Another title that should be on the reading list of anyone who want to lead a company is Built to Last by Jim Collins. BTL looks at 18 'visionary' companies defined by Collins as those in existence for over 50 years with a long track record of success. By comparing the inner workings and histories of these companies against a selected comparable company, Collins divines certain themes that consistently helped the visionary companies outperform their comparable.The main drawback of the book is constant repetition of messages. The main messages of the book could have summarized on two pages. If we wanted a good discussion of each point, the book could have taken 50 pages. Instead we get about 250 pages including the epilogue, but excluding the appendices. The extra 200 pages is filled with example after example that reiterates the same messages. That isn't to say that the messages are not important. Always remember:
- Clock building, not time telling;
- No "Tyranny of the OR"
- Preserve the core/Stimulate Progress
- Seek constant alignment
1 comment:
I love that author! That book was one of the first ones that I looked at as I started to learn about better business management. I agree with your review of the book format but I happen to love the stories and stats so that really worked for me.
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