Customer Reviews:
 A Book That Gets Down To Business June 22, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
If you are like me and struggle to keep a business running at a profitable level, then you need books like this one. In my opinion, "The Businessman's Bible" is an alternative title for this great and informative text.
This book is gleaned from facts acquired through years of researching the ups and downs of thousands of companies, to learn what works and why, and what definitely should be avoided in the business world.
If you are in business or even contemplating going into business, then you must read this book.
How To Keep Your Man: And Keep Him For Good
Real Life Dramas - Volume One
Darren G. Burton
Who is on your Bus? June 16, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is one of the most quotable books around. There are excellent tidbits, which can be applied to everyday business. For example, Right people on the bus, Hedgehog concept, Level 5 leadership....a dabbling for everyone to enjoy and quote.
 Excellent June 13, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Nutshell review - This is an excellent book. Great insights and ways of thinking about being better than just good. Very motivating and a must read for every manager.
The Bus, the BHAG and the Hedgehog! June 11, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I find that I spontaneously use and spout out "Jim Collinisms" (is that a word!) based on the concepts in this book. As a business owner of a marketing firm that helps contract manufacturers get new customers, every day I use the principles of
* Getting the right people on the bus and then getting them in the right seats.
* Creating a Big Hairy Audacious Goal and using that as the vision to keep all the horses pulling in the same direction.
* Focusing on what you're really really good at that is your USP - Unique Selling Proposition, your niche, your sweet spot.
Thanks Jim -- I hope to someday be a level 5 leader, but need to get beyond the 3's/4's of just good...
GREAT!!! June 9, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
Good to Great is about a research to discover how an ordinary company can make the transition from being good, to achieving breakthrough and becoming great. He begins the book by describing the transition from good to great as a flywheel that consists of 3 stages of discipline with each stage containing 2 key concepts. What's important to understand is that becoming a great company takes time; it is a slow build up process that takes disciplined people, disciplined thought, and disciplined action leading to breakthrough. A great company does not become great overnight through a single defining miracle moment, savior, or revolutionary idea.
Jim Collins stresses the idea of Level 5 Leaders and having the right people on the bus, which is crucial to having a great company. These concepts are discussed in the first stage of the process, which really makes one re-evaluate the type of companies that one would want to be associated with. These first two ideas had me questioning my own personal work ethics, abilities, attitude, and overall character, hoping that I can be the right person on the bus and someday evolve into a Level 5 Leader. It takes great people to make a great company, so the question is are you or can you be someone great? The next stage of disciplined thought explains how one must confront the brutal facts of the current reality, you can't overcome obstacles or challenges unless you face them head on and have faith that you will prevail. Once this has been accomplished, a clear understanding of what the company can be the best in the world at, what the people in the company can be deeply passionate about, and what drives the economic engine of the company should be addressed. The intersection of these three ideas is what Collins calls the "hedgehog concept" and is another significant factor in becoming a great company. Without this insight and understanding, the company has no direction or light to follow. This stage is, in my opinion, the most difficult of this process. It is probably where most companies get stuck and are not able to clearly grasp and understand what is their hedgehog concept. The final stage is really just following through and having the discipline to make the right decisions and choices, by creating a "culture of discipline", which completely relies on the establishment of the first two stages. This is the chapter that really brings all the concepts together and how to put it all into action. The idea is not having to manage the people in the system, but rather managing the system itself.
Overall, this book was a very easy and intriguing read. Collins does a great job at keeping the reader interested with the various examples and stories that he incorporates into the ideas that he is trying to get across. He uses a lot of fascinating jargons or statements that really stuck in my mind such as "rinsing your cottage cheese." I believe the ideas that are presented in Good to Great can really open some people eyes and give better understanding of why we sometimes find ourselves dreading the idea of work at one company and excited about going to work at another. On that note, I would highly recommend this book and leave you with a quote from Pablo Picasso, which was used, in the last chapter of the book, "It is your Work in life that is the ultimate seduction."
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