Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't by James C. Collins

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't by James C. Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I wasn't planning on reading Good to Great this month, but I had reserved it from the library, and well, when opportunity knocks...

I read and reviewed Good to Great back in 2011, and gave it a glowing 5 stars, but my enthusiasm has probably waned a little since then. I still think it is a great book, but I've been exposed to a lot of other great books, and this is very foundational. Not as actionable. And although Collins addresses the concern of only having 11 companies to study, I still have trouble with it. With such a small data set, it is hard not to see outside influences and circumstances that might have affected the outcomes he highlights.

So I still like the key concepts in this book. Who before what. The hedgehog concept. The three circles. The flywheel principle. I think what I would really like to see is a follow-up study of the next generation of companies who fit the same criteria, and another study 10 years after that, etc. Every 10 years or so a new batch of companies should come along and either validate or invalidate his findings. Or just build on them and add depth. Until then, this one has slipped to 4 stars for me, although I still highly recommend it.