From Good to Great in 8 Lessons

The CEO's of Good to Great companies aren't high-profile, celebrity leaders but ordinary people producing extraordinary results with humility, quiet confidence and sincerity. They avoid the limelight and diligently work to make their company great. Their ambition is first and foremost for their company's success over their own.

Fanatically driven, CEO's of great companies do not accept mediocrity and are intolerant of anything but the best for their company. These are no ego-maniacs. They're cautious and modest individuals who attribute blame to themselves and credit to colleagues. They see challenges not as an obstacle, but as a means to improve.

Gillette CEO, James M.

Before becoming great, the CEO's of Good to Great Companies first had to hire the right people. They got the right people on the bus, and created a dynamic environment with the right level of motivation. They didn't rush the process. If they didn't find someone qualified on the first try, they waited. Great companies never rush important decisions. They realized that great people do not have to have much skill or knowledge but rather innate characteristics and abilities that make them likely to succeed.

Once they hired the right people, they placed their best and most engaged people on the right opportunities, without any chance of losing their position or decreasing momentum. They worked on implementing strategy and a new vision with these people and placed them in the right seats on the bus.

They realize that getting the wrong people off of the bus is as important as keeping the right ones on, and did not wait to make a change when they needed to.

Good to Great companies confront the brutal reality while still maintaining an unwavering faith that they will prevail-they're optimists and realists at the same time. Not shying away from the hard facts makes them stronger, not weaker. They lead with the right questions and know that they can refine their path once they pick a direction.

If they realize they can't be number one in the market, they swiftly leave without hesitation. They know breakthroughs come from a series of good decisions accumulated on top of one another and strip away any noise and clutter that doesn't add benefit to the company.

Great companies don't do the things they're not good at. They don't do something forever just because it's their "business" and it's what they've done for the last 50 years. They evolve and grow and realize that they want to be the best in the world at something. Then they work toward being the best.

They're like hedgehogs.

A hedgehog is a simple creature that distills the world into his own hedgehog terms, and anything that lies outside of his hedgehog ideas hold no relevance. He knows his thing and he knows it best. Great companies are like that. They have a deep understanding of their core value system and structure everything else around that simple concept, focusing solely on what they do better than anyone else.

A fox, on the other hand, is a sly animal that operates complexly on many levels. He may understand the world better, but he is infinitely confused because of it.

Great companies have a distilled vision of their company and that's what they stick to. They frame all their decisions around it and stick to the essentials, ignoring everything else. While a fox gets distracted by his ego, the hedgehog doesn't even know he has one.

Good to Great companies hire people that zoom. Zoomers are enthusiastic and visionary and strive for the highest level of quality in what they do. Zoomers don't need a strict and tedious boss. In fact, a micro-managing boss will restrict the full capabilities of a zoomer. If you already have the right people on the bus, they'll know where they're going, what they want to do, and how to get there. They don't need a baby sitter to motivate. Hierarchy isn't necessary when you combine a culture of discipline with an ethic of entrepreneurship. Great performance is not a coincidence, its guaranteed with zoomers.

Creating a disciplined but creative environment means having freedom built into the framework. Zoomers are moving fast and will go to extreme lengths to fulfill responsibilities with diligence and intensity. Restricting them in beauracracy will only hold down the company's success.

For great companies, a successful environment adheres directly to their hedgehog concept. They say "no" to the things that don't fit and hold tenaciously to the things that do.

Technology can be an expensive mistake if you don't know what you're doing. Good to Great companies never jumped into new technology without first understanding what purpose it served. They never "one-upped" the competition by introducing new technology at random. Instead, they knew that technology can take you over the edge once you already have momentum.

Great companies think carefully about selecting new technology and had a deliberate approach to choosing technology that was relevant to their success. They used it to turn unrealized potential into results, but never relied solely on it to build their momentum. They are never reactionary when things go wrong, but strive to improve so next time it goes right.

Self-congratulatory parties, massive restructurings, and dramatic programs are not a part of great companies' philosophy. No single action, innovative technology or lucky break transformed the Good to Great companies overnight. Nothing happened in one fell swoop to turn them into successes. Instead, it was continuous effort in the right direction that propelled these companies forward to be leaders in their field.

Great companies have to push through many rounds of failure and consistently work toward their goal in small steps, building momentum as they go along. They do not hesitate and move from one action to another, avoiding the hard work, but move continuously in the direction of success until they hit breakthrough.

Good to Great companies have a larger vision beyond the financial pursuit of their business. They have underlying core values they always refer back to while forging full speed ahead in the direction of their goals. They never lose the big picture in favor of short-term returns. Often, individual respect, responsibility to the community, building something of value, and technical contribution are larger goals beyond the scope of financial success for great companies. It's not the dollars that count, but how much you make a difference.

They often had Big Hairy Audacious Goals-clear and compelling and dauntingly big, intentionally set to inspire people to climb the mountain to reach those goals. If you have all the right people on the bus and follow your hedgehog concept, people understand your BHAG and what it means.

Great companies adhere to their core values fanatically while stimulating progress, change, and innovation. They leave their companies better than when they arrived.

Remember, going from good to great is a process. It doesn't happen overnight and it won't happen unless you continually apply the lessons to your company and your life.