Good to Great Strategies

Author`s Name
Professor
Subject
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Good to great
Introduction.
The book chosen for review is Collins "Good to Great". Collins Jim is a renowned consultant in the field of management. He takes up a daunting task in the book: identifying variables and factors that enable a small entity of companies to take a leap from good to great. He formulated a team that scrutinized five hundred high ranking companies. He then went ahead and singled out eleven companies that had experienced a period of mediocrity, but later rejuvenated themselves and experienced outstanding performance when compared with other companies. He tries to discover the crucial features and factors that can influence a company from yielding good results to great results. This is the basis for his title. He is in a quest to discover the fuel and mechanism behind such advances in company development in addition to profitability.
He concentrates on the process of transformation from good to great. He terms the transformation as a process that entails a process of build up followed by breakthrough. According to Collins, the whole process involves discipline. This discipline is in three forms: disciplined people, disciplined action and disciplined thoughts.
Good to Great Strategies.
Several key concepts and strategies must be elicited if a company is to make the leap from good to great. Collins points out ten tactics. The most educational ones include ‘level five leadership`, ‘first who and then what`, ‘confronting the brutal task`, ‘hedgehog concept` and ‘technological acceleration`. The rest include ‘good is the enemy of great`, ‘culture of discipline` and ‘the fly wheel and the dome loop`.
The most crucial component of this five is level five leadership. At level one, is a capable individual, who makes contributions that are productive through his/her knowledge, talent, good work habits and skills. A level two is a team member who works effectively with team members and contributes capabilities so as for the team to achieve their objective. Level three is a competent manager who knows how to organize and manage people and resources towards the attainment of the objectives. Level four is manager who advances a step further so as to become more effective; hence, elevated performance standards. A level five leader is one who has the knowhow of creating an enduring greatness through will and humility. These leaders have a high resolve and determination and will do whatever it takes so that the company can become great. They do not focus on themselves, but their sole attention is on the results of their company.
Another strategy of management that Collins points out is the concept of ‘first who, and then what`. He advances the concept that a company must first secure the a person with the level five abilities of leadership before they come up with a strategy for development. He figures out that when a company has the right people in the right position, then the transformation to greatness will be much smooth and many of the management problems will easily vaporize. He adds that only performing employees who have the right determination should be employed. It is therefore worthwhile to spend some time and effort in looking for the right persons for the job, before even thinking of the strategy that the company will employ.
The next concept is confronting the brutal task. This is the willingness to assess and identify defining facts in the business environment and in ...