Book Review: Good to Great by Jim Collins

I enjoy the wisdom of a good book and the opportunity to share it with others. However, instead of another boring book review, I’ll simply compile my favorite quotes from some incredibly insightful books and add my two cents in along the way. I hope Atlanta companies who are looking for help in recruiting and staffing will find resources like this helpful.

Today’s book, Good to Great by Jim Collins will inspire you to greatness.

Collins produced the book based on a research project conducted to explain what makes average companies great, while others, with the same opportunities, remain average and eventually fail.

“Good is the enemy of great. And that is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great.”
Collins explains from page one that a mindset of excellence is imperative to being unsatisfied with GOOD and achieving GREAT.

“Great vision without great people is irrelevant.”

“When you combine a culture of discipline with an ethic of entrepreneurship, you get the magical alchemy of great performance.”
Collins begins by describing the character of the CEOs of the Good to Great companies he profiled. Discipline and a strong work ethic were not surprisingly some of the most evident qualities of these men.

“People are not your most important asset. The right people are. ”

“In retirement, Smith reflected on his exceptional performance, saying simply, ‘I never stopped trying to become qualified for the job.’” One of the more surprising traits discussed in the book and epitomized in Darwin Smith, CEO of Kimberly-Clark, is humility. Level 5 leadership, the pinnacle of great leadership as Collins describes it, cannot be reached without a sincere dose of humility.

“The only way to deliver to the people who are achieving is to not burden them with people who are not achieving.” (My favorite quote from the book.)

“Get the wrong people off the bus and the right people on the bus and in the right seats.”
The dominant metaphor that Collins creates throughout the book is that of a company as a bus. It is not just important to get the right people, but the Good to Great companies got the right people on the right seats on the bus.

Lastly, Collins dictates an effective principle he calls the hedgehog concept. It surmises the sweet spot in which the Good to Great executives were most effective. The sweet spot includes the overlap in the areas of the business you know, the work you are passionate about, and the effort you can be the best in.

All this has strong correlation with the businesses we partner with to do Atlanta recruiting and staffing. Allow us to help you find the right people so your company can grow to its full potential!