Rating:
5/5 overly complicated corporate analogies
Author:
James Collins
Amazon Link:
referral program on hold :(
When I started working at X-energy, I quickly found out that the entire company had recently been encouraged to read Good to Great and demonstrating knowledge of it’s relatively complex analogies was a key criteria to demonstrating managerial competence. I quickly Googled the summary, added some mentions of the book in my daily slides, and slid quietly past the cultural gatekeepers who elevated the book to daily discussion within our meetings without really planning on taking the time to read the text.
I expected the references to the book to slowly decline as colleagues moved on to the next business success trend, quickly forgetting the little phrases that confused outsiders and reinforced the various concepts reviewed in the book. To my surprise, this didn’t seem to be happening. If anything, I saw our leadership returning to Good to Great again and again, even as other literary points of interest rose and fell over the months. I realized that there was something different and profound about the book that I wasn’t grasping by just reading the summary, that I would need to dive in and see what all the fuss was about. I am extremely glad that I did, as Collins provides one of the best investigations of commercial longevity and underlying drivers of long-term success that I have ever read. Good to Great delivers critical truths regarding building social structures and successful enterprises, cautions against reliance on a single visionary or temporary advantage, and drives home evidence-based philosophy for building a great team that will outlast any single member.
After taking the time to really investigate and digest Good to Great, I can confidently say that is different from most similar texts that promise to provide the secrets to corporate success with a number of clever analogies. comparing it against the various other business strategy books that I’ve read over the years, and noting where Collins diverges from the norm and takes a more scientific approach to understanding the drivers of success, I can whole heartedly recommend the book as both a scientist and engineer. Collins looks at the facts and at data, then tries to find the common traits that lead a small number of companies to unparalleled success over a wide range of industries and societal environments. His advice seems very intuitive and straightforward, but is nuanced and not the obvious path for many businesses to take as they are planning for future endeavors.
Good to Great changed the way that I understand business development and team-centered strategy for long-term commercial success. I would highly recommend that anyone interested in these topics read Collins’ detailed investigation and try to apply the timeless advice as much as possible. I hope that the follow up, Built to Last, is just as compelling and informative. I now understand why the text had such an impact on my colleagues and I hope it continues to be a central piece of literary guidance for our company for many years to come.