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| Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't | 
 enlarge | Author: Jim Collins
Publisher: Collins Business
Category: Book
List Price: $29.99
Buy New: $8.25
You Save: $21.74 (72%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $8.85
Avg. Customer Rating:  (706 reviews)
Sales Rank: 215
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 300
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.2
ISBN: 0066620996
Dewey Decimal Number: 658
EAN: 9780066620992
ASIN: 0066620996
Publication Date: October 2001
Release Date: October 16, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Excellent June 13, 2008
Nutshell review - This is an excellent book. Great insights and ways of thinking about being better than just good. Very motivating and a must read for every manager.
The Bus, the BHAG and the Hedgehog! June 11, 2008
I find that I spontaneously use and spout out "Jim Collinisms" (is that a word!) based on the concepts in this book. As a business owner of a marketing firm that helps contract manufacturers get new customers, every day I use the principles of
* Getting the right people on the bus and then getting them in the right seats.
* Creating a Big Hairy Audacious Goal and using that as the vision to keep all the horses pulling in the same direction.
* Focusing on what you're really really good at that is your USP - Unique Selling Proposition, your niche, your sweet spot.
Thanks Jim -- I hope to someday be a level 5 leader, but need to get beyond the 3's/4's of just good...
 GREAT!!! June 9, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Good to Great is about a research to discover how an ordinary company can make the transition from being good, to achieving breakthrough and becoming great. He begins the book by describing the transition from good to great as a flywheel that consists of 3 stages of discipline with each stage containing 2 key concepts. What's important to understand is that becoming a great company takes time; it is a slow build up process that takes disciplined people, disciplined thought, and disciplined action leading to breakthrough. A great company does not become great overnight through a single defining miracle moment, savior, or revolutionary idea.
Jim Collins stresses the idea of Level 5 Leaders and having the right people on the bus, which is crucial to having a great company. These concepts are discussed in the first stage of the process, which really makes one re-evaluate the type of companies that one would want to be associated with. These first two ideas had me questioning my own personal work ethics, abilities, attitude, and overall character, hoping that I can be the right person on the bus and someday evolve into a Level 5 Leader. It takes great people to make a great company, so the question is are you or can you be someone great? The next stage of disciplined thought explains how one must confront the brutal facts of the current reality, you can't overcome obstacles or challenges unless you face them head on and have faith that you will prevail. Once this has been accomplished, a clear understanding of what the company can be the best in the world at, what the people in the company can be deeply passionate about, and what drives the economic engine of the company should be addressed. The intersection of these three ideas is what Collins calls the "hedgehog concept" and is another significant factor in becoming a great company. Without this insight and understanding, the company has no direction or light to follow. This stage is, in my opinion, the most difficult of this process. It is probably where most companies get stuck and are not able to clearly grasp and understand what is their hedgehog concept. The final stage is really just following through and having the discipline to make the right decisions and choices, by creating a "culture of discipline", which completely relies on the establishment of the first two stages. This is the chapter that really brings all the concepts together and how to put it all into action. The idea is not having to manage the people in the system, but rather managing the system itself.
Overall, this book was a very easy and intriguing read. Collins does a great job at keeping the reader interested with the various examples and stories that he incorporates into the ideas that he is trying to get across. He uses a lot of fascinating jargons or statements that really stuck in my mind such as "rinsing your cottage cheese." I believe the ideas that are presented in Good to Great can really open some people eyes and give better understanding of why we sometimes find ourselves dreading the idea of work at one company and excited about going to work at another. On that note, I would highly recommend this book and leave you with a quote from Pablo Picasso, which was used, in the last chapter of the book, "It is your Work in life that is the ultimate seduction."
Good to Great by Jim Collins June 9, 2008
I would rate this book as a five star book. It gives the reader different points of view regarding the management of different companies that made the transition from good companies to great companies. The most important subject of the book revolves around the people. In the book, Jim Collins describes how great companies made the transition because they had Great people working for them that understood the Hedgehog concept. Overall, I would really recommend this book to management because it describes how to improve the quality and the performance of your company.
Ismael Favela
Good Overview, Great Content June 8, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Jim Collins did a great job at analyzing how companies go from Good to Great.
Jim and his staff of researchers were able to compile data on the great companies to compare with the mediocre or weaker companies. This data portrayed very well how simplicity is a key component to great success. The hedgehog concept displays how a simple idea can be useful. Staying away from confusion and too much clutter allows a company to stay focused on what they want to do. Also, finding the right people for the company philosophy makes establishing and maintaining a great company much easier.
The book was a great guideline for transforming average companies into great ones. He also established why reading both books would help in building great companies. He ties the concepts together very well.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants to go beyond being satisfied with success alone. Basically, everyone should remember to do what they do best and take control of those opportunities that are made available.
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