Good to Great - Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Dont by Jim Collins - Book Report/Review Example

Assignment The book Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … and Others Don’t by Jim Collins was published in October 2001with the basic language as English. The front cover is in the red print seemingly to show the importance of the contents whose highlights have been delivered in bold. The book aims to show how companies can grow from being of average status to being successful institutions and how many fail in the quest. Greatness in the case is defined as a financial performance which is in far multiples more than the market average over a specific period of time (Collins 3). The author, Collins, identifies the main factors that contribute towards the transition with most of them narrowing towards competence on the use of the economic resources of firms. The writer of the book has displayed his work on contextual chapters each covering a crucial topic of study that focuses on improving the contents of the previous chapter but maintaining the dominant thought. Generally, the book addresses one question of whether an average performing company can become reputable, and if so, the process of achieving that (Collins 7). Collins gives a clear analysis of how this can be achieved and elucidates that greatness cannot be born of circumstances, but it is primarily a function of discipline and conscious choice. He clarifies that based on a research project carried out to compare teams that have made significant changes to those that have not during a five year period. The book outlines concepts such as five levels of leaderships by advising leaders to first obtain what is relevant and the right people and then figure out where they want to drive it. This item is a powerful tool especially to business owner who are embedded in stagnancy and whose aim is to diversify their enterprises to far reaching heights. The book is a motivator. Most of the owners of businesses and organizations can invest towards the contents and the information contained therein and achieves prosperous organizations whose scales range with other top most institutions. The book identifies seven traits of companies that have transformed from satisfactory to become excellent by focusing on the leadership abilities and key areas that need be observed. The characteristics are further discussed each outlining key concepts and areas to focus on each of which is outlined below. The Flywheel Concept The flywheel concept in the book describes how change happens and how the additive effects of many small creativities act on each other like the components of compound interest to expand the business. A picture is drawn of a huge flywheel, a heavy, massive metal disk that is mounted on an axel. The mill is at a standstill and to make it move, one requires a substantial effort just to make it inch forward by an inch. Following a few days of continuous effort, the wheel can make an entire turn and even move faster with subsequent rotations. With every turn made the momentum gathers and the wheel turns in your favor with its own weight propelling it forward. There comes a point when one is no longer pushing, but the wheel continues acceleration, the momentum gathering and the speed increasing, a scenario referred to as the flywheel effect (Collins 37). The author likens the wheel to a business enterprise and the owner has a duty to propel it forward. The effects provide what it feels like to be in a changing environment and how it is like to embrace new strategies as well as getting others to adopt them. It involves building tangible evidence, and accountability of a firm is doing to achieve greatness maintaining aspects of credibility and authenticity. The process entails starting motions, keeping the momentum with consistency and having a sense of direction towards a desired target. The author however emphasized that the flywheel effect works because real people working in real companies want to be part of a winning team that contributes to real results production. The employees also want to feel the satisfaction of being in a project that has worked. When people feel the magic of the momentum, they get tangible results; line up their shoulders on the wheel and push and from that, change is achieved. The culture of discipline The idea of discipline is explained in three concepts. First is with regard to identifying the personnel to work with before focusing on the direction and the second relates to the hedgehog concept centering on proper thought process. The third is on action. The book provides a clear guideline on the importance of discipline towards achieving a target. The author elucidates this with a case of bus driver whose truck is at a standstill and has to get it going. In this case, the driver has to decide where to go, how and with whom to take. He explains that most people think that business leaders immediately start by setting new phases by communicating fresh corporate vision, which is not the case in most cases. In fact, company managements that have achieved the greatness starts with whom before going to what (Collins 83). They load the right personnel in the ventures, pull off the wrong ones and feed the right seats with the proper people. It is a sequence, firstly the personnel then the direction, irrespective of the importance of the situation. The author recognizes the need for business owners to identify right people and describes them as self-motivated, work as a team and are focused. He claims that if the team is wrong even if the direction is right, then greatness cannot be achieved since perfect vision with mediocre people produces poor results. An idea is presented to compare a fox that knows many small things to a hedgehog that knows one critical thing. A good to the great leader assumes a hedgehog though on being able to simplify complex items into an organizing idea which is the paramount principle that unifies guides and organizes all ideas. The author shows that strong leaders develop a hedgehog concept that is simple but whose insight and understanding are reflected. This involves confronting brutal facts by considering what the business can be best at and what the people passionate are at. The author identifies key companies and other comparisons that he cites within the text explaining how they came to be great. Disciplined action involves developing to do and to stop doing lists. Collins states that influential leaders distinguish themselves from unproductive statures and stop acting on things that do not fit in the plan (Collins 91). It relates to identifying key areas that bring profit and which will keep one in operation for long without dependency on others. The book is well articulated and a source of inspiration to many upcoming enterprises. It is also useful for self- motivation to individual and provides clear guidelines to structural changes. The author describes seven key attributes and areas to begin with when one intents to steer forward. The good to great findings apply not only to managers but also to all elements in all endeavors. It creates a focus of results by enabling one to develop a flywheel concept in responsibilities. The book is a learning experience especially to those who come across it, and it encourages that each one of us, provided with the right people in the bus can edge forward and ensure a circle of influences in individual areas of work bringing change which is desirable. Based on proper research, all individuals can focus their attention on things that are right and avoid those that consume time and energy without being productive thereby creating a powerful flywheel effect. Works Cited Collins, Jim. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Dont. New York: HarperCollins, 2011. Read More