Book Review: "Good to Great" by Jim Collins

(Sorry Dave) “Good to Great” was without a shadow of the doubt the best new (to me) book read this year. I highly recommend that you get your hands and eyes on this book at whatever cost is necessary. Borrow it from a library, buy it used from amazon, this is a must read that should be in every book collection. In it, Jim Collins and his super team of nerds break down the nuts and bolts of the action steps and attitudes that companies faced when transitioning from being good to great. Yes there is an unbelievable amount of data and breakdown and clarification of what good to great means in the book for all intents and purposes, but that is exactly what unites us nerds when reading this book.

It’s been rare but mid-way through this book I became sad at the eventual fact that the book would come to its eventual conclusion. Page after page my eyes were glued and my fact taking went into overdrive as the facts, figures, actions and commonalities were laid out as to what the good to great companies did to become an “overnight success” after decades upon decades of unbelievable time and effort.

Though not an aspiring entrepreneur I took a lot of the applications that the companies used and applied them to my life. Essentially, to be successful am I taking the right steps and holding the right outlook in how I see things go round. Needless to say I was very pleasantly surprised that a lot of the values lined up and I had some awesome notes on things that I can improve upon. My favorite common factors including holding a long term view in building wealth and not getting caught up or even involved in fads and fly by the seat of your pants planning. The leaders of good to great companies planned and executed for the long term, worked within their strengths, knew the limitations of their businesses and, most importantly, got the wrong people off their bus, the right people on their bus, and, for extra fun, got the right people in the right seats on the bus.

Whether running your own business or reaching to achieve your own personal financial goals, “Good to Great” is a must read along with Dave Ramsey’s “The Total Money Makeover.”