Good To Great Summary

Jim Collins’ book Good to Great unpacks an underestimated power that helps companies, organizations and even churches achieve more than others. Basically, Collins says, we settled for good enough and we need to pursue greatness. He says, “Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice.” It is a choice and a choice that every leader must choose. However, choosing great over good does not come how most people would assume. Great companies focus on eight key principles and among them, Level 5 Leadership, the Hedgehog Concept and the Flywheel stand out to me as the most important. However, I wrestle with his Built to Last ideas. First of all, Level 5 Leadership is all about the top management team of an organization or even a church. The big question is whether or not those leaders are in it for personal gain or for the greatness of the organization’s mission. Collins says, “Level 5 leaders channel their ego needs away from themselves and into the larger goal of building a great company.” Leaders have egos and Collins point is use that in away that helps the company become
He asks us to imagine a giant weight needing to be lifted, yet you have a flywheel to assist you. In addition, as a team works the flywheel, it eventually takes off and begins to do some of the heavy lifting for you. Collins calls this momentum. The important piece to this principle is that is was not one big push that created the momentum, yet continuing in one direction for a long time that eventually created the unstoppable motion. And as Collins points out, that momentum is contagious. He states, “When people begin to feel the magic of momentum—when they begin to see tangible results, when they can feel the flywheel beginning to build speed—that’s when the bulk of people line up to throw their shoulders against the wheel and push.” People want to be on a winning