Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies (Good to Great, 2) by James C. Collins

Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies (Good to Great, 2) Reviews

• 
  Obied Alahmed

  - استراتيجيات بعيدة المدى تكون أهم من الأشخاص ولا تتغير بتغيرهم
  - نظم جادة تتحول لعقيدة تعمل المنظومة كلها وفقا لها
  - أفكار جريئة لا خجولة ولا متهورة
  
  هذا المزيج لابد من توفره لتتحول الشركات إلى عملاق يسيطر ويستمر لأجيال
  
  هذا يجعلنا نعرف البون الشاسع بين هذه الشركات وشركاتنا العربية التي تكون في الغالب مرتبطة بمن يجلس على الكرسي وتتغير بتغير ألوان ياقته
• 
  Tim

  This is one of the few business books I read cover to cover. I found its idea of what makes companies great to be an inspiring one. It led me to formulate my own "Big Hairy Audacious Goal," which I've tried to use to guide my company ever since: Changing the world by spreading the knowledge of innovators.
• 
  Peter

  jim collins cherry picked some companies that he thinks successfull and compare them to 'failed' rival company in the same industry to find out what characteristics that successful company has that the rival company doesn't
  
  Sounds good, but the problem is, he didn't compare the opposite. What those characteristics of successful company which other failed company also has but they still failed.
  
  For example, Big Hairy Audicious goal. I'm pretty sure that a lot of company around the world also has but they still failed.
  
  
• 
  Michael Perkins

  Used to know the author and read this book years ago. But his methodology and assumptions are questionable.
  
  Critique from Daniel Kahneman, author of "Thinking, Fast and Slow"
  
  
  https://delanceyplace.com/view-archiv...
  
  It's easy to connect the dots backwards, as Steve Jobs once put it. Hindsight does not equal foresight.
  
  Luck and timing matter far more than many want to admit.
  
  For example, there were several personal computers that were superior to the IBM/MS version, but they were too early, not a market for them yet, so they ended up in the historical dustbin.
• 
  Laura Noggle

  3.5 rounded up because it made me smile, had some catchy phrases, and was super short.
  
  Preserve the core! Stimulate progress!
• 
  Tõnu Vahtra

  The single most important point to take away from this book is the critical importance of creating tangible mechanisms aligned to preserve the core and stimulate progress. This is the essence of clock building.
  
  5 specific methods to do preserve the core and stimulate progress:
  *BHAGs: Commitment to challenging, audacious - and often risky - goals and projects toward which a visionary company channels its efforts (stimulates progress)
  *Cult-like Cultures: Great places to work only for those who buy into the core ideology; those that don't fit with the ideology are ejected like a virus (preserves the core)
  *Try a Lot of Stuff and Keep What Works: High levels of action and experimentation - often unplanned and undirected - that produce new and unexpected paths of progress and enables visionary companies to mimic the biological evolution of species (stimulates progress)
  *Home-grown Management: Promotion from within, bringing to senior levels only those who've spent significant time steeped in the core ideology of the company (preserves the core)
  *Good Enough Never Is: A continual process of relentless self-improvement with the aim of doing better and better, forever into the future (stimulates progress)
  
  “Having a great idea or being a charismatic visionary leader is “time telling”; building a company that can prosper far beyond the presence of any single leader and through multiple product life cycles is “clock building.”
  
  “The only truly reliable source of stability is a strong inner core and the willingness to change and adapt everything except that core.”
  
  “Visionary companies are so clear about what they stand for and what they’re trying to achieve that they simply don’t have room for those unwilling or unable to fit their exacting standards.”
  
  “Indeed, if there is any one “secret” to an enduring great company, it is the ability to manage continuity and change—a discipline that must be consciously practiced, even by the most visionary of companies.”
  
  “Comfort is not the objective in a visionary company. Indeed, visionary companies install powerful mechanisms to create /dis/comfort--to obliterate complacency--and thereby stimulate change and improvement /before/ the external world demands it.”
  
  “If you are a prospective entrepreneur with the desire to start and build a visionary company but have not yet taken the plunge because you don’t have a “great idea,” we encourage you to lift from your shoulders the burden of the great-idea myth. Indeed, the evidence suggests that it might be better to not obsess on finding a great idea before launching a company. Why? Because the great-idea approach shifts your attention away from seeing the company as your ultimate creation.”
  
  12 Myths Shattered
  Myth 1: It takes a great idea to start a great company.
  Myth 2: Visionary companies require great and charismatic visionary leaders.
  Myth 3: The most successful companies exist first and foremost to maximize profits.
  Myth 4: Visionary companies share a common subset of "correct" core values.
  Myth 5: The only constant is change.
  Myth 6: Blue-chip companies play it safe.
  Myth 7: Visionary companies are great places to work, for everyone.
  Myth 8: Highly successful companies make their best moves by brilliant and complex strategic planning.
  Myth 9: Companies should hire outside CEOs to stimulate fundamental change.
  Myth 10: The most successful companies focus primarily on beating the competition
  Myth 11: You can't have your cake and eat it too.
  Myth 12: Companies become visionary primarily through "vision statements."
  
• 
  J.R. Woodward

  Both James Collins and Jerry Porras have worked for a couple of the visionary companies that they write about and both have taught at Stanford University Graduate School of Business (Porras still does). Collins specializes in management education while Porras specializes in organizational behavior and change. They write and speak extensively in these fields and work as consultants for many successful organizations.
  
  The thesis of this book is that visionary enduring companies are not dependent upon one charismatic CEO; rather they share timeless, fundamental principles and patterns that transcend product ideas or great leaders.
  
  A key principle they uncover from their research is that visionary companies tend to be “clock builders, not time tellers.” Their first concern is building an organizational culture, rather than acquiring the right charismatic leader or the right product at the right time – “the company itself is the ultimate creation” (28). Enduring companies also avoid the tyranny of the “or” and embrace the genius of the “and” (43). It’s not go for the profit or go for the good of the world, but both. Visionary companies aim for the distinct and extreme ying and yang at the same time. Enduring companies preserve the core and stimulate progress at the same time with equal strength. They have Big Hairy Audacious Goals and preserve its core values. They have cult-like tightness around their core ideology and “turn people loose to experiment, change, adapt and – above all – to act” (139). They try a lot of stuff and keep what works. Visionary companies preserve the core by home-grown management and stimulate progress by trying to do better tomorrow than today. They also seek alignment and synergy in all they do.
  
  There are three primary principles that I will take with me from this book. The first is that visionary enduring organizations focus on being architects of the culture of the organization prior to anything else. This seems true to my experience for churches as well. We are called to cultivate contrast communities that serve the world by engaging in concrete practices that enable us to live out our core values and beliefs. The second principle that I will take with me on my journey in ministry is the importance of preserving the core while stimulating progress. Keeping the ying and yang distinct in this area is vital, for the core values endure but the way they are lived out often change. Then finally, I appreciate the mention of how alignment and synergy are key element to visionary organizations. I have found this principle to be vital as well.
  
  I was glad to hear that not all of the visionary companies use BHAG’s extensively (93,94). At this point in my life, BHAG’s feel more exhausting then stimulating. Of course, I would agree with the authors that one of these elements alone, does not a great company make. BHAG’s by themselves can be de-motivating for a community that has not yet developed a culture necessary to enact those goals. Timing of BHAG’s is crucial.
  
  I have found two principles to be vital for us to implement. First is home-grown leadership. I would say that some of the biggest problems that have ensued in our church plant have been when we have taken leaders from the “outside” and too quickly put them into influential roles. We have corrected this by requiring people be with us for a season in order to be immersed in our core before being given the privilege to serve in influential roles. Second, and the most important principle that our community needs to implement from this book is finding more and various ways to immerse people into our core values and practices while continuing to be innovative in how we accomplish our mission.
  
• 
  Alejandro Sanoja

  This is the BEST book I read in June 2021.
  
  If you are a business owner or a leader within an organization, you MUST read this book.
  
  If you want to build a visionary organization, this is the book for you.
  
  The book will completely change the way you think about the culture, structure, and many other important components of your business.
  
  Flow: 5/5
  Actionability: 5/5
  Mindset: 5/5
  
  Some of My Highlights:
  
  "There are many ways to measure the success of a book, but for us the quality of our readership stands at the top of the list."
  
  "Myth 7: Visionary companies are great places to work, for everyone. Reality: Only those who 'fit' extremely well with the core ideology and demanding standards of a visionary company will find it a great place to work. It's binary. There's no middle ground. It's almost cult-like."
  
  "Their greatest creation is the company itself and what it stands for."
  
  "They just started moving forward, trying anything that might get them out of the garage and pay the light bills."
  
  "...Sam Walton also started without a great idea. He went into business with nothing other than the desire to work for himself and a little bit of knowledge (and a lot of passion) about retailing."
  
  "J. Willard Marriott had the desire to be in business for himself, but not clear idea of what business to be in."
  
  "The problem is, how do you develop an environment in which individuals can be creative?... I believe that you have to put a good deal of thought into your organizational structure in order to provide this environment."
  
  "...the shift to seeing the company itself as the ultimate creation."
  
  "He created cash awards and public recognition for associates who contribute cost saving and/or service enhancements ideas that could be reproduced at other stores."
  
  "Tips and ideas generated by associates got published in the Wal-Mart internal magazine."
  
  "In the 1930s, he established art classes for all animators, installed a small zoo on location to provide live creatures to help improve their ability to draw animals, invented new animation team processes (such as storyboards), and continually invested in the most advanced animation technologies."
  
  "A visionary company doesn't seek balance between short-term and long-term, for example. It seeks to do very well in the short-term and very well in the long-term."
  
  "F. Scott Fitzgerald pointed out, 'The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function."
  
  "Yes, Sony made crude heating pads and sweetened bean-paste soup to keep itself alive (pragmatism), but it always dreamed and pushed toward making pioneering contributions (idealism)."
  
  "And, during the same era, he boldly introduced the $5 day for workers which, at roughly twice the standard industry rate, shocked and outraged the industrial world."
  
  "People who make the numbers and share our values go onward and upward. People who miss the numbers and share ur values get a second chance. People with no values and no numbers - easy call."
  
  "Visionary companies tend to have only a few core values, usually between three and six."
  
  "The only sacred cow in an organization should be its basic philosophy of doing business."
  
  "We've found that companies get into trouble by confusing core ideology with specific, noncore practices."
  
  
• 
  Soroosh Azary Marhabi

  کتاب رو ۲ نفر استاد دانشگاه نوشتن، و تقریبا مطلقا از تجربه خودشون صحبت نمی‌کنن. سوالی که داشتن اینه که یه سری شرکت‌ها ویژنری میشن و طی مدت زمان طولانی (چند دهه) همیشه جزو پیشروهای بازارشون هستن، چه خاصیتی باعث میشه یه شرکتی ویژنری بشه؟
  
  برای جواب دادن، یه تعداد خوبی شرکت ویژنری رو انتخاب کردن، و فقط شرکت‌هایی رو انتخاب کردن که براشون شرکت مشابه داشتن: شرکتی که تقریبا با شرکت اصلی همزمان تاسیس شده، خیلی شبیهش بوده و تا یه جایی هم پا به پای شرکت اصلی جلو اومده، ولی بعدش ازش عقب مونده. مثلا برای بررسی سونی شباهت‌ها و تفاوت‌هاش رو با کنوود در نظر گرفتن، برای فورد، جنرال م��تورز، و... و البته اینکه فقط شرکت‌هایی رو در نظر گرفتن که قبل از ۱۹۵۰ تاسیس شدن و تا زمان نوشته شدن کتاب (دهه ۹۰ فک کنم) هنوز سر پا موندن و ویژنری هستن، این کار رو کردن که مطمئن بشن قدرت این شرکت به ساختار و تیمشه نه موسسش، نه یه فرد خاص.
  
  نتیجه اینه که یه سری نکته/راه‌حل/ویژگی پیدا کردن که شرکت‌های ویژنری دارن‌شون، و مقصودشون اینه که برای اینکه یه شرکت ویژنری بسازید باید این کارها رو بکنید. طبیعتا یه سری از این کارا بدیهی هستن برای همه، ولی فک کنم هر کسی که به این موضوع علاقه داشته باشه یه سری از این نکته‌ها براش تازه باشن. نه از این جنس که اصل هر کدوم از این ویژگی‌ها تازگی داشته باشن، ولی احتمالا تو جزییاتشون نکته‌های جدید زیادی برای اکثر افراد داشته باشه، یا حداقل برای من داشت.
  
  و البته یه نکته بد هم داره کتاب: اینکه شرکت‌هایی رو که قدیم تاسیس شدن رو مقایسه می‌کنه باعث میشه خیلی‌هاش رو ما نشناسیم (به خصوص شرکت‌هایی که برای مقایسه در نظر گرفته) و حجم زیادی نکته از دست بره.
  
  این رو هم بگم که با اینکه ازش خیلی خوشم اومد، ولی به نظرم اصلا به درد استارتاپ نمی‌خوره، به خصوص ۲-۳ سال اول، و اینکه توی شرکتت برای این نوع مسائل واقعا وقت بذاری و براشون انرژی صرف کنی به نظرم یه شکم سیری خاصی می‌خواد! و گذشته از شکم سیری، خیلی‌هاش واقعا دغدغه‌هاییه که بعد از موفقیت‌های اولیه برای شرکت به وجود میاد: مثلا یکی از فصل‌هاش در مورد اینه که شرکت‌های ویژنری فقط به سود فکر نمی‌کنن و دنبال هدف‌های بزرگتری هستن و خیلی جاها سود رو برای اون هدف کنار می‌ذارن. حالا پیدا کنید استارتاپی که سودآوره 😁
• 
  Chris Boutté

  I may get a lot of flak for this, but this is such an overrated book, I was in awe. After years of hearing this book referenced in a variety of books on business and entrepreneurship, I finally decided to pick it up after hearing that this book is research-based. This book is the epitome of finding data that supports your hypothesis, but the authors tout it as simply writing about their findings. I’m sure I’m scrutinizing this book a tad more than the average reader, but nobody who takes research seriously would agree that what Porras and Collins wrote was anywhere near the scientific standard. If you’re looking for a self-help or motivational book to improve your work ethic or help you remember your core values, feel free to check this book out. But this book is not what it’s advertised as and aside from being riddled with research flaws, the evidence is all anecdotal.
• 
  Mario Tomic

  One of the most valuable books I've read on how to build a company that will change the world. The book is loaded with research, hard evidence to support the claims and with great stories. Collins really nailed it with this one, the content debunks a lot of the myths established by business schools, general public and media. I strongly urge you to read this book, even if you aren't planning to start a company. It will teach you many great lessons which will help you to achieve more success in life.
• 
  Mrwa Kabeel

  لن أنسى أن هذا الكتاب، هو ما أعطاني الشجاعة الكافية، لإنشاء مدونتي التي كانت تلوح في خاطري كل 10 ثواني، ولكني كنت أخاف - كما أخاف دائما من الفشل، ووهم المثالية المفرطة-
  
  علمني هذا الكتاب أن أبدأ ولو بأقل الامكانيات، أن أبدأ ولو كانت أول خطوة سيئة، لا يهم فهي حتمًا خير من لا شيء.
  
  وقعت في غرام مبدأ "و" بدلًا من مبدأ "أو".
  
  ممتنة للكتب التي لها التأثير الأعظم على معظم قراراتي في الحياة، دامت لي سندًا ورفيقًا لا أمل مجالسته.
• 
  Stephanie

  I'm reading this book for a company book club. My company views this work as guide for building and maintaining the company...making sure that it's 'built to last'. Reading Built to Last is also part of my indoctrination into the company culture, which I am told I am a good 'fit' for. It only follows that our book discussions are filled with comparisons of our company and the 'visionary' companies studied. We spend time relating what we read to what we see on a day-to-day basis at work, which makes this a more interesting experience than if I'd simply read Built to Last on my own. That being said, I don't really care for the writing or rhetorical style of this book, and I think the ideas are a bit outdated (maybe they've already been internalized by the global business community?) but I think it's an interesting glimpse into the commonalities and inner working of some very large, famous and mostly still successful companies. This week, we read about BHAGs and cult-like cultures, the former of which elicited a few YFZ ranch comments (Only in Texas...) but otherwise I think people were a bit reluctant to admit that our company endorses and embraces a cult-like culture. The myriad social groups, on-site cafeterias, free t-shirts, etc. do quite a good job of facilitating a cult-like culture, despite common grumblings I've heard among my co-workers. Anyway, I am glad I am reading this book if for no other reason than I get to witness my co-workers likening my company to a 'visionary' one. More to come...
  
  ++++++++++++
  
  So, today is the last day of my corporate book club meeting discussing Built to Last. I was a bit perplexed by one of the last chapters, which basically said "Don't get comfortable." I mean, I get this and all, but is that really the final shining gem that I am to take with me when all is said and done. Meh. Anyway, this has been an interesting enough read, though I think I would recommend that you read a good summary or review of the book as opposed to subjecting yourself to the entire 250+ pages of diluted case studies and less-that-slick rhetoric. This give me an idea....since at least a few of the companies outlined have fallen on hard times, it'd be interesting to make a "Where are they now" short film.
  
  My final words on this book: I'm glad it's over.
• 
  Reagan Ramsey

  i liked that they focused on companies that have made it long term in this book. it demonstrates that great companies aren't solely built on an idea or market timing; but on great systems, having a vision and mission that is higher than money (for real, not just something you put on a plaque somewhere), and creating a tight, consistent culture...so that it becomes apparent very quickly whether or not someone is a fit.
  I actually took their advice and spent some time thinking about what my mission would be if I never got paid for what I do. I realized that what i love about my role has nothing to do with the industry or any product (you can only get so passionate about insurance), but that I get to take something very complex and expensive and make it approachable to people. Financial rewards are important, but doing something that has real purpose is what makes those long days worth it.
  It was a good exercise. And a book definitely worth reading.
• 
  Youssef Assad (يوسف اسعد)

  I started to read this book after finishing Good To Great by Jim C Collins and it's really an excellent book that led me to reformulate my own concept about company's core values, purpose. The following chapters Clock Builder, Big Hairy Audacious Goal and Try a lot of stuff are extremely important and it did help me to see the bigger picture of how a company should operate. definitely, it's a must-read the book for any manager, CEO, Entrepreneur who is interested to contribute in building any company/organization that shall last over time.
• 
  Jen

  Corporate blah blah blah blah.
  
  I struggled to get through it, but it wasn't the most painful business book ever. I just can't stand the earnestness. Business books that read like they just found the map to the holy grail irk me. Cop to having a great deal of luck and admit your outlook may be totally wrong, but it's the best you could schlep together with what you know, and I'll get on board. If you fully buy into your own BS, I'm not going to enjoy your work.
• 
  Greg

  Update: I flipped through this a few days ago and realized this book is only slightly better than "Who Moved My Cheese," and other business-related books.
  I read this years ago, and today it's the only "business book" that has stayed on my shelves here at home after I finished my 30 years in corporate America. There are some good articles about successful companies vs. failed companies, and if I ever start a company, there are some admirable ones here with which to study.
• 
  Steve

  A spiritual epiphany was not what I expected when I took 'Built to Last' on a business trip to read on the plane.
  
  I can still remember the moment. I was reading Collins's chapter on the tension between preserving the core while stimulating progress and it struck me..... 'If there's any organization that should be preserving its core values while stimulating progress it's the Church - If there's anyone who should practice this it is Jesus' followers.'
  
  That was the end of the book for that trip.
  
  I still have the ticket stub on which I started working through the burning question Collins raised for me - 'What are my core values as a follower of Christ?'.
  
  I did not complete that effort on that flight. In fact, that moment of epiphany led to a meditative process that literally lasted for years as I worked to distill five core values I hold that are rooted in the words of God and speak deeply to where I feel God has called me as I follow Him.
  
  It was well worth the process.
  
  Many have written of the business impact of this book. I have nothing to add to that discussion. But the influence it has had on my spiritual life has been profound.
• 
  Radvilė Jusaitytė

  What I’ve learnt most from “Built to last” is to be a clock-builder not a time-teller.
  Very inspiring and detailed book, analysing visionary companies as Disney, 3M, Procter & Gamble and etc. What factors have influenced these companies’ existence and growth for many years? It seems that there are some of them that are similar among all visionary companies.
  My top key takeaways from this book would be: BHAG’s, core ideology for a company, “good enough never is”, stimulate progress, constant experimentation and long-term thinking.
  Highly recommend for everyone who is interested in business, entrepreneurship and especially for current CEOs or managers as this book can give you many life-changing lessons that you can apply.
• 
  Michael Scott

  A pale logical follow-up to
  Good to Great, by the same author. To sum it up comparatively,
  Built to Last is more juice (anecdotes), less pulp (thought).
• 
  Scott Holstad

  Some pretty decent observations and perceptions, but otherwise a bit subjective when it came to companies being used as examples. That being said, that accusation could rightly be leveled at tons of books, so I'm not sure how fair that is. Still, recommended and a fairly solid effort.
• 
  Caleb Kim

  Clock builder not time teller
  Genius of the And
  Preserve core/stim prog
  Consistent alignment
  
  Ch11 core ideology
• 
  Phuongvu

  Xây Dựng Để Trường Tồn - là quyển sách viết về những công ty hàng đầu, có tầm nhìn xa, hoài bão lớn. Cuốn sách dành cho những người không bao giờ hài lòng với kết quả đạt được, luôn đặt yêu cầu rất cao cho bản thân. Ngày hôm nay sẽ hơn ngày hôm qua. Luôn rèn luyện và phát triển doanh nghiệp để không chỉ thành công mà còn phát triển vững bền.  
  
  Quyển sách là kết quả nghiên cứu thực tế suốt thời gian dài về sự phát triển và triết lý quản trị của hàng loạt công ty. Sách là một tài liệu quý giá cho các nhà quản trị trong việc thiết kế, tổ chức thực hiện và xây dựng công ty thành công nhanh và vững chắc.
  Cuốn sách được trình bày với hàng trăm ví dụ cụ thể, sinh động, sắp xếp trong một khuôn mẫu rõ ràng, nhất quán của các khái niệm thực tế, tạo điều kiện dễ dàng áp dụng cho các nhà quản trị và nhà kinh doanh ở mọi cấp độ khác nhau. Xây dựng để trường tồn thực sự là một bản kế hoạch chi tiết cho việc xây dựng các tổ chức phát triển và thành công trong thế kỷ XXI.
  
  4 khái niệm hướng dẫn cho suy nghĩ về quản trị:
  1. Hãy là một kiến trúc sư, một người tạo ra đồng hồ chứ không chỉ là người báo giờ đơn thuần.
  2. Luôn thử nguyên tắc sự kỳ diệu của chữ Và
  3. Gìn giữ cái cốt lõi/ thúc đẩy sự tiến bộ
  4. Tìm kiếm sự liên kết mang tính nhất quán
• 
  Paco Alegría

  Uno mas de la lista (los teóricamente recomendados por Jeff Bezos).
  Me gustó el concepto, me parece un buen análisis "forense", y me parece que su gran aportación de valo, al menos para mí, es que nos ayuda a desmitificar el emprendimiento, que creo que en muchísimos casos resulta una imagen peligrosa y falaz.
• 
  Karl Hallbjörnsson

  Allt of löng, allt of mikil endurtekning. Svakaleg korpó-dýrkun. Ekki að ég hafi ekki vitað hvað ég var að koma mér út í. Fín fyrir það sem hún ætlaði sér I guess
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  Kelley

  Brilliant read to building a sustainable visionary organization
  
  Built to Last is a book of luminescent importance among books about successful companies/organizations. Based on the thorough research of Jim Collins (of Good to Great fame) and Jerry Porras, this book examines the qualities of visionary companies who had great success and staying power in their fields. They identified 18 such companies and had a comparison group of comparable companies in the same industry. The results are conclusive. Visionary companies thrive on being clock makers who build their organization to improve each year and withstand the test of time. They fervently focus on their core competencies. They consistently stay true to their core values. Yet they will change and innovate. They adopt the “genius of and” realizing they can be equally committed to seemingly contradictory purposes, yet those purposes are actually equally important. For example these companies can be committed to serving people, AND they can seek to dominate their market. They embody the yin and yang concept, complementary forces that co-exist and support one another. Visionary organizations are also committed to serving people and the greater common good, however they define it. They aren’t focused on profit as the most important purpose.
  
  This is another Collins book that is a total game changer, along with Good to Great and How the Mighty Fall. It’s a classic read of brilliant proportions. Any business or organizational leader who seeks to build something that lasts and thrives long after our own tenures passed to someone else, needs to read this book. NOW!
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  Zhou Fang

  I decided to read this book because in The Everything Store author Brad Stone notes Jim Collins' ideas were highly influential on Jeff Bezos. That influence is very apparent after reading both books. The key idea in this book is that "Visionary Companies," defined as a set of companies that are respected as industry leaders by a group of CEOs surveyed and have existed for 50+ years, are distinguished by their unwavering commitment to a core ideology, and willingness to change everything else. A Visionary Company has a cult-like culture which is defined by a set of principles that transcend the simple goal of producing profits. A core ideology is well-defined, while the company stimulates progress in every other aspect through experimentation and the setting of "big hairy audacious goals" (BHAGs). This is effectively how Bezos has thought about Amazon (although at the time the book was published in 1994 Amazon was not yet in existence). The core ideology is customer obsession, and everything else is a result of constant experimentation that pushes the company forward. Thus, Amazon is not defined by any specific business line (like AWS, Alexa, or even e-commerce) but is an organization that continues to push on its core ideology. Another key tenet which Bezos has also adopted is the idea that visionary companies are focused on doing better each day, and compete mostly against themselves. By creating an organization that is based on a core ideology, the business can transcend its leaders, products, and even industries as it continues to adapt to constant change.
  
  While I find the ideas to be very persuasive, I can't help but think that the book suffers from significant survivorship and narrative bias. A reader of this book today might find that while many of these companies still exist, many or even most may no longer hold visionary status (IBM, Motorola, HP, Citi, American Express, Nordstrom, Sony, amongst others). While the authors give this criticism much thought and try to control for it by comparing such companies to a control group of good-but-not-visionary companies, it's unclear what the relative importance of these ideas have compared to, say, industry or competitive dynamics. These businesses have all had very long histories, which means they have transcended industry transformations through time. However, to invert, it seems plausible that there are many businesses which may have followed these principles but nevertheless did NOT become visionary companies, even if these principles are far more prevalent in visionary companies compared to their secondary competitors. Nonetheless, I do think that having core principles is an essential part of building a successful organization, and this book does capture the essence of some very successful visionary companies (Bridgewater, Netflix, Amazon, and Google are today's companies that come to mind). It's worth the short read.