Good To Great Analysis

Jim Collins’ Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap. . . and Others Don’t (2001) examines what it takes for a good company to take the plunge into greatness. After extensive research, only 11 companies made the cut, including Gillette, Walgreens, and Kimberly-Clark. Collins and his researchers regard companies that have leapt from good to great instead of companies that are inherently great. Key themes I found from our textbook in Good to Great include the use of SWOT analysis to deal with the brutal truth of a company’s financial and social standing and the Hedgehog Concept that determines a company’s marketing management philosophy. The use of technology and innovation in marketing is covered in Good to Great, too, and applies to my marketing project. Good to Great provides insight to corporate reality and personal inspiration to business rookies like me. Collins observes seven characteristics of great companies and states that companies can be great without reaching all seven ideals. It is, however, unlikely that those companies will continue to be great. The Good to Great researchers used specific criteria for

Level five leadership refers to a leader who “builds enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will” (20). Overall, level five leaders have been humble. On the outside, the typical level five leader is not showy or egotistical, but instead quiet and underestimated. Great leaders are driven by what is best for the company and realize that the company’s accomplishments are more important than personal achievement. This is inspiring to me because if I were to be a corporate head, I imagine I would be viewed as quiet, a little weird, and (hopefully) humble. Good to Great discusses the quirkiness of these leaders, and it made me realize that I have the potential to be a level five