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Tag: Jim Collins

  • What does a plot between “Entrepreneurship Ethic” vs “Culture Discipline” reveal?

    Adopted from Jim Collins’s book Good to Great..

    When “Entrepreneurship Ethic(EE)” vs “Culture Discipline(CD)” is plotted on X-Y curve the following are the inferences that make us realize why a Great Organization is so difficult to form..

    1. Start Up – High EE and low CD
    2. Bureaucratic – Low EE and low CD
    3. Hierarchical – Low EE and high CD
    4. Great Organization – high EE and high CD

    Thus having the right balance of entrepreneurship ethics and culture of discipline is what makes an organization great and hence is so difficult to design.

  • Infinite minded players follow the these three principles religiously

    As mentioned by Jim Collins in his book Good To Great , the following are three key concepts that are part of Hedgehog Concept so religiously followed by infinite minded companies in the modern age infinite game to stay ahead of peers.

    1. What are you DEEPLY PASSIONATE about?
    2. WHAT you CAN be BEST in the WORLD at?
    3. What drives your ECONOMIC ENGINE?

    The intersection point of these three concepts is where these organizations focus on to stay ahead of the competition with full focus.

    Concepts adopted from Jim Collins’s book Good to Great and Simon Sinek’s book The Infinite Game

  • How can we extend HEDGEHOG CONCEPT to BUSINESS?

    The Hedgehog Concept is based on an ancient Greek parable that states, “The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing – to defend itself from the fox.” The insight highlights how to extend the Hedgehog Concept to business.

    Source : https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/hedgehog-concept.htm

    Hedgehogs, simplify the world and focus on a single, overarching vision, which they then achieve.

    Jim Collins in his book Good To Great extends this concept to the world of business.According to him the iconic companies who have survived the test of time have applied the Hedgehog concept whereas their more fancy competitors have been like foxes and have not quite been able to survive the test of time.

    The following three concepts are core to the Hedgehog circle , which are religiously followed by these iconic companies:

    1. What are you DEEPLY PASSIONATE about?
    2. What drives your ECONOMIC ENGINE?
    3. What you CAN BE THE BEST in the WORLD at?

    Practicing the concepts in this circle helps these companies focus on their strengths without being bothered by competition.

  • What does “Stockdale Paradox” teach us?

    The Stockdale Paradox is stated as follows:

    “Retain faith that you will prevail in the end , regardless of the difficulties

    AND

    At the same time confront the most brutal facts of your CURRENT REALITY , whatever they might be.”

    A great organization or an individual realizes that there would not be good times always.Sometimes the tide will be rough and sometimes smooth.

    It is when the tide is rough , the “never say die” attitude prevails in the end and truly separates great individuals and organizations from the rest.

    The Stockdale Paradox teaches us to be tenacious to tide through the rough times.

    Adopted from Jim Collins’s book Good to Great

  • What is “Stockdale Paradox”?

    James Bond Stockdale was a United States Navy vice admiral and aviator awarded the Medal of Honor in the Vietnam War, during which he was a prisoner of war for over seven years. Commander Stockdale was the most senior naval officer held captive in Hanoi, North Vietnam.

    His sheer ability to survive during tough times and come out triumphant has inspired Jim Collins to make a mention about “The Stockdale Paradox” in his book Good To Great.

    The Stockdale Paradox is stated as follows:

    “Retain faith that you will prevail in the end , regardless of the difficulties

    AND

    At the same time confront the most brutal facts of your CURRENT REALITY , whatever they might be.

    A great organization powered by a Level 5 leader never loses hope during tough times.They know that these are part & parcel of the infinite game of business and face the brutal facts of reality to rejig and come back stronger.

    This paradox is not only inspirational and applicable for organizations as well as individuals.

  • How do Level 5 leaders motivate their people?

    Level 5 leaders firstly board the RIGHT PEOPLE in the BUS and take the WRONG PEOPLE off the bus.

    Since they already have the RIGHT PEOPLE , they will be SELF MOTIVATED.

    Hence the key if NOT to DE-MOTIVATE these people.

    The sure shot means of DE-MOTIVATING them is to ignore the BRUTAL facts of REALITY which is why this avoided at all costs by these LEVEL 5 leaders.

    Adopted from Jim Collins’s book Good to Great.

  • Great Leaders encourage”Healthy Scientific Debates”

    Great organizations led by Level 5 leaders are ones that have a penchant for INTENSE DIALOGUE.

    These organizations DO NOT use these “heated discussions” as a gimmick to let people “HAVE THEIR SAY” so that they could “BUY IN” to a predetermined decision.

    The process that is rather adopted is one of a “HEATED SCIENTIFIC DEBATE” wherein the people are engaged in SEARCH for the BEST ANSWERS.

    Adopted from Jim Collins’s book Good to Great

  • Why creating the “right climate” in a workplace is important?

    Leadership is about creating a right climate where the TRUTH is HEARD and the BRUTAL FACTS are CONFRONTED.

    There is a huge difference between the opportunity to “HAVE ONE’s SAY” and the opportunity “TO BE HEARD”.

    The Level 5 leaders understand this important difference and CREATE A CULTURE where PEOPLE have a TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITY to be HEARD and ultimately for TRUTH to be HEARD.

    Adopted from Jim Collins’s book Good to Great

  • The pitfalls of being “Charismatic”

    Great leaders know that a strong charismatic personality can become a LIABILITY rather than an ASSET.

    The strength of CHARISMA in personality can sow the seeds of PROBLEMS when people FILTER the BRUTAL FACTS from the CHARISMATIC leader.

    A great charismatic leader is mindful of this fact and overcomes this by being consciously attentive.

    Think of Winston Churchill , his charisma and his fight against Hitler.In order to safeguard against the problem of unpleasant brutal facts  not reaching him , Churchill created the Statistical Office to ensure that these details always reached him.

    Adopted from Jim Collins’s book Good to Great.

  • Why having a “Vision” alone is not sufficient?

    Iconic companies have been driven by a vision but that alone has never been sufficient.

    There is nothing wrong in pursuing a VISION for greatness.Where iconic companies like SouthWest , Apple , Costco stand out from their peers is that these companies have continually refined the path to greatness by being willing and flexible to FACE BRUTAL FACTS of REALITY.

    This has been scientifically explained by Jim Collins in his book titled Good To Great.