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on April 8, 2017
Good concepts and best put together with Built to Last. This is a standard corporate book. This book could be about 100 pages shorter with just as much concept. It drags a little once you realize the format.
on January 28, 2016
Good, but it could have been a pamphlet.
Way to long and way to inward praise focused (by the author) to be valuable.
Literally, this would have been great if it cut out all the "we are great researchers" BS and just stuck to the findings.
Good info, but 70% filler, a waste of valuable business time.
Way to long and way to inward praise focused (by the author) to be valuable.
Literally, this would have been great if it cut out all the "we are great researchers" BS and just stuck to the findings.
Good info, but 70% filler, a waste of valuable business time.
on March 24, 2016
I thought there were a few REALLY good points and analogies in the book - but then there were some parts that didn't line up. The author didn't want to attribute greatness to a leader but then a level 5 leader is a very key characteristic of a great company. I am disappointed because the points that are good and valid I can't do anything about. This book is mostly for CEOs or people in power. All I can do is tell my managers about what I learned and hope they apply if
on October 16, 2011
Good to Great is an interesting read but the title and cover promise a lot that is not delivered. There is a lot of time spent telling us why certain companies made it and why others did not.
There is a great deal of space dedicated to giving us ideas like get the right people on the bus and in the right seats. This concept is repeated, perhaps ad nauseum. There is also time spent telling us that good to great companies didn't just happen overnight. All this is great information.
About 2/3 of the way into the book the previous book, Built to Last, is compared to this book and from that point it becomes more of a review of Built to Last.
The concepts behind the book are good. The ideas and principles are sound. The book isn't loaded with a bunch of jargon or "Geek Speak". It is an interesting read and worth taking the time to read it.
Good to Great is considered to be one of the important works in business. Whereas I agree that any business student should read it I don't agree that it is up to par with the previous work of Built to Last. However this book, Built to Last and In Search of Excellence are "Must Reads" for any serious business student. The concepts presented are sound and bear repeating. I rate this work a three because it simply isn't as great as its title implies.
There is a great deal of space dedicated to giving us ideas like get the right people on the bus and in the right seats. This concept is repeated, perhaps ad nauseum. There is also time spent telling us that good to great companies didn't just happen overnight. All this is great information.
About 2/3 of the way into the book the previous book, Built to Last, is compared to this book and from that point it becomes more of a review of Built to Last.
The concepts behind the book are good. The ideas and principles are sound. The book isn't loaded with a bunch of jargon or "Geek Speak". It is an interesting read and worth taking the time to read it.
Good to Great is considered to be one of the important works in business. Whereas I agree that any business student should read it I don't agree that it is up to par with the previous work of Built to Last. However this book, Built to Last and In Search of Excellence are "Must Reads" for any serious business student. The concepts presented are sound and bear repeating. I rate this work a three because it simply isn't as great as its title implies.
on July 31, 2009
As an independent OD consultant/researcher I would not argue with a 5 or a 1 star rating. On the 5 star side I have seen this book do a lot of good for companies. It is most often a step in the right direction by company standards. Its insights are by no means new or earth shattering to the well studied but most organizational leaders do not have a lot of time to be well studied. This book is easy and fun to read. It sure is a lot more enjoyable that reading thousands of scholarly articles. A wine connoisseur once told me the way to tell if a wine was good was if you enjoyed it. If you enjoy this book and find it helpful then it is deserving of 5 stars.
A recent article in an academic journal spelled out some of the problems of the research behind this book (revealed because the idea is not mine). The research behind this book does not look for cases in which the method is followed and they are still not successful. For instance identifying level 5 leaders will not reveal that all of their organizations are highly successful. Statistically speaking it is almost impossible to gather data on 10 great companies (by whatever standard you choose) and not find a group of characteristics to identify commonalities. That it was these characteristics that made the organizations great is another matter entirely. Certainly this book leaves out a lot of considerations such as the competitive environment. One of his companies even changed its basic function in order to find another environment to compete within. I am not sure this is a viable strategy for many. In any regard it has by no means been determined that competitive opportunities were not due to the economic environment more than the organizations. By the standards of research I think the book is left wanting.
There are arguments about the truth of the study. I am not sure that matters to most. If it is useful then who cares. I have yet to find even great research that has found the "truth". I figure if Einstein could not nail it down then who am I to complain about another's inability to do so. I also find that the rigor of research is usually good but it also boxes out good ways of thinking at times. For my part I read this book when it first came out and thought it deserved 5 stars. I came to think it did not even deserve 1. Now I think I was wrong on both counts. Certainly finding its shortcomings was useful to me so perhaps it deserved 5 stars for becoming 1 star.
A recent article in an academic journal spelled out some of the problems of the research behind this book (revealed because the idea is not mine). The research behind this book does not look for cases in which the method is followed and they are still not successful. For instance identifying level 5 leaders will not reveal that all of their organizations are highly successful. Statistically speaking it is almost impossible to gather data on 10 great companies (by whatever standard you choose) and not find a group of characteristics to identify commonalities. That it was these characteristics that made the organizations great is another matter entirely. Certainly this book leaves out a lot of considerations such as the competitive environment. One of his companies even changed its basic function in order to find another environment to compete within. I am not sure this is a viable strategy for many. In any regard it has by no means been determined that competitive opportunities were not due to the economic environment more than the organizations. By the standards of research I think the book is left wanting.
There are arguments about the truth of the study. I am not sure that matters to most. If it is useful then who cares. I have yet to find even great research that has found the "truth". I figure if Einstein could not nail it down then who am I to complain about another's inability to do so. I also find that the rigor of research is usually good but it also boxes out good ways of thinking at times. For my part I read this book when it first came out and thought it deserved 5 stars. I came to think it did not even deserve 1. Now I think I was wrong on both counts. Certainly finding its shortcomings was useful to me so perhaps it deserved 5 stars for becoming 1 star.
on October 19, 2014
Ps good book that identifies the essence of the path eleven companies followed from being good to being great. There are some excellent lessons here for leaders in any industry, even non-profits. For me, Level 5 leadership and getting the right people on the bus are the absolute most important steps in this process, and in some sense these two steps make the others possible. It seems to me that Mr. Collins would agree, given that these are the first two factors treated in the book, in some sense the foundation upon which the others are built.
on May 12, 2015
Quite boring and a bit outdated.
Informative for corporations that need some type of structure and
if you know what you want out of it otherwise boring.
talks too much about the companuies that made it big and it takes too long to get to the point.
The point it conveys is realy a good point but it can also be misleading.
There are a few points that are not learly explained or covered.
Informative for corporations that need some type of structure and
if you know what you want out of it otherwise boring.
talks too much about the companuies that made it big and it takes too long to get to the point.
The point it conveys is realy a good point but it can also be misleading.
There are a few points that are not learly explained or covered.
on March 13, 2016
Jim Collins has a few methodology errors that he never really discusses. Some interesting ideas but the science has some fundamental flaws as far as statistical validity is concerned.
on December 10, 2015
it was a good read. It was very interesting learning about the history of the companies. But some of the companies listed as great have since gone. Which makes you wonder if they were really great. By his definition, they satisfied the criteria. Even knowing all the companies didn't continue to be great, I recommend this book.
