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on November 16, 2011
I'm rather disapointed with this books' contribution to the corporate ideosphere. Apart from the rare dripplets of water to the mill, I definitely do not feel smarter after this acquisition. This is not CEO bedside material.
Mr Collins takes annoying shortcuts through corporate intricacies and lays out platitude after platitude of before and after scenarios, when all we really want to know is the juicy in-between voyage.
Mr Collins tries to whet your appetite with boggling stock performances at every page and wild success stories, with very little consideration for macro-economy, competitive and legislative environment and internal politics and struggles.
Even more annoying are easy handed attributions that undermine the book's credibility, like one executive who emphasizes how plans are useless but planning is invaluable - Mr Collins doesn't feel the need to footnote that this is Eisenhower's one-liner.
If you must read one book on corporate leadership, THIS IS NOT the one. Focus your attention on tried but true Dale Carneggie. Another door into the leader's mind is leaders' biographies - Ben Franklin, W. Buffett, Lincoln...
Cut out the middle man and go to the source.
Mr Collins takes annoying shortcuts through corporate intricacies and lays out platitude after platitude of before and after scenarios, when all we really want to know is the juicy in-between voyage.
Mr Collins tries to whet your appetite with boggling stock performances at every page and wild success stories, with very little consideration for macro-economy, competitive and legislative environment and internal politics and struggles.
Even more annoying are easy handed attributions that undermine the book's credibility, like one executive who emphasizes how plans are useless but planning is invaluable - Mr Collins doesn't feel the need to footnote that this is Eisenhower's one-liner.
If you must read one book on corporate leadership, THIS IS NOT the one. Focus your attention on tried but true Dale Carneggie. Another door into the leader's mind is leaders' biographies - Ben Franklin, W. Buffett, Lincoln...
Cut out the middle man and go to the source.
on November 21, 2011
I'm about ten to fifteen percent of the way through the book. I intend to finish it, although it will be painful.
I believe that there are some good nuggets of information in this book, and anyone who runs a business or intends to do so will benefit from the information in the book. However, between those valuable nuggets exists extravagant fluff, repetition, and flowery language.
The book could probably be more effective at half the size. As you read, I would suggest that you skim, paying attention to mostly thesis statements, and final conclusions. Everything in between is not worth much at all.
I believe that there are some good nuggets of information in this book, and anyone who runs a business or intends to do so will benefit from the information in the book. However, between those valuable nuggets exists extravagant fluff, repetition, and flowery language.
The book could probably be more effective at half the size. As you read, I would suggest that you skim, paying attention to mostly thesis statements, and final conclusions. Everything in between is not worth much at all.
on November 12, 2013
I didn't like that the book was trying to create concepts that I've read in so many books by renaming the concepts with his own terminology. I'm sure the book has great findings but poorly set up for application to the real world, with few examples that can apply to small organizations which most ppl are part of. The big fortune 500 executives might like this book.
on December 10, 2014
boring and beats and re-beats the same ideas. no new concepts on how to be a great leader or a great person which is the genedal idea that is stated which these companies must have as their leaders to go from good to great. i couldnt even finish reading it due to the bore and i am an engineer accustomed to reading boring material.
on August 25, 2014
This is yet another exercise in futility - trying to come up with a formula that explains away success of certain companies and failure of its competitors. The premises of this search are misleading - the criteria of success (the company has to be growing steadily substantially more than its competitors for at least 15 years in a row), the definition of success (Wall Street measuring stick of dividends), comparative analysis of less successful companies occupying same niche (a priori it is assumed that they were doing something wrong).
Why misleading, because I believe there're millions little things at work in any organization, plus there's luck factor, and being at the right place, at the right time, synergy. All that you can't take into account when you're doing a research, because they're invisible. You can't measure them. Can't compare them with other little things in other organizations. And invisible things are the most important. Like with Toyota. It fits the bill - steady growth for more than 15 years, way above its competitors. It's been carefully studied for decades, replicated (unsuccessfully) and yet no one has figured out the recipe of their success. Maybe because all these million little things work there so well, but then again why they work in Toyota, and say, don't work so well in Honda or Nissan or Mitsubishi? - go figure!
So for five years Jim Collins's team collected evidence and facts and came up with a flywheel chart. It turns out old truisms are true: you gotta have the right leader, you gotta know what ya good at, you gotta be realistic, you gotta love what ya doing, you gotta be disciplined, you gotta apply new technology. No freaking way, guys! And the competitors didn't make the cut, because they had a leader who's an egoist and megalomaniac, didn't know what they're good at, weren't realistic, disciplined, over applied new technology etc.
At one point in the prologue, Jim Collins, the author, asks himself smugly how much would they pay him for his book NOT to be published, so big ego CEOs will continue to hide the fact that they're useless. At least $200 000 000, he claims. Proving beyond any shadow of doubt that he himself is an egocentric, megalomaniac leader, who drives his team towards wrong conclusions, he makes it look believable by wrapping it up in common truths that his team came up with, branded his idea as original so he could sell it to the masses and continue to make big buck through his lectures.
Why misleading, because I believe there're millions little things at work in any organization, plus there's luck factor, and being at the right place, at the right time, synergy. All that you can't take into account when you're doing a research, because they're invisible. You can't measure them. Can't compare them with other little things in other organizations. And invisible things are the most important. Like with Toyota. It fits the bill - steady growth for more than 15 years, way above its competitors. It's been carefully studied for decades, replicated (unsuccessfully) and yet no one has figured out the recipe of their success. Maybe because all these million little things work there so well, but then again why they work in Toyota, and say, don't work so well in Honda or Nissan or Mitsubishi? - go figure!
So for five years Jim Collins's team collected evidence and facts and came up with a flywheel chart. It turns out old truisms are true: you gotta have the right leader, you gotta know what ya good at, you gotta be realistic, you gotta love what ya doing, you gotta be disciplined, you gotta apply new technology. No freaking way, guys! And the competitors didn't make the cut, because they had a leader who's an egoist and megalomaniac, didn't know what they're good at, weren't realistic, disciplined, over applied new technology etc.
At one point in the prologue, Jim Collins, the author, asks himself smugly how much would they pay him for his book NOT to be published, so big ego CEOs will continue to hide the fact that they're useless. At least $200 000 000, he claims. Proving beyond any shadow of doubt that he himself is an egocentric, megalomaniac leader, who drives his team towards wrong conclusions, he makes it look believable by wrapping it up in common truths that his team came up with, branded his idea as original so he could sell it to the masses and continue to make big buck through his lectures.
on June 28, 2016
This book reviews a lot of analytics and metrics, but that's about it. I felt it was overrated. Bringing out the best in people or the magic of thinking big--much better.
on November 24, 2014
I was really surprised because very brilliant investors have recommended this book to me. Despite much protestation to the contrary, it's methodology is totally cherry picking/survivorship biased. Type A business schooly guy attributes success to type A business schooly behavior, not much investigation of possible confounding variables/examination of priors or the influence of pure luck.
on May 6, 2014
I was disappointed about this book. Many of the "Great" companies listed are not even in business anymore. That makes me skeptical of the authors business knowledge. Would go with a Ken Blanchard or John Maxwell book instead
