Good To Great: Key takeaways
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You can accomplish anything in life, provided that you do not mind who gets the credit.
- Harry S. Truman
- Harry S. Truman
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The executives who ignited the good-to-great transformation did not figure out first where to drive the bus, but rather who to get on and who off the bus.
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“Week generals, strong liutenants” model implies that if you pick strong generals (leaders) their comptetitirs will leave.
- But if you pick weak generals, their liutenants will become strong. This resembles the corporate climate at Bank of America in the 1970s.
- But if you pick weak generals, their liutenants will become strong. This resembles the corporate climate at Bank of America in the 1970s.
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Once you’ve figured out a basic and fair compensation structure for the executives, further increases in salary do not add any meaningful value to their performance.
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When in doubt, don’t hire - keep looking
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Put your best people on your biggest opportunities, not your biggest problems.
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Engage in dialogue and debate, not coercion.
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Build “red flag” 🟥 mechanisms.
- As part of an experiment, a stanford MBA teacher handed out students with large red flags - pieces of paper, which they could raise on any given occasion. He did not know what this will turn out into, but quickly they started raised those cards, confronting their teacher with some brutal truths and sharing their opinion more.
- As part of an experiment, a stanford MBA teacher handed out students with large red flags - pieces of paper, which they could raise on any given occasion. He did not know what this will turn out into, but quickly they started raised those cards, confronting their teacher with some brutal truths and sharing their opinion more.
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The Stockdale Paradox is a technique to navigate challenging and ambiguous times by combining the ability to confront the brutal facts of your current reality, even as you maintain unwavering faith that you will prevail in the end, no matter how distant that is.
- It is based on the story of Admiral Jim Stockdale, who was tortured for over 20 years and was able to survive due to that mentality alone. He claims that guys who set themselves some limits - i.e. that they will be out by Christmas, and ultimately never were, would soon loose faith and die during the process, whereas he eventually prevailed and escaped.
- It is based on the story of Admiral Jim Stockdale, who was tortured for over 20 years and was able to survive due to that mentality alone. He claims that guys who set themselves some limits - i.e. that they will be out by Christmas, and ultimately never were, would soon loose faith and die during the process, whereas he eventually prevailed and escaped.
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The Hedgehog concept is a simple, crystalline concept that flows from deep understanding about the intersection of the three circles.
1. What you can be the best in the world at (and equally important, what you cannot be the best in the world at)
2. What drives your economic engine
3. What you are deeply passionate about
1. What you can be the best in the world at (and equally important, what you cannot be the best in the world at)
2. What drives your economic engine
3. What you are deeply passionate about
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Charisma can be as much a liability as an asset, as the strength of your leadership personality can deter people from bringing you brutal facts.
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Spending time and energy trying to “motivate” peope is a waste of effort.
- The real question is not, “How do we motivate our people?” If you have the right people, they will be self-motivated. The key is to not de-motivate them. One of the primary ways to de-motivate people is to ignore the brutal facts of reality.
- The real question is not, “How do we motivate our people?” If you have the right people, they will be self-motivated. The key is to not de-motivate them. One of the primary ways to de-motivate people is to ignore the brutal facts of reality.
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The good-to-great companies built a consistent system with clear constraints, but also gave people the freedom and responsibility within the framework of that system.
- They hired self-disciplined people who didn't need to be managed and then managed the system not the people.
- They hired self-disciplined people who didn't need to be managed and then managed the system not the people.
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Great companies also have a “stop-doing” lists which are analogs to the “to-do” lists.
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In a good-to-great transformation, budgeting is a discipline to decide which arenas should be fully funded and which should not be funded at all.
- In other words, the budgeting process is not about figuring out how much each activity gets, but about determining which activities best support the Hedhehog concept and should be fully strengthened and which should be eliminated entirely.
- In other words, the budgeting process is not about figuring out how much each activity gets, but about determining which activities best support the Hedhehog concept and should be fully strengthened and which should be eliminated entirely.
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Most of us lead busy but undisciplined lives.
- We have ever-expanding “to do” lists, trying to build momentum by doing, doing, doing — and doing more. And it rarely works. Those who built the good-to-great companies, however, made as much use of “stop doing” lists as “to do” lists.
- We have ever-expanding “to do” lists, trying to build momentum by doing, doing, doing — and doing more. And it rarely works. Those who built the good-to-great companies, however, made as much use of “stop doing” lists as “to do” lists.
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In a good-to-great transformation, budgeting is a discipline to decide which arenas should be fully funded and which should not be funded at all.
- In other words, the budget process is not about figuring out how much each activity gets, but about determining which activities best support the Hedgehog Concept and should be fully strengthened and which should be eliminated entirely.
- In other words, the budget process is not about figuring out how much each activity gets, but about determining which activities best support the Hedgehog Concept and should be fully strengthened and which should be eliminated entirely.
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When used right, technology becomes an accelerator of momentum, not a creator of it.
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In spite of the technologically superior M-16 rifles used by Americans during the Vietnames war, the vietnamese AK-47, which are much more reliable and easier to maintain in the field, proved better.
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From the outside, good-to-great transformations look like dramatics, almost revolutionary breakthroughs. But from the inside, they feel completely different, more like an organic development process.
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Abbot Laboratories consistenly reported a lower expected growth rate than what was set internally.
- By doing this, they could divert the remainder of the money into internal entrepreneurial projects, called the Blue Plans, without disappointing the public.
- By doing this, they could divert the remainder of the money into internal entrepreneurial projects, called the Blue Plans, without disappointing the public.