aren't as forth coming with their financial information but he has excluded a very large percentage of companies. He does defend this decision after the epilogue in the "Frequently Asked Questions" section. In the end he only succeeds in explaining why this book should have never been written/read; if you exclude all that data from you research it's not very convincing or accurate.
The bulk of the book is anecdotes, platitudes, and defensive allusions to previous and better business writers (most often Stephen R. Covey). I'm amazed this man was even able to get published.
I think this book is a testament to the business world's search for the next new fad that will come and go quickly. This ironically Collins speaks against in his book.
Four of his so called "GREAT" companies are
1. Fannie Mae (mortgage scandal)
2. Circuit City (declared bankruptcy)
3. Wells Fargo ($25B bailout)
4. Gillette (bought by Proctor & Gamble).
He completely disregards tech companies, and only looks at publicly traded companies. Granted private companies aren't as forth coming with their financial information but he has excluded a very large percentage of companies. He does defend this decision after the epilogue in the "Frequently Asked Questions" section. In the end he only succeeds in explaining why this book should have never been written/read; if you exclude all that data from you research it's not very convincing or accurate.
The bulk of the book is anecdotes, platitudes, and defensive allusions to previous and better business writers (most often Stephen R. Covey). I'm amazed this man was even able to get published.
I think this book is a testament to the business world's search for the next new fad that will come and go quickly. This ironically Collins speaks against in his book.
on February 6, 2017
This review is about the POOR QUALITY OF THE PHYSICAL BOOK CONSTRUCTION -- not about the content. I couldn't read this book. The print is fuzzy/blurry and shading on diagrams looks splotchy, like it was photocopied on a poor quality copier. The paper is so thin the print shows through, which adds to the difficulty of reading the book. I figured if I used a highlighter (which I like to do with business books) it would just about destroy the book.
I returned the book because I couldn't read it comfortably. I didn't even think twice: just printed the return label and dropped it in the mail. HOWEVER, I didn't realize the paperback book was NOT Amazon Prime. It came from ST. PAUL BOOKSHOP. The book cost me about $10.50. Return postage cost me $5.00. They charged me a restocking fee of about $5.00. I am getting 50 cents back. I will not make this mistake again!
I turned around and bought the hardcover version, and it looks fine.
I returned the book because I couldn't read it comfortably. I didn't even think twice: just printed the return label and dropped it in the mail. HOWEVER, I didn't realize the paperback book was NOT Amazon Prime. It came from ST. PAUL BOOKSHOP. The book cost me about $10.50. Return postage cost me $5.00. They charged me a restocking fee of about $5.00. I am getting 50 cents back. I will not make this mistake again!
I turned around and bought the hardcover version, and it looks fine.
on August 4, 2014
What a bunch of BS nonsense. I cannot believe that any kind of leader would implement these ideas...aside from a dictator
on January 12, 2013
Personally, I think this is a horrible book. The companies he picks are terrible and his only focus is on financial return to stockholders, nothing about how the companies are when it comes to corporate responsibility. Even that being said, many of the companies he picks have ended up not doing so well or have even gone out of business. If you think the only thing that makes a company good is its ability to provide a high stock price for its investors, even if only for a short period of time, then you might enjoy this book. However; if you think a company has a responsibility to be a good citizen in the communities they do business and have an obligation to treat their employees and customers with respect then you will probably think this book is trash as I did.
on October 22, 2015
History proved COMPLETE failoure of the book thesis. As many many authors and people in general, Collins needs to find (and sell) explanations, while most of history is bases on randomness. Another weak point of the book is naive language and concepts - (5-th level managers, hedgehock concept... )
Read "Black swan" and "Antifrigile" of Nassim Taleb instead;
Avoid "Good to great"! It's dangerous book; the only good reason to read it is to build your experience and critical thinking about bestsellers;
Read "Black swan" and "Antifrigile" of Nassim Taleb instead;
Avoid "Good to great"! It's dangerous book; the only good reason to read it is to build your experience and critical thinking about bestsellers;
on September 10, 2005
The thesis of this book is that companies led by "Level 5 Leaders" outperform companies led by more egocentric leaders over long periods of time, and they continue to succeed after the departure of the Level 5 leader. Unfortunately, as other reviewers have pointed out, all the companies held out by the author as being the kind with enduring success have pretty much all underperformed the market since the publication of the book. This is a result of flawed statistics, too short of an analysis period, and generally silly conclusions. Don't waste your money on this book.
on January 23, 2012
I have only begun to read this book as it is required for a class I am taking and I cannot stand it. The magazine-like writing style could be tolerated, but this man's self-aggrandizement is sickening. It boggles my mind that this book sold so many copies. His "data" is weak (to put it mildly), even though he has some sound ideas in the book, but they are NOTHING new, they are not "his ideas," but a re-branding of other's ideas to make them his own. I will finish the book as it is required for the class and re-review to see if I feel any differently about it at that time.
