Book Introduction
There had been a lot of books that tackled the way how a company could excel in a certain field. There are books that exposed the mistakes that companies usually make while there are also other books that demand action done by these companies. In Jim Collins’ book titled “Good to Great”, there is no such thing as mistakes and mediocrity. For him, it’s the long term characteristics of a company that matter. There may be several companies who were genetically destined to become a large-scale enterprise in the future, but clearly, that is not the case for all companies. There are companies that only lie on the average and below average levels but still succeeded. There were even companies who came from the former 2 groups that I just mentioned but still far exceeded the achievements of the “genetically engineered to succeed” companies.
This is basically what puzzled Jim Collins to write, research and discover more about the mechanism of being good to great and its practical applications to business. Surely, such has the potential to be a key component for different companies to succeed because it’s also quite obvious that there are more companies who are on the average and below average levels in terms of size and revenue compared to companies who were genetically engineered to succeed.
This book is somewhat a form of research paper because basically, the author and his team want to prove something to the readers through several case studies. Different companies were studied and critically analyzed for the whole team to come up with a valid and satisfying answer to the question that preyed the author of the book for years: Can good companies evolve into great ones?
“Good is the enemy of great and that is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great” (Collins, 2001). This is a statement from author of the book “Good to Great” and it is one of the things readers could not afford not to absorb. The book presents details about the things a business manager or executive could do to turn company problems and long term mediocrity into success and greatness, which according to the author, is a possible thing.
The main idea that the author wants to convey to readers is the goodness that a company could find in being great. Being good is an essentially different thing and it’s something that the author does not really recommend. The analogy that the author used which used the government as an example could be a useful tool for readers to understand one important concept written on the book too. It says that the government of the country where he lives is good but it is nowhere near great and then he started citing differences between the two.
The book mostly tackled details that would help him and the readers determine and realize whether it’s possible for a good company to become a great one. In the end, Collins (2001) came up with a “yes”. It is very likely that companies will have to start out small and mediocre “for a while”, build up their momentum and then start to unstoppably rise to the top—a key component of being great.
Book Commentary
One good thing I noticed on this book is its research question. The author was able to come up with a very realistic and at the same time, interesting research question. It was interesting and many people would actually love to know the answer to such; not only businessmen but even students and professionals from other fields and even casual readers who are looking for an effective way to succeed.
Yes, the idea and the research question were good but after reading the book, there were several things that struck me. First, there were a couple of vague statements that the author and his team used. A good example would be their statements about a Leadership level of 5. They were not able to provide the guidelines that they used when they assessed a company leader whether he belongs to the said level or not. The book simply stated that a leader with such level has humility; other than that, they did not mention anything that would help the readers execute the same leveling that they did.
The book is also one sided. Collins and his team only cited examples that would support their claims about good and great companies and their development. They were basically not able to confirm their research because they have failed to provide “counterexamples”. With all the companies out there, there are of course ones who have a lot of “great qualities” but still remain on the “good level”.
Conclusion
Overall, the book was a good read. It is completely relevant to business management and even leadership. The subject was very interesting and at some point, entertaining with all of the research and analysis parts which made the readers participates more; but, it ends there. The author and his team’s use of vague and immeasurable statements plus their failure to provide counterexamples on their research were the major downsides of the book. The book should satisfy most casual readers but definitely not business analysts and economists who are consistently looking for solid and reliable sources they could use for further studies and anything related to their field.
References
Collins, J. (2001). Good to great: Why some companies make the lead and others don’t. Harperbusiness 1st Edition. Book.
