Amazon.co.uk Review
Five years ago Jim Collins asked the question, "Can a good company become a great company, and if so, how?" In Good to Great Collins, the author of Built to Last concludes that it is possible, but finds that there are no silver bullets to greatness. Collins and his team of researchers began their quest by sorting through a list of 1,435 companies, looking for those that made substantial improvements in their performance over time. They finally settled on 11--including Gillette, Walgreens and Wells Fargo--and discovered common traits that challenged many of the conventional notions of corporate success. Making the transition from good to great doesn't require a high-profile CEO, the latest technology, innovative change management or even a fine-tuned business strategy. At the heart of those rare and truly great companies was a corporate culture that rigorously found and promoted disciplined people to think and act in a disciplined manner. Peppered with dozens of stories and examples from the great and not-so-great, Collins lays a well-reasoned roadmap to excellence that any organisation would do well to consider. Like Built to Last, Good to Great is one of those books that managers and CEOs will be reading and rereading for years to come. --Harry C Edwards
Sunday Times Business Books of the Year
'in this category (management books) there is nothing to touch Jim Collins... It is essential reading.'
Book Description
The best-selling Built to Last answered the question of what it takes to build an enduring, great company from the ground up. Good to Great answers an even more compelling question: can a good company become a great one and, if so, how?
Product Description
Can a good company become a great one and, if so, how?
After a five-year research project, Collins concludes that good to great can and does happen. In this book, he uncovers the underlying variables that enable any type of organization to make the leap from good to great while other organizations remain only good. Rigorously supported by evidence, his findings are surprising - at times even shocking - to th emodern mind.
Good to Great achieves a rare distinction: a management book full of vital ideas that reads as well as a fast-paced novel.
From the Publisher
The best-selling Built to Last answered the question of what it takes to build an enduring, great company from the ground up. Good to Great answers an even more compelling question: can a good company become a great one and, if so, how?
About the Author
Jim Collins left the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1995 to set up a management laboratory in Colorado. He has worked with senior executives and CEOs from over 100 corporations including Starbucks Coffee, Time Warner, Johnson & Johnson and E-loan.com. He is co-author of the best-selling Built to Last - which has been on the Business Week bestseller list for 57 months, sold 500,000 copies in the US alone and has been translated into 17 languages. (20010730)
