Kenny Anderson asked:
This week as I traveled from our offices in Wilmington, Delaware to my home and field office in Aurora, CO, I had a chance to pick up the #1 Bestseller, a great business book that has sold over 2 million copies, “Good to Great” by Jim Collins.
The book is about how to turn a good company or business into one that produces sustained great results.
Your home based business might be doing pretty good, but are you just satisfied with just being good, or do you have the desire to move your home business into the rarified air of greatness?
If I was still a Corporate Weenie, I would have made this book mandatory to my management team.
I am certain that in Corporate America this book has been a topic of furious debate along mahogany row, as the leadership tries to determine whether the books rather controversial viewpoints should be applied to a company that from most indicators is doing very well both from a leadership and financial standpoint. The book would describe this company as simply a good company, not necessarily a great one.
How about your business? You might not even think you have a “good” business. Well, in that case, you might be able to pass the good stage and go directly to greatness as you apply the principles in Jim Collins’ book.
The book suggests that there are common denominators that are associated with his definition of “great” companies. In the absence of these common denominators, a company might be really good in all measurable aspects, but never ascend to the books definition of greatness.
The author and his outstanding research team conducted exhaustive, academically sound research in establishing its criteria for greatness. A very strict criterion that resulted in a somewhat surprising and selective group of companies that met the incredibly strict criteria. You would be very surprised I think by the companies that made the list, and those who did not.
As I continue to read this impressive novel I thought about the home based business marketplace and my own personal entrepreneurial efforts with Tiger Trade, LLC. I thought of some of the ideas the book promoted and how I could apply them to my business endeavors and transition from just being a good home based business, to a great one.
Here is a list of the ideas and concepts gleaned from the book that I have decided to pursue to take my businesses to the next level…a level of greatness.
· Be a Level 5 Leader- The companies that went from good to great did not have the personally dynamic, gregarious leadership you might expect to find. Firms that went from good to great all contained leadership who had a leadership style of personal humility and the professional will to do whatever was required to develop a great company, even if it impacted them financially. It’s not about you; it’s about the business.
· First Who, then What- Good to great leaders did not develop great companies by creating a new dramatic vision or strategy. What they did was to get the right people onboard and the wrong people off-loaded. They flipped the script on the mantra that “People are your most important asset.” That is wrong. The right people are your most important asset. Surround yourself with the right people.
· Confront the Brutal Facts (Yet never lose faith)- Every good to great company embraced what is called the Stockdale Paradox. This paradox was derived from the former prisoner of war Admiral Stockdale. The idea suggests that you must maintain unwavering faith that you can prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties, AND at the same time have the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be. Do this in your life and your business in order to be great.
· Use the Hedgehog Concept- Refuse to just be competent. Transcend the curse of just being competent, even if it is your core business area. Find out what you can possibly be the best at, and then over time pursue that, even at the expense of curtailing something you might have done for years, but can never be the best at. Only what you can be the best at can be the core of a great business.
· A Culture of Discipline- In my business we will just not be disciplined, but our business will have a culture of discipline. When you combine a culture of discipline, with an ethic of entrepreneurship, you get the magical alchemy of great performance.
· Technology Accelerators- Do not rely on technology to ignite a transformation in the business, but use carefully selected technologies with the understanding that it will not be the primary cause of the businesses greatness or decline.
· The Flywheel and the Doom Loop- There is no single defining action or grand event that transforms a company from good to great. There must be a combination of numerous activities over time. The process is like pushing a flywheel in one direction, turn upon turn, building momentum, until a point of breakthrough and beyond.
These are some incredible ideas on how to transition your good home based business into a great home based business. A business that will be sustained for many years to come. A great home based business that will continue to be an asset for you and your children, and even your children’s children. The Bible says that a “good man” leaves a heritage for his children’s children. That is long term success and opportunities that greatness rewards.
Get Jim Collins book. Read it over and over until the principles in the book become believable to you. Understand it, then confidently implement the principles in the book not only in your business, but also in your life.
Warm regards,
Kenny Anderson