Jim Collins' Good to Great - highlights

1/ First Who... Then What

Executives who led transformations to great companies "first got the right people on the bus and then figured out where to drive it."

2/Confront the Brutal Facts

Good to Great companies infuse "the entire [decision-making] process with the brutal facts of reality."

Creating a climate where truth is heard:

- Lead with questions, not answers.

- Engage in dialogue and debate, not coercion.

- Conduct autopsies, without blame.

- Build 'red flag' mechanisms.

** Winston Churchill established the Statistical Office during WWII to feed him facts outside the normal chain of command.

3/ The Hedgehog Concept

It is simple, a crystalline concept that flows from deep understanding about the intersection of the following three circles:

- What you can be the best in the world at?

- What drives your economic engine?

- What you are passionate about?

4/ A Culture of Discipline

"The Good to Great companies at their best followed a simple mantra: 'Anything that does not fit with our Hedgehog Concept, will not do.'...The challenge becomes not opportunity creation, but opportunity selection."

5/ Technology Accelerators

"When used right, technology becomes an accelerator of momentum, not a creator of it....You can make good use of technology until you know which technologies are relevant."