| Title | : | Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck—Why Some Thrive Despite Them All |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0062121006 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780062121004 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 183 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2011 |
Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck—Why Some Thrive Despite Them All Reviews
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What were some of the most shocking / memorable incidents you can recollect since the last 10 years?
• 9/11?
• The Financial Meltdown? Lehman Brothers? Billions getting wiped out?
• The iPod, iPad, iPhone revolution?
A lot has happened in the last 10 years.
Giants who were invincible are now forever invisible.
The corporations with abundant financial health are today on a dying life support system.
The mortal legends whom we always remembered have become the immortal legacies we will never forget.
So much has changed I must add.
And that is what Jim Collins book ‘Great by Choice’ does – recount, recollect and remember those companies, corporations and conglomerates that have survived, sustained and synchronized their way to success.
In his classic fashion of an exhaustive research of reviewing 20,400 companies with 7,000 historical documents and cutting them down to 11 fixed criterions, Jim along with Morten Hansen – a faculty member at Harvard Business School spare no effort in coming up with bold new theories and thought provoking concepts.
The foundation of this book is based on the following premise:
• Uncertainty is permanent,
• The worst will always be round the corner,
• Chaotic times are normal,
• Sudden great fortune is always dangerous
• Change is accelerating,
• Instability will characterize the rest of our lives
The central question this book adopts:
• Why do some thrive in the face of immense uncertainty, and others do not?
The book boils down to three core behaviors:
1. Fanatic Discipline:
• Consistent action based on core values, goals, and methods.
• They are consistent in their commitment to growth.
• It is a never ending process, month after month, year after year.
2. Empirical Creativity:
• It is based on direct observation.
• The metaphor of firing ‘bullets’ in the dark, and once you get the target in sight, fire canon ball.
3. Productive Paranoia:
• Always prepare for the worst
• The only assurance you can expect is tough times.
The companies studied for this book were:
• Amgen,
• Biomet,
• Intel,
• Microsoft,
• Progressive Insurance,
• Southwest Airlines,
• Stryker
• Genentech,
• Kirschner,
• AMD,
• Apple,
• Safeco,
• PSA and
• United States Surgical.
Among the many interesting findings in this book, he also comes up with a few great concepts.
• 10x companies
• Level 5 Leader
• 20 Mile March
• The interesting story of Roald Amusdsen versus Robert Falcon Scott (October 1911 life-threatening adventure) to reach the south pole.
• The amazing story telling description of the May 1999 Malcolm Daly and Jim Donini episode
• The brilliant though provoking analysis related to ‘Luck and Return on Luck’.
The only drawback (don’t know if you can call it so) to Jim Collins work:
• Is that among the 11 featured companies mentioned in ‘Good to Great’ – Circuit City and Fannie Mae are nearly bankrupt.
• Great Leaders are humble – well was, Mr. Steve Jobs a ‘humble leader’? (The answer is – NO WAY!)
Now though these two points by itself are completely and totally negligible by any standards, I must add that given Jim’s incredible ability to really capture the imagination of its readers by the fantastic mind-boggling research and study, you will realize Collins books take the role of being more on the descriptive rather than a prescriptive side of explanations.
And description is not prescription therefore is not the solution.
This book is not a ‘how to’ book, nor one that provides the magic recipe that can solve problems. Rather just a brief study of what made these companies or individuals stand the test of time.
Overall ratings
Even after working so hard to find a flaw in his book. I would say this is yet among the many books that I have read and keep reading, a master-piece in research and study. Though when I compare it to the standards Jim has set for himself – not the greatest or ground breaking as its predecessors, yet formidable enough to retain the title of greatness.
Given his brilliance, I am sure, no matter what happens in the next coming 10 years, given all the tragedies, unpredictable events and horrors we may encounter, Jim will always stand out as a great intellect, author and researcher.
As usual, I loved his book.
Overall rating – A well deserved 9.5 out of 10. -
It's really 183 pages (the rest is just research notes). The whole book is summarized on page 175. There's some interesting anecdotes and the ideas make sense, but this is a very slight (as in not very deep) book. What makes a company great is that they do deep analysis of the business, prepare, take advantage of success without endangering the company, re-evaluate periodically, and work steadily for success, making adjustments if necessary.
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I liked the lessons this offered, but it felt a little... "toot my own horn" at the beginning, and it kind of turned me off a little. The historical examples, especially those involving the South Pole expeditions and the IMAX trip to Everest, were interesting reads.
3.5 stars, really. -
Спочатку мені здалося, що ця книжка буде дуже нудною, але я знову помилилася :)
Ще такого крутого опрацювання даних я ніколи не читала.
Ця книжка - це дослідження того, що потрібно робити для побудови успішної компанії. Джим Коллінз зібрав дані (за період 10 років) про компанії, які досягли успіху і їхніх опонентів, які загнулися, і всі вони представлені у книжці. Досліджували все: галузеву динаміку, джерела стартового капіталу, керівництво, корпоративну культуру, навіть дитинство і вих��вання менеджерів.
Тут можна прочитати про те, що наявність інновацій у компанія у 64% не спрацьовує, або переконатися ще раз у цьому, що ще жодна компанія не отримала прибутків через везіння, як всі компанії тестували свої ідеї на користувачах з допомогою дрібних експериментів, а потім випускали продукт, який реально потребували користувачі. І найцікавіше - це все реально підтверджує дослідження! Це круто.
Коли я читала книжку Hard things about hard things, я думала: "Блін, який той Горовіц кльовий." І тільки зараз я зрозуміла, що він робив все, що радив Коллінз в Great by Choice.
Вести людей за собою - це важко, надавати людями послуги якісно - це важко, бути в кризовій ситуації - це важко, звільняти людей, які тобі стали рідними - це важко. Прочитайте цю книжку, щоб стало легше вести людей за собою і створювати якісні, круті речі. -
I am a huge admirer of Jim Collins' research, methods and tight, accessible, methodical writing. "Great By Choice," however, suggests that perhaps the scholarly architecture that made his previous work so great may be losing a bit of its strength. There's a bit of a teabag on its third cup of tea here. The core thesis seems less powerful. The evidence just as good and rich, but in the service of smaller objectives. The narrative less nuanced. Well worth reading, but not as provocative as Collins' previous work.
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This book is an engaging exploration of why some companies become great while others don't, despite experiencing similar uncertainty, chaos, and “luck”. It shows that greatness depends on action and discipline, not circumstance or luck. Essentially, success depends more on what we do than what the world does to us. This finding is encouraging and empowering, since we often feel that we’re at the mercy of forces outside our control.
I liked the point that one of the most important forms of luck is people luck, or "Who Luck"; having the right mentor, partner, friend, etc. Because the right people can be key to success, I've been trying to expand my network and maintain strong relationships.
Jim Collins is known for his thorough research, and this is no exception. I liked this book more than
Good to Great (
see my review) because it’s more about individuals than companies.
Core behaviors of 10Xers
Fanatic discipline: they have relentless focus, independence of mind, and extreme consistency.
Empirical creativity: they base decisions on empirical evidence, not conventional wisdom or authority figures.
Productive paranoia: they’re hyper-vigilant of changes in their environment, and respond with preparation and productive action.
Level 5 ambition: they balance personal humility and professional will. They’re ambitious for a cause greater than themselves.
20 mile march
Hit specified performance markers consistently over the long term. This requires high performance in hard times, and holding back in good times.
Fire bullets, then cannonballs
Once you’ve met your industry’s innovation threshold, being innovative doesn’t matter much.
Bullets are low-risk, low-cost tests to see what will work. Based on the resulting empirical evidence, concentrate your resources and fire a cannonball (a higher-risk, higher-cost action). Be creative, but validate your ideas. Then, keep 20 Mile Marching to make the most of the big success.
Leading above the Death Line
Prepare for bad events by building cash reserves and taking other precautions.
Pay attention to risk and respond to changes.
The sign of mediocrity isn’t unwillingness to change, but chronic inconsistency (always changing with every new trend; being controlled rather than taking control).
“Not all time in life is equal. Life serves up some moments that count much more than other moments. We will all face moments when the quality of our performance matters much more than other moments.”
SMaC
Create a SMaC recipe: a Specific, Methodical, and Consistent success formula, and amend it only rarely. Think of the US Constitution and its amendments.
Return on luck
The authors define luck as a significant, unpredictable event.
10Xers didn’t have more good or bad luck, but they had a better return on luck (ROL).
The question isn’t whether you’ll have luck (good or bad), but what you’ll do with it. The problem isn’t a lack of good luck; it’s failing to execute on it. -
This short book talks about how to create a great company, which it takes to mean (1) performing 10X better than comparisons (2) in wildly uncertain environments. It's a pretty good and even contains some actionable things.
The authors pick a number of companies that outperform the market by 10x or more and compare them to a similar companies that don't. Examples are Intel vs. AMD, Microsoft vs. Apple (before Steve Jobs' return), Southwest vs. Pacific Southwest and so on. The key insights map pretty well to the table of contents:
* "20 Mile March" means setting a stable goal and delivering on it in both good time and bad. The key is not over-delivering in good times. If you plan to take a really long hike, set a goal (like 20 miles per day) and stick to it. On bad days, work hard to meet it. On good days, take it easy once you've met it – don't try to do 25 or 30. Rest instead. That way you'll have the strength for the bad days.
* "Fire Bullets, Then Cannonballs" means making a big bet only after you've made a few small bets that ensure (or greatly heighten the chances of) success. Before making a huge offense in a new market, test it by a few smaller ones and commit only when the data is making you fairly confident. Keyword "data". Above all, don't get in a place where you need to make a big bet that's a Hail Mary.
* "Lead above the Death Line" means being prepared for things to go wrong all the time. Have plans B and C, so when the worst case strikers, you're prepared, instead of dead.
* "SMaC" recipe stands for "Specific, Methodical and Consistent". For me personally, the key part here is "specific". I won't be able to do this justice in this review, but you might want to check the excerpt on Jim Collins' site:
https://www.jimcollins.com/concepts/s...
* "Return on Luck" – the 10x and comparison cases had similar amounts of good luck and bad luck, but what made a huge difference is how they responded to it. The 10Xers managed to convert good luck into amazing returns, while the comparisons squandered it; the 10Xers managed to convert bad luck into defining moments (e.g. Intel getting out of the memory business and into processors), while the comparison cases got crippled by it. The whole chapter is really interesting and attempts to analyze luck methodically.
Overall, the book got me hooked on Jim Collins. He's written three other books (Good to Great, How the Mightly Fall and Built to Last) and I'm eager to get into them soon. -
Great, great, great! Go out and read immediately. A wonderfully hopeful and logic-based formula for progress.
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The future cannot be exactly foretold, but we can create it
10Xers reject the choice between consistency and change — they embrace consistency and change, both at the same time
They take full responsibility and when they do this they demonstrate fanatic discipline, empirical creativity, and productive paranoia
Empirical creativity — tempered by reality and facts rather than whim and untested theories
Productive paranoia — a never-ending and very careful assessment of risk
10X CEO — a great dedication to the company
A bullet has little cost or risk and is a very good test for what will work, which then becomes a cannonball and has high cost and risk but promises good returns
Luck:
The event is independent of the person receiving it
The event is important
The event is unpredictable to a greater or lesser degree
Goals live on the other side of obstacles and challenges
Level 5 ambition — channel ego and intensity into something larger and more enduring than yourself - focus on your cause, your company, your work; Choose goals by impact, contribution, and purpose if you want to attract others to help
Fanatical Discipline — Keeps the leader on track
Empirical Creativity — Keeps the leader vibrant
Productive Paranoia — Keeps the leader alive
Greatness is not primarily a matter of circumstance, greatness is first and foremost a matter of conscious choice and discipline -
It's not a bad book but it does not stand out like previous Collins books (Built to Last and From Good to Great), I did not find that much novel information from it. Furthermore I was a bit annoyed that the authors claimed about a massive research conducted for high number of companies but the actual results were barely mentioned (a few examples like Southwestern, Apple, Microsoft and Intel were used throughout the book, Amundsen's Sout Pole and Krakauer's "Into Thin Air" as historical case studies). For me one of the more interesting concepts (and more difficult to follow) was the walk 20 miles per day idea (keep a steady pace even if the going gets very easy for a while). I was also not that impressed by the 10X companies claims and this book is using the term quite freely to say the least.
As Taleb writes about Black Swans that you cannot predict what and when will happen but in uncertain business environments you can say with high certainty that something is coming at some point, so better be ready for it (Great companies are more conservative compared to the average). Don't let conditions determine your success, instead prepare to survive and thrive in any environment.
The concepts from two previous books were questioned in "You are not so smart... " book, I don't really feel that this book makes a compelling case against the claims raised there. Still in the end of the day there are interesting thoughts in the book and thus 4 stars.
In unpredictable business environments the companies that are well prepared will prevail.
10x companies set themselves targets which they hit precisely year after year - no matter what the conditions.
First shoot bullets and only after empirical evidence shoot a big cannonball(testing the market with series of low-risk, low-cost innovations). 10X companies are bold and innovative, but only when the evidence supports such tactic.
Innovation alone is not enough, it must be combined with discipline in business practice. While companies that fail to make their industry threshold in innovation cannot hope to succeed, innovation at higher levels seems to bring little advantage because company that focuses too much on innovation will become unbalanced.
10x companies are productively paranoid - they fear the worst and obsessively prepare for it (i.e. higher cash to assets ratio).
10x companies create durable and specific operating procedures which breed consistency and success (including what they are deciding not to do, which is important part of good strategy).
Neither luck nor chance makes 10x companies great - hard work and ambition does (statistically those companies did not have more luck events than the overall tested group).
The three core behaviors:
*Fanatic discipline, while discipline does not mean everybody in the organization obeying orders but consistency in action.
*Empirical creativity when making decisions
*Productive paranoia helps to survive changes in their competitive environment. Such companies are never comfortable but always fearful of what might go wrong.
“if you want to achieve consistent performance, you need both parts of a 20 Mile March: a lower bound and an upper bound, a hurdle that you jump over and a ceiling that you will not rise above, the ambition to achieve and the self-control to hold back. ”
“When you marry operating excellence with innovation, you multiply the value of your creativity.”
“Discipline, in essence, is consistency of action—consistency with values, consistency with long-term goals, consistency with performance standards, consistency of method, consistency over time. Discipline is not the same as regimentation. Discipline is not the same as measurement. Discipline is not the same as hierarchical obedience or adherence to bureaucratic rules. True discipline requires the independence of mind to reject pressures to conform in ways incompatible with values, performance standards, and long-term aspirations. For a 10Xer, the only legitimate form of discipline is self-discipline, having the inner will to do whatever it takes to create a great outcome, no matter how difficult.” -
This was an interesting look into leadership styles and what differentiates certain competitors. The methodologies and conclusions were things i hadn’t thought of before; and there was definitely helpful takeaways. A bit more strategic than others I’ve read but definitely a cool perspective.
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Well written, easy examples to be successful and I like the take-away of this book.
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Amazing book. Concise and with the proper principles and values!
Highly recommended! -
A thorough look into how great companies survive trying times. The insights here are timeless - what contributed to these companies thriving decades ago are still relevant. Correct to say that the only constant thing is uncertainty, and this book has the key to navigate that.
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Good principles and some neat research done, though I really think the whole thing could be condensed quite a bit.
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Tư tưởng quản trị của quyển sách không có gì mới mẻ, không gây tác động mạnh đến người đọc. Chung qui lại để thành công, bất kì nhà lãnh đạo nào cũng cần có sự chuẩn bị, chuẩn bị mọi lúc, chuẩn bị cho trường hợp bất khả - khủng hoảng là điều cần thiết và dễ hiểu,nhưng chuẩn bị sau khi đã mình đã thành công thì không phải ai cũng "nhớ" để mà làm, cái say men chiến thắng cũng tệ hại không kém việc thiếu cẩn trọng trong thời kì suy thoái.
Tạp chí Wallstreet Journal review quyển này như sau: "Collins đã đưa ra hai thông điệp quản trị đầy hấp dẫn: những con người bình thường đều có khả năng đạt được trình độ quản trị xuất sắc, và những con người đó có thể xây dựng những tổ chức vĩ đại. Đó chính là những gì mà chúng ta - những người bình thường - muốn nghe". Đó chẳng phải là một trong những lý do mà nhiều người chúng ta luôn chọn khi tìm kiếm một cuốn sách hay. Sách nếu không chỉ cách thức giúp con người ta tốt lên mà đào thêm hố sâu ngăn cách giữa những kẻ bình thường và người vĩ đại thì việc gì phải đi tìm kiếm những cuốn như thế này về mà đọc.
Mình chấm 3 sao vì nội dung không mới, sách dịch dở quá, những strategy của 2 ông tác giả viết thưỡng xuyên bị lặp lại khá nhão nhoẹt, strategy thì dùng tittle hơi dài dòng, gây khó chịu cho người đọc. -
The concepts in this book are solid. The text seemed somewhat repetitive. Not only that, but just about all of their findings about what distinguishes companies that blow away the competition even in tough times are simply rigorous application of the theory of what works. Zoom out, zoom in? Use both Sensing and Intuition. SMaC? Keeping what works is the strength of those who prefer Introversion and Sensing, and further, is often seen as "resistance" by leaders with other preferences. I've never been called into a dysfunctional team where at the heart of it, there wasn't a leader over-using a preference, or a team out of balance, or one faction or another viewing the other preference's normal behavior as somehow "wrong". Because we are so hard-wired not to see our own flaws (see Katherine Schultz's Being Wrong) we need a neutral frame like type to figure out what we aren't aware of!'
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This book is yet another Collins home run, maybe the most crucial for entrepreneurs early in their career where everything we face comes with uncertainty.
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A heartening read.
This book demonstrates that luck does not create success. Innovation does not create success. Action and discipline are required. Indeed, the successful have three characteristics: Fanatic discipline, Empirical creativity and Productive paranoia.
In other words, hard work, data-based decision making and preparing for the worst are enabling forces for achievement.
Considering all the stuff about the fourth industrial revolution and the creative economy, this book demonstrates that disciplined commitment will create success.
Obvious, but sort of liberating ... -
Terrible, mostly padding and repetition, but what’s worse is that the “concepts” “discovered” are just empty buzzwords with no proven predictive power nor actionable advice. Read “the innovator’s solution” instead.
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4.5 stars. Despite the format of easy-reading management book, the emphasis on quantitive data and detailed analysis of pairs of similar companies does make this convincing as more than a collection of opinions an anecdotes. The conclusions are also both surprising in places and yet instinctively compelling. They're also quite counter-cultural for the genre in that "being the most innovative" and "moving rapidly in response to change" as a company actually turned out to be losing strategies quite often for their companies studied, unless accompanied by other stabilising behaviours. I won't try to summarise - read some other reviews or better yet, the book itself. It's quite short.
There's a story told in the introduction that basically condenses the entire book, contrasting Scott and Amundsen's approach to reaching the South Pole, especially in terms of how they handled risk in supply planning, innovative technology choice, maintaining a steady rate of progress, and how they reacted to setbacks. I don't know if it's fair to Scott or not, but it's a brilliant use of a parable as a teaching aide. I'll remember it long after I've forgotten all the other companies in the list. -
Good book. Several core ideas are hard to prove wrong, thus the extent of how scientific these evidences are is questionable.
However, key things I took for myself:
1. Level 5 ambition leaders:
- passionately driven for a cause beyond themselves;
- doing it not for themselves, for the company (channel their ego to smth bigger than they)
2. Empirical Creativity:
- fire bullets, not cannibals (this idea intersects with SCRUM (Sutherland), Lean Startup (Ries), 4 Steps for Epiphany (Steve Blank)
- reasoning by first principle (intersects with Musk advices and thinking)
- empirical evidence vs what others think
- independence and confidence driven by the data/observations (iteration and measurement)
3. "Who" luck is the most important. Swim with great people and build deep enduring relationships and you'll start getting lucky. -
Best takeaway was that luck is based on people. Get lucky with the people that you surround yourself with. The triangle framework of fanatic discipline, productive paranoia, and empirical creativity had some great backup evidence, but it's still unclear whether they can be trained or if they're developed from a young age / inborn...in which case, how much can we really "choose"? The author seems to imply that Progressive insurance got lucky by having a 10x son (Peter Lewis) to takeover as CEO. I did like the idea that it's all about whether you're able to execute on your luck though. Everyone gets lucky, but it's up to you to take the best advantage of it. Basically, life/business is one big game and you have to play your hand properly.
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Короче, это книга про то, что великие - это не мы.
Про то, что великое лидерство это сочетание некоторого количества психических расстройств (Коллинс говорит про ОКР, пусть и не называет его так - и паранойю, хоть и называет ее продукт��вной) с любопытством я подозревала и раньше, и это не совсем тот коктейль, который можешь смешать себе сам) Практически все, о чем он пишет - применимо в любом рабочем быту (железная дисциплина! боже, да), но сколько среди нас тех людей, кто способен на железную дисциплину и одновременно к принятию решений? то-то же.
Классная книжка, но как 99 процентов бизнес-литературы - бесполезная чуть более, чем полностью. Но читается как Майн Рид, за это ей 4+ -
The first impression (not only mine) which come up during reading this book - I'm not such crazy as I thought.
"Great by choice" presents a set of conclusions which:
- clarify the impact of factors like the luck preparation etc.,
- are easy to understand but hard to sustain on daily basis when you are tired, overwhelmed by duties or cannot think 100% clearly because of emotions.
The story about Andy Groove - the masterpiece which mind-blowed my thinking about how deeply things can be analysed. -
I thought that this was a decent leadership/business book, but overall will be tough to implement many concepts for people not in very high up executive positions of power.
There were some solid takeaways for first level leaders and mid-level managers. I really like the concepts of fanatic discipline, empirical creativity and productive paranoia.
I did enjoy the example anecdotes and stories shared, those were very applicable and I felt like I learned the most from them. -
Another great book by Jim Collins, I feel like wanting to give it 6 stars, if that would be possible.
The third book I read from the author, with such key concepts such as:
- The relationship between luck and success
- Fanatic discipline
- Empirical creativity
- Productive paranoia
- 20 mile march
- Fire bullets, then cannonballs
- SMaC
...all backed by scientific research and anecdotal evidence from the most successful companies and leaders in the U.S.
A must read for business leaders!
