Great By Choice by Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen – Dec 2011

 Business  7 Responses »
Feb 272012
 


Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All by Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen ★★★★★

Since bursting on the business book scene with Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, Jim Collins has been a fixture at the top of the business best seller list. His research-based approach to explaining success has struck a chord in the management corridors. I first became aware of Collins after being assigned to read Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t by my boss. We were attempting to turn a corner with our small company and he hoped this would give us the insight we needed to be successful.

I remember watching a presentation by Collins explain the methodology of sorting through the data to find the companies to study. He explained they first looked for a question that really interested him. I can understand the theory. Without a really good question to sustain him and his team of researchers, they wouldn’t have the interest to spend several years seeking the answer. And he found a really good puzzle this time. I think this is perhaps his best work.

The latest research undertaking was centered around the question: Why do some companies thrive in uncertainty , even chaos, and others do not? He and his team began by looking for enterprises who outperformed their industry averages by at least 10 times. Dubbed the “10Xers”, they looked into what caused them to be successful when other, very similar organizations in the same environment, did not. From there, they dug into the lessons they can learn and found similar stories to describe the behavior.

He begins be relating the story of the race to the South Pole by Amundsen and Scott. If you are unfamiliar with this story, the analogy alone is worth the read. Amundsen trained for the mission to the South Pole by living with eskimos, experimenting in eating sources of meat available in the Antarctic, learning to travel in snow with dog sleds and other similar preparations. Scott, on the other hand, decided to use ponies without checking see how they would hold up in the harsh conditions (they don’t), investing in new, untested technology – motor sledges (the engines cracked within days) and packing lightly on the supplies (1 ton / 17 men compared to Amundsen’s 3 tons / 5 men). Amundsen reach the pole first and returned safely with his men before winter set back in. Scott’s team, reduced to pulling their sleds by hand, reached the pole over a month later. The entire team died, starving to death two miles from their supply cache.

Powerful stories like this are employed throughout the book, each graphically emphasizing the traits of the 10Xer companies. Those traits include:

  • The 20 Mile March
  • Fire Bullets, Then Cannonballs
  • Leading above the Death Line
  • SMaC (Specific, Methodical, and Consistent), and
  • Return on Luck

Each lesson is something that a company leadership has control over. They can replicate the results of these hyper-successful companies, if they choose. That is the key point: Companies can choose to be great. Yes, there is some luck involved, but Collins proves it isn’t a matter of getting a lucky break, but what one DOES with any luck, good or bad.

I can’t possibly do this book justice in the few words of this review. I recommend reading this book more highly than any other book to date. The lessons he teaches are profound and simple. Every step is in reach. I believe this book to be one of the most useful of all the business books I have read. It is applicable to many cases beyond business as well. He discusses other applications to nonbusiness organizations as well. This book should be on a list to be reviewed annually by every leader of an organization. It should be discussed in staff meetings and the concepts implemented everywhere. If you only buy one book on changing an organization, make it this one.

Editor’s note: Come back tomorrow for an additional discussion on Great By Choice. There is much more to be learned from this book than a lesson in business. Much more. While I read Great By Choice in December, I immediately loaned the book to my brother so he could read it for his business. He just now returned it after putting it to some good use in planning his business’ next steps.  

Great By Choice Personal Improvement Series

Great By Choice: Personal Success In Reach
Great By Choice: The 20 Mile March
Great By Choice: Fire Bullets, Then Cannonballs
Great By Choice: Leading Above the Death Line
Great By Choice: SMaC
Great By Choice: Return On Luck

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The Intelligent Entrepreneur by Bill Murphy – Apr 2011

 Business  2 Responses »
Jan 242012
 


The Intelligent Entrepreneur: How Three Harvard Business School Graduates Learned the 10 Rules of Successful Entrepreneurship by Bill Murphy  ★★★★★

For the college entrepreneur, being accepted to the the Harvard or Stanford Business Schools is the Holy Grail of Opportunity. Each year, thousands apply and only a few are accepted into these elite programs. The graduates are assured lucrative job offers and contacts for which others would kill. This book follows three HBS graduates who chose another popular route, entrepreneurship. These three turned down the six figure salaries for the opportunity of making something big on their own.

I picked up this book in the hopes of gleaning some information to feed my desire of someday having my own company. What I came away with was unexpected discouragement. I am sure this wasn’t what the author went for, but after tracing the route of these three Harvard graduates, I got the distinct impression a) I could only make it if I attended the Harvard Business School and b) if I didn’t create a multimillion dollar company in three years, I wouldn’t be a successful entrepreneur. The stories were interesting, the advice pertinent, but the loftiness unattainable.

The three chosen subjects each started Internet companies: The Ladders, Military.com and Bluemercury (an online cosmetics retailer). Each were successful through the tenacity and strength of their founders. Each survived through their contacts made at HBS. In fact, one of the lessons I learned from the book, intentional or not, is the value of high-powered contacts, both for advice and cash. It is discouraging to anyone who hasn’t gone to the elite schools to ever hope of meeting these kinds of players.

The chronicle of their respective business startups was very educational and interesting. The book is very engaging, the stories very well written. It is obvious Murphy is a reporter. His style and experience shows through – I cared about their problems and successes. I cheered inwardly as Marla made the shift from sinking online retailer to successful brick-and-mortar boutique. I applaud the success they achieved and grumbled at the poor people management decisions and bad behaviors.

I came away from the book with a fresh look at the hyper-charged life of the successful big entrepreneur, with multimillion dollar investments and even larger payoffs. What I didn’t find was much value for the small entrepreneur. It felt that the message was “if you want to be successful, you better go to Harvard or Stanford”. That just isn’t an option for me, so I was left wondering if I had any business even considering starting my own business. That wasn’t what I was hoping to find.

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Five Steps to Gaining a New Skill

 Focus  1 Response »
Jan 132012
 

My oldest son moved out to his own apartment recently. This week he called up with question. “Dad, do you have any scrap plywood?” I always have scrap plywood. I just finished making a set of shelves over Christmas. I have plywood everywhere. “How about other wood?” Yes, I have an abundance of scrap all over the shop. “Think I could make a little table out of it?”

For years I have wanted to pass on the woodworking tradition to my kids, but they haven’t shown much interest. My son’s request was music to my ears. He drew up a plan for his table, using the skills he gained in a high school mechanical drawing class and came by Monday night (right about dinner-time. He’s not stupid.) to show me. I suggested a few refinements. Tuesday night, he came back and (again, before dinner) we cut up all the pieces. He stayed late (I went to bed – he was wide awake as he works night shift) and put it all together. Wednesday night (again, before dinner – told you he isn’t stupid) he added the finishing touches and took it home to put on some finish.

As he was loading up Wednesday night, he made the comment that he wanted to get started on another project. He knows he is always welcome in my shop. His comment got me thinking, though. For years, I have been trying to get my kids to get off the couch, shut off the computer games and do something “productive”. Within a week after moving out on his own, here he comes, looking for help on a project. What changed?

After thinking about it, I believe there are five steps to overcoming inertia and getting started on a new project.

  1. Identify a Need. In my son’s case, it wasn’t until he moved out and discovered he didn’t have a place to put a TV other than on the floor that he was interested in owning a table. When he saw the cost of buying a table, the need became apparent. He had his parameters: Get the TV off the floor where he could see it without spending any money.
  2. Draw on your strengths. My son knew he didn’t have all the skills he needed, but he took it as far as he could on his own. He came over to the house with a plan in mind. He quickly drew up a plan on his own, not only of the finished product, but each piece required, complete with measurements. His class had taught him how to do it. He actually apologized for not drawing straight lines because he didn’t have access to a good ruler. He took it as far as he could with the skills and experience he had. Then he asked for help.
  3. Stack the odds in your favor. This step is key, I believe. The best way to reduce the risk of failure is to find help. Find someone who has “been there, done that” to guide you through the uncertain steps. In this case, my son called me because he knew I had been making furniture for years. He took it as far as he could and then enlisted my help to get it the rest of the way. I offered a couple design changes from my years of experience and reading. Listening to my advice improved the stability of the table and increased his odds of getting the table he desired.
  4. Adapt to adversity. Things don’t always go as planned, even if you have a mentor. After I went to bed, he was finishing up the assembly and had to trim two pieces to the correct length. He accidentally cut one too short. He didn’t stop, though. He improvised. He adapted his plan to accommodate the situation and actually ended up with a better design (in my opinion).   Don’t let little set backs be discouraging. Adapt, improvise and overcome.
  5. Do it YOUR way. When it came to the final sanding and preparation for final finishing, I made some suggestions, such as sanding out all the burn marks left by the table saw. My son, however, decided he liked the look they gave – more rustic and ‘antique-ish’. He was even trying to think of a way to add more marks to the table top. Definitely not my style, but I stepped aside to his wishes. It is his project and he gets to do it his way. I tried to remain the “guide on the side” instead of the sage on the stage”. Don’t let others, even the experts, take over the project. Do it YOUR way. Take responsibility for the outcome and be proud.

What’s the next step? Build on Success! I hope my son continues on, finding the next project he wants to conquer and improving on the skills he gained. I know I have plenty of scrap in the shop if a future project should involve wood. Now if you will excuse me, I have to go search for the buttons that popped off my shirt. I’m proud of you, son!

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