Good to Great
Chapter One: Good is the Enemy of the Great
Ian Smith
American Sentinel
1. Discuss what Collins meant when he said “good is the enemy of the great”. Provide specific example to support your answer.
Collins meant that we have very little things that become great. For example, Collins says, “We don’t have great schools, principally because we have good schools. We don’t have great government, principally because we have good government. Few people attain good lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life.”
2. Describe the framework Collins established for Good to Great.
The framework that Collins established for Good to Great are: Level 5 Leadership, First Who…Then What, Confront, Hedgehog Concept, Culture of Discipline, and Technology Acceleration.
3. Describe the Good to Great Selection Process.
First, a company had to demonstrate the good-to-great pattern independent of its industry. Second, the team debated whether they should use additional selection criteria beyond cumulative stock return, such as impact on society and employee welfare. The team eventually decided to limit their selection to the good-to-great results pattern, as they could not conceive of any legitimate and consistent method for selecting on these other variables without introducing their own business.
4. What is the “direct comparison process”? Why and how was it used?
Direct comparison companies are companies that were in the same industry as the good-to-great companies with the same opportunities and similar resources at the same transition, but that showed no leap from good to great. The purpose of the direct comparison analysis is to create as close to “historical controlled experiment” as possible. The idea is simple: By finding companies that were approximately the same ages and had similar opportunities, lines of business, and success profile as each of the good-to-great companies at the time of transition, they were able to conduct direct
Ian Smith
American Sentinel
1. Discuss what Collins meant when he said “good is the enemy of the great”. Provide specific example to support your answer.
Collins meant that we have very little things that become great. For example, Collins says, “We don’t have great schools, principally because we have good schools. We don’t have great government, principally because we have good government. Few people attain good lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life.”
2. Describe the framework Collins established for Good to Great.
The framework that Collins established for Good to Great are: Level 5 Leadership, First Who…Then What, Confront, Hedgehog Concept, Culture of Discipline, and Technology Acceleration.
3. Describe the Good to Great Selection Process.
First, a company had to demonstrate the good-to-great pattern independent of its industry. Second, the team debated whether they should use additional selection criteria beyond cumulative stock return, such as impact on society and employee welfare. The team eventually decided to limit their selection to the good-to-great results pattern, as they could not conceive of any legitimate and consistent method for selecting on these other variables without introducing their own business.
4. What is the “direct comparison process”? Why and how was it used?
Direct comparison companies are companies that were in the same industry as the good-to-great companies with the same opportunities and similar resources at the same transition, but that showed no leap from good to great. The purpose of the direct comparison analysis is to create as close to “historical controlled experiment” as possible. The idea is simple: By finding companies that were approximately the same ages and had similar opportunities, lines of business, and success profile as each of the good-to-great companies at the time of transition, they were able to conduct direct
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