The readers can download Great by Choice Audiobook for free via Audible Free Trial.
Summary
The new question: Ten years after the worldwide bestseller Good to Great, Jim Collins returns to ask: Why do some companies thrive in uncertainty, even chaos, and others do not? In Great by Choice, Collins and his colleague, Morten T. Hansen, enumerate the principles for building a truly great enterprise in unpredictable, tumultuous, and fast-moving times.
This book is absolutely incredible. It serves as a sequel to "Good to Great," which is also an amazing book. I plan on using the concepts from this book as a blueprint for my business. Thank you so much for sharing this life-altering information with us! It's truly been a blessing.
I can't decide which one I prefer more, whether it's "Built to Last," "Good to Great," or "Great by Choice." However, I believe that each book has a specific moment in your life where it resonates even more profoundly with you. It seems like I read this one at exactly the right time.
Jim Collins has done it again with another fantastic addition to his series. "Great by Choice" follows the tried and true formula found in "Good to Great" and "Built to Last," but manages to bring even more value to the table. The book introduces concepts like the "20 miles march" and presents them in a clear and concise manner. It's a comprehensive read that complements Collins' previous work and is definitely a must-read for business leaders.
This book is all about organizations that thrive in an ever-changing environment. And let's be honest, that applies to everyone, so there's something for everyone in this book. It's packed with ideas on how organizations and their leaders can tackle the uncertainty and chaos that seems to be a constant in the world of business these days. All these ideas come together in what's called "the chaordic path" - a path that lies between chaos and order. Mastering this path can lead to strength and clarity for an organization, but it requires a leader (or leaders) who can strike the right balance between order and chaos. It's a challenging process, and this book does a great job of shedding light on it.
Now, I do have one issue to raise. This book was written by men about men, so it didn't always resonate with me. Especially when they talk about the qualities of these "10xers" - the leaders of successful organizations. I couldn't help but wonder, "Whose definition of success are they using? Do these guys have a life outside of work?" It felt like the only measure of success they cared about was the bottom line. But in today's world, I truly believe that success should be measured by more than just profit. Organizations need to consider their social and environmental impact as well.
I'll start off by saying that I'm a fan of Collins' book "Good to Great." It was a well-researched book that presented ideas backed by scientific research. However, "Great by Choice" is a different story. While the ideas may be fun and interesting, they lack the research and scientific rigor found in his previous work.
In "Great by Choice," Collins selected seven companies that outperformed the stock market by at least 10 times. However, it's important to note that chance plays a role in such outcomes, and it's not statistically surprising to find a small number of these companies. Furthermore, none of the seven companies have consistently outperformed the market by 10 times over the last 10 years. In fact, Microsoft has underperformed the market while its competitor Apple has experienced significant growth.
Another problem with this book is the interpretation of data. Without clear methods for determining how to analyze the data, it becomes easy to fit it into predetermined ideas. For example, the book claims that Apple fired "bullets" with the iPod by initially creating it for Apple users before going big by developing for Windows. However, in Isaacson's book about Steve Jobs, it is mentioned that Jobs initially opposed creating an iPod for Windows and only reluctantly agreed later on. This example contradicts the notion of firing "bullets" before "cannons."
The book also attempts to quantify luck, using the example of Amgen hiring a key employee. However, it's questionable whether luck can truly be quantified in this manner. If luck is a factor in a successful hire, would we need to analyze every employee's outcome to determine if it was due to luck? Additionally, this thinking assumes that events occur independently, which may not always be the case. For instance, the book claims that the employee's decision to read the job ad at the right time was luck, but fails to consider why the employee was looking for a new job in the first place. Was it due to bad luck for the company they left?
From a scientific perspective, this book can be seen as a derivation set at best. To truly validate its findings, it would need to be tested in another era.
In 'Great by Choice', Collins employs a similar technique of comparison as he did in his previous works like 'Built to Last', 'Good to Great', and 'How the Mighty Fall'. However, this time the focus is on comparing companies during times of significant turmoil. The book delves into the discussion of how companies handle both good and bad luck, and highlights the idea that great companies are well-prepared in advance to benefit from both. This concept is truly enlightening, similar to his other books, yet it remains a highly valuable read.
The intensity of the narration makes it difficult to stay connected with the audiobook. The performance outshines the actual content, even though the concepts presented are quite good.
Loading...
10 comments
Or use one of these social networks