Book Summary: Good to Great - Addicted to Digital

Good to Great is an insightful book by Jim Collins recommended by Blair, the MD of Amicus Digital (where I work). It revolves (pun intended) around the concept of the the Flywheel, and consistent factors in organisations that went from mediocre to consistently great.

The Flywheel – Recurrent, margin-generating heart of a business (see here)

The Flywheel contains two parts, with 3 thematic concepts in discipline :

Part 1: Buildup of Good to Great Companies

Level 5 Leadership (Disciplined People)

Good to Great organisation have Level 5 leaders
A paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will.
Ambitious first and foremost for the company not themselves
More a plow horse than a show horse
Looks out window to attribute success and towards a mirror for failure

First Who…Then What (Disciplined People)

Good to Great companies first get the right people on the bus before figuring where to drive it
“A genius with a thousand helpers” is not sustainable
Salary should not incentivise the wrong people with the right behaviours
Instead it should attract the right people and keep them in the right positions
The right person has more to do with character traits and innate capabilities than specific knowledge, background or skills
The ultimate bottleneck for growth is not markets, technology, competition or products, but keeping the right people
Put your best people on your biggest opportunities, not your biggest problems

Confront the Brutal Facts (Disciplined Thought)

The Stockdale Paradox – Retain faith that you will prevail in the end regardless of the difficulties WHILST confront the brutal factors of your current situation
Culture of opportunity to be heard – for extracting truth
- Leading with questions
- Promote dialogue and debate, not coercion
- Conduct autopsies without blame
- Build red flags mechanisms – for information that cannot be ignored
Instead of trying to motivate, consider how to prevent de-motivation
The right people are naturally motivated

Part 2: Breakthrough and Rapid Growth for Good to Great organisations

Hedgehog Concept (Disciplined Thought)

Three circles for the concept, which have focus and drives success for Good to Great Companies:
- Passion
- Best in world potential
- Economic Engine – one metric that has single greatest impact e.g. profit per x
The council for an iterative process to reach the concept: Questions –> Dialogue and Debate –> Decision and Execution –> Autopsies and Analysis
- 5-12 people
- Each member capable of debating and challenging with respect
- Range of perspectives with deep domain knowledge
- An informal standing body that meets periodically
- Does not seek consensus
Took on average 4 years to develop

Culture of Discipline (Disciplined Action)

Culture of disciplined people who take disciplined action within the 3 circles
Incompetence and lack of discipline breeds bureaucracy
A duality of a consistent system that gives people responsibility and freedom within its framework
Budgeting is a decision on activities that are either fully funded or not funded at all
A stop doing list is more important than a to do list

Technology Accelerators (Disciplined Action)

Good to Great companies pioneer in carefully selected technologies that fit within Hedgehog concept
Technology is an accelerator of momentum not a creator
Great companies respond to technology with thoughtfulness and creativity, and are motivated to turn potential into results whilst mediocre companies react from fear of being left behind