Built to Last

I just finished a book called "Built to Last" by Jim Collins and Jerry Poras. The main idea behind the book is looking into what makes organizations last for generations. They studied several "visionary" companies and compared them to other companies that started around the same time but didn't have the same level of success. They wanted to figure out what qualities separated a visionary company from the rest.

Here are some of the ideas that I took away from the book.

Time Teller vs. Clock Builder- Before there were such things as clocks, if there was a person who could look at the sun and always know what time it was, that would have been pretty cool. People would always be asking him what time it was, and would wait in awe to hear the answer. The only problem is, what happens when the time teller dies? His gift dies with him. On the other hand, what if someone built a clock so that anyone who looked at it could tell time? When the clock builder passed away, people would still be able to know what time it was. How does this relate to organizations? They found that the processes were more important than the personalities in the companies they studied.

Preserve the Core AND Stimulate Progress- Visionary companies have a distinct set of core values that they live by. But they don't preserve the core at the expense of being progressive. Rather, they preserve the core and stimulate progress at the same time. Just doing one or the other will not lead to lasting success. However, it's not a matter of balance between the two but wholeheartedly embracing both at the same time.

BHAG'S- I first heard this term when I was having lunch with Jeb, but this book is where the phrase began. BHAG's are Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals. These are goals that seem impossible. Goals that would take years to attain. But these are also goals that organizations can rally around. Visionary organizations continue to set new BHAG's when they achieve the goals originally set. One instance of a BHAG achieved but not built upon was Henry Ford's Model T. He wanted to make the automobile affordable for the masses. This seemed unthinkable at the time, but he accomplished it. Unfortunately for him, General Motors took it one step further and eventuallly surpassed Ford's accomplishments.

Although this book was originally written in the mid-90's, I thought that it was still very relevant for today. Recommended.