I think this is one of the best foundational books on business available. It lays a clear and simple foundation for building a solid strategy and a framework for looking at successful differentiation and business strategy in general.

I liked this book much more than "Built to Last" because the advice and learning seem to be immediately applicable to my current situation.

I first read Collin's research on company leadership back in the late 90s and appreciated the rigourous details. This book is built on the research and theory but is written in accessible language.
The lessons seem simple but are actually very hard to do in a business. Big Hairy Audacious Goals sounds simple but in fact are frightening to set because it might be embarrassing not to achieve them. This book helps you take those steps in the right direction.

This is a must read for anyone interested in those small but very significant leadership differences that allow companies to excel…for a very long time. Some truisms that resonated with me…

"leadership is equally about creating a climate where truth is heard and the brutal facts confronted",

"when in doubt, don't hire",

"put your best people on your biggest opportunities, not your biggest problems"

and my last point …"debate vigorously in search of the best answers, but unify behind decisions regardless of parochial interests".

Jim Collins does an excellent job in distilling and explaining. Read this book and then keep it nearby.

This is a must read for all CEO and Senior Managers. The monograph is also a must.

Well originally when I first started ready it... I didn't think I was able to finish it because although I loved the message, the style of writing was really annoying... very repetetive and long. BUT if you can stand it up to page 50ish, it changes and gets into it and very interesting.... the points are so crucial to remember that you'll want paperclips to mark out pages. Big bonus is that each chapter has an end summary. Awesome book for anyone struggling figuring out if they're doing the right thing.

Jim Collins, coauthor of Built to Last, and his research team have compiled one of the best written books on management. This book seeks to identify the factors that allow a company to transform itself from mediocre to greatness. Collins and his research team let facts, instead opinions, to determine the required elements to transform an organization.

The book is organized into three parts, under one theme. The parts are 1) disciplined people, 2) disciplined thought, and 3) disciplined action. These three parts are wrapped around by the concept of the Flywheel.

Read Jim Collin's Good to Great and you will understand "Why some companies make the leap ... and others don't."

a word on the rating: while the big ideas in this book are tremendously inspiring, I find much overlap with Innovation: The Five Disciplines for Creating What Customers Want. I believe that the emphasis on creating customer value and the compounding of knowledge will invariably force a company in the direction of going from good to great. However, many ideas in this book are complementary to Innovation: level 5 leaders, Stockdale paradox, hedgehog concept, and most importantly, the flywheel.

In the company that i work for, this book is "required reading" by all new employees!
You gotta have a BHAG!

This book is very interesting, the information inside is based on years of research and debate among a team of researchers, giving the theories inside a lot more authenticity. The book delves into the hows and whys of the 11 good to great companies that were selected. Some of the terms however you wouldn't want to use in a meeting or boardroom unless every person there had read this book, otherwise they might think you're off your rocker! The best example is the "Hedgehog Concept", I won't explain, you read it and find out, it's actually pretty cool.

Good to Great is one excellent book.

Jim Collins methodically walks you through data which clearly shows that sustained success (be it big business or small or even the success of a high school cross-country running team)comes from having the right people, the right leader (who puts the company's interests above his/hers), and other factors sadly lacking in most Fortune 500 companies.

Never mind the rah-rah self-congratulatory hype so pervasive in today's big business, says Jim Collins. Focus instead on running the business from the ground up, with the desire and will to be the best and taking small incremental steps to become the best

What is bureaucracy a symptom of?

Why did only 11 of the Fortune 500 make the cut as being Great companies?

What makes GREAT companies great?

Read on....this is one excellent book!

The author and his team brought to our doorsteps the results of a tedious exam of companies that use the very basic's of successful business management. Put away that MBA, hide that new mantra you've been saving for the team! Get focussed, get passionate, deliver what you do best!
Great book, inspiring for the small business person!

Every once and a while a business book comes along that revolutionizes our thinking and becomes a classic. Good to Great is just such a book. The book starts with the provocative statement "Good is the enemy of great". Collins then develops objective criteria that differentiated the good from the great companies, and noted that there is a point at which the great companies started behaving remarkably differently from their good counterparts. The great companies attained extraordinary results, averaging cumulative stock returns 6.9 times the general market in the fifteen years following their transition from good to great. Collins then compares these extraordinary companies with other companies, which remained good but did not reach the transition from good to great.

Amongst the factors that differentiated the great companies were level 5 leadership, hiring the right people and letting go of the wrong, confronting all of the facts -- especially the brutal ones, developing an