Great by Choice

About the Author

Jim Collins is a renowned author and researcher known for his significant contributions to business literature. His works include the bestsellers Good to Great, Built to Last, and How the Mighty Fall. With over ten million copies sold worldwide, Collins' books have become essential reading for business leaders and entrepreneurs. He operates a management laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, where he conducts research, teaches, and consults with executives from both corporate and social sectors.

Morten T. Hansen, co-author of Great by Choice, is a management professor at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also the author of Collaboration and a winner of the Administrative Science Quarterly Award for exceptional contributions to the field of organization studies. Hansen's academic and professional background adds depth to the insights presented in this book.

Main Idea

Great by Choice explores why some companies thrive in uncertainty and chaos while others do not. Collins and Hansen investigate what distinguishes successful companies from those that fail when facing similar challenges. The authors identify key behaviors and principles that lead to sustained success, even in volatile environments. These principles include fanatic discipline, empirical creativity, and productive paranoia.

Table of Contents

1. Thriving in Uncertainty
2. The 10Xers
3. 20 Mile March
4. Fire Bullets, Then Cannonballs
5. Leading Above the Death Line
6. SMaC Recipe
7. Return on Luck
8. Epilogue: Great by Choice

Thriving in Uncertainty

The book begins by addressing the core question: why do some companies thrive in uncertainty and chaos while others do not? Collins and Hansen set the stage with the story of the race to the South Pole between Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott. Both explorers faced similar conditions, yet Amundsen succeeded brilliantly while Scott and his team perished. This analogy serves to illustrate that success is not merely a result of luck but of deliberate and consistent actions.

"Discipline, in essence, is consistency of action - consistency with values, consistency with long-term goals, consistency with performance standards, consistency of method, consistency over time." - Jim Collins

The 10Xers

The authors introduce the concept of "10Xers," companies that performed at least ten times better than the industry average in the stock market. These companies were not just successful; they thrived in unstable environments. The book delves into the behaviors and principles that set these companies apart, emphasizing the importance of disciplined and methodical approaches.

10Xers include:

• Southwest Airlines
• Amgen
• Intel

20 Mile March

The principle of the 20 Mile March is about maintaining consistent progress. This concept is likened to marching 20 miles every day, regardless of conditions. The 20 Mile March instills discipline and creates a framework for consistent performance, even in adverse conditions. For example, Southwest Airlines focused on making a profit every year, regardless of the challenges faced by the airline industry.

"If the conditions are bad, your goal should still be to march 20 miles. If the conditions are good, you should not increase your goal." - Jim Collins

This disciplined approach ensures that companies do not overreach in good times or falter in bad times. It emphasizes the importance of setting achievable, consistent goals and sticking to them.