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Good to Great #4: The Hedgehog Concept

In the book Good to Great, Jim Collins discovers that great companies from his study all had a similar approach to their business, an approach that lead them to greatness. Collins calls this approach the Hedgehog concept. The idea is that hedgehogs are focused and diligent in their activities, unlike foxes that chase shiny objects and are easily distracted. While I believe there is a better comparison than a hedgehog and a fox, it’s what Collins used to describe the success of these businesses.

The hedgehog concept boils down to this: in order to be successful, organizations must focus their resources, energy, and time on one specific area, one activity or product, and do it extremely well. You can’t be scatter brained and try to have your hand in multiple “pies” or fields of work...

September 18, 2012 Books, Good to Great No comments
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Good to Great #3: Confront the Brutal Facts

What it Means to Confront the Brutal Facts in Good to Great

In Good to Great, Jim Collins explains that successful organizations first start with an honest discussion of the environment in which they exist, what are the brutal facts surrounding your organization? The only way this conversation can occur on an organizational level is to create a culture, a climate, where people feel safe communicating; that they have a tremendous opportunity to be heard. Being heard is different from being able to say what you think, it means the other person listens. Confronting the brutal facts contributes to an effective decision-making process – it’s the only way to allow honest communication. If there is no open communication, problems or obstacles to an organization are rarely fully understood.

Cr...

September 5, 2012 Books, Good to Great 3 comments
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Good to Great #2: First Who, Then What

Key Points from the Book Good to Great on the Principle of First Who, Then What

  • With any team, organization, or company Good to Great found that it is more important to get the right people on board than it is to decide what they are going to do. Once you get those people on board, then you can decide where to take the organization. Yes, I know this is counter intuitive.
  • The “right people” has more to do with character and innate capabilities than knowledge, background, skills, or experience. The right people have passion and want to work hard.
  • Collins compares this to a bus. Great companies from his study focused on getting the right people on the bus, in the right seats, and then decided where to go. Not the other way around.
    The Good to Great Bus.

    The Good to Great Bus...

August 28, 2012 Books, Good to Great 4 comments
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Good to Great #1: Level 5 Leadership and Changing the World

good to great

Looking out the window to blame/credit others.

What is Good to Great Level 5 Leadership?

Level 5 leadership, as Jim Collins explains it in his book Good to Great, refers to a person who is ambitious and driven first for the cause, for the job, for the mission, and not for himself/herself. This is a direct reflection of their fanatic drive towards results, yet this type of leader simultaneously maintains a humble purpose. It is a paradoxical mix of personal humility and professional will. For this type of leader it has nothing to do with them; greed and self-gratification are not the motives. It has everything to do with the people and organization.

An analogy used to help describe this type of leader is the window versus the mirror (see images)...

August 20, 2012 Books, Good to Great No comments
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dying coals

Blowing On Dying Coals

After many life changing events, to include the passing of my father, the birth of a child, and moving my family not only across the Pacific Ocean but across the United States, I’ve remembered this blog.  Like a fire that has some dying coals still glowing, I feel like breathing some life back into this project.

dying coals

Dying coals

I’ve spent a good part of the past year or more studying leadership and becoming familiar with a range of principles I’ve found extremely interesting and valuable.  Next few posts will be about principles I’ve found valuable in Jim Collins’ book Good to Great and making the connections between those principles and other aspects of life.


August 8, 2012 Inspiration, Uncategorized 2 comments
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