Good to Great

By Jim Collins; Published October 2001, by Random House Business Books; ISBN 0712676090

OK, I think this is a great book. I also usually groan when I hear someone wearing a suit quote the title. Especially if they have 'manager' in their title. Even more so if they use the phrase during a meeting. I'm heading for the door if they are attempting a motivational speech... It's one of those books that provides clear sound advice. A book that, if followed to the letter, will lead to success. Trouble is, it's easy to talk about it. Putting it into practice requires effort, lots of effort, sustained over a long long period of time... that's when people start to understand what is really required to be successful. Hard work! (This is the number 1 reason why you need to be passionate about what you want to do - that passion can sustain you through the toughest of challenges.)

I highly recommend buying the book and here is a short overview that hopefully explains why. The principles are not rocket science and any successful person will immediately identify with the advice, from first hand experience. The reason so many fail to complete the journey? You have to tick ALL the boxes, no weaknesses, no gaps, no short cuts, no excuses...

The Big Secret

How do you make the leap from good to great? Simple. It just takes Discipline:

Disciplined People
Disciplined Thought
Disciplined Action

There you go. Achieve those 3 goals and success will come your way. So what's the big deal? (Note: this review uses the phrase 'the company' but the advice can just as easily be applied to teams, organisations, projects...)

Disciplined People

For starters, you need a great leader. (Remember the warnings: you have to tick ALL the boxes. You haven't got a great leader? You just fell at the first hurdle.)

What makes a great leader? Interestingly, Jim Collin's research discovered that 10 out of 11 'good-to-great' CEOs came from inside the company. Lesson: The best CEO really does know the business inside out, and that includes understanding its culture, not just its balance sheet. The great leader is ambitious for the company to succeed (hate to spoil the fun, but this trait is sadly a lot rarer than it should be, personal ambition is usually on the hidden agenda), is a workaholic (remember: no shortcuts, tough if you want to spend time with your family) and is humble (read: sets the company up for even more success with the next generation... hmmm, I wish politicians in power would follow that one.)

So, you've got a great leader. What's next? You need the right people. Not just the most talented or qualified or experienced (although those traits will definitely come in handy). You need people who are passionate about making the company succeed. The simple litmus test: These people won't need to be highly managed or fired up by motivational speeches. They will want to be part of something great. And you don't just need to get the right people on the bus... you need to get the wrong ones off it. Not prepared to do some firing? (No easy task if you have an ounce of empathy, or work in a European country with strict employment laws.) You just failed at the second hurdle. Collect your horse and return to the stables, no prizes for you!

Disciplined Thought

The second stage is about setting the culture for the company. It is essential that you are able, at all times, to face up to the facts. You have to create a culture where the truth can be heard. I'll repeat that, in case you've started to speed read. Create A Culture Where The Truth Can Be Heard. That means having an environment where anybody, absolutely anybody, in the company can speak up when they spot a problem or issue that could lead in any direction other than greatness. Ever been in a meeting where the real issue is kept off the table? Ever felt that your promotion prospects are tied to your ability to make your manager (or better still, your manager's manager) look good? Ever witnessed 'The Fiefdom Syndrome' in action? We're not supposed to talk about any of this mind... hmmm, what happened to that culture that allows the truth to be heard? Yikes, multiple casualties at the third hurdle...

See what I mean, 'good to great' isn't so easy after all. It's simple, but who said simple was easy?

The second element of Disciplined Thought is to have a single organising mission that unifies and guides everyone. That means a mission statement that directly relates to what the company WILL do (not wants to do or would like to do in an ideal world). This is taken from the principle of The Hedgehog and The Fox. The Hedgehog knows one thing exceptionally well, and focuses 100% on that one thing. The fox pursues many different things, all at the same time. The world needs both, but great companies invariably behave like hedgehogs. The fox can be successful, but will struggle to be great at anything, due to the inconsistency that comes with chopping and changing direction.

Now here's the crunch issue. You have to be a hedgehog, and you have to tick all three of the following boxes:

Passion: you need oodles of passion for your mission
Economic drivers: there has to be a reason why people will want what you intend to do
Can be, not want to be: Back to that mission --> it has to be something you can do, that you have the ability to deliver. Not would like to do or want to be (like the tone-deaf wannabe singer) - you must have a real talent for what you going to do.

We can all find something that we are passionate about, where time just flies by because we are so absorbed in what we are doing. But to achieve great success requires ticks in all three boxes. Only then do you have the potential to achieve 'Best in Class'.

Disciplined Action

Onto the home straight. You've got a great leader supported by all the right people. You've got a clear mission with the right culture to support it. Now it's down to action.

To deliver the goods requires a culture of discipline. However discipline does not equal bureaucracy, it is the opposite. Bureaucracy arises for 3 reasons: lack of discipline, lack of trust, and incompetence. In other words, the wrong people are on the wrong bus. Who said you can get back on the horse? In this race, you have to successfully clear all the hurdles. To pinch a slide from Tom Peters: 'The Management Paradox'

"Ninety percent of what we call 'management' consists of making it difficult for people to get things done" - Peter Drucker
"There's a war on between the people who are trying to do something and the people who are trying to keep them from doing something wrong" - Bill Creech

If you can relate to those two statements, bureaucracy is in town and you fell at the penultimate hurdle. Unfortunately, it's not just internal politics that generate these problems. External influences, such as the need for regulatory compliance and a compensation culture, provide fertile ground for growing bureaucracy. We have the 'Good-to-Bad' companies to thank for that.

The final hurdle puts the spot light on technology. 'Good-to-Great' companies studied for this book were very good at using technology to accelerate momentum. That doesn't mean they built their businesses around technology - far from it. Technology was used as an enabler. Ever started an I.T. project because 'everyone else is doing it'. (The word 'Portal' comes to mind as a recent example.) That's not what great companies do. They directly align technology to their business and focus on technologies that are relevant to achieving their goals.

Conclusion

The key discovery that Jim Collins describes in the book is that, for truly great companies, there was no 'Miracle Moment'. No defining action that acted as a launch pad for success. Success often looked dramatic after the event but, in reality, it was a long journey that slowly built enough momentum (by not taking any short cuts) to reach a Tipping Point (a book review for another day). How often do we label manufactured pop-bands as overnight success stories or one-hit wonders? And how often do we hear them reply about the years it took to reach that number 1 slot in the charts. Think twice next time you dismiss someone's success as 'lucky'. I once heard a great quote, popular in sports and the arts but applicable to all of us: 'The harder you train, the luckier you get.' How true!