Jim Collins' Good to Great investigates how companies transition from average to exceptional performance.
The research team identified companies with sustained success, comparing them to those that didn't make the leap or failed to maintain it.
The study discovered key factors like Level 5 leadership, getting the right people before determining strategy, confronting brutal facts, having a "Hedgehog Concept," and fostering a culture of discipline.
Unlike comparison companies, great companies avoided celebrity CEOs and dramatic change programs, opting for a consistent "flywheel" approach.
The book ultimately argues that any organization can achieve greatness by applying these principles and focusing on long-term, sustained growth, emphasizing these ideas are not industry specific.
Collins contrasts the Good to Great study to the Built to Last study, where he suggests Good to Great is about how to take an organization with good results and make it great, whereas Built to Last is about taking great results and how to make an enduring great company.
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