Jack Eckerd’s company Eckerd at one point of time was giving Walgreens a run for money but when Jack Eckerd left to pursue politics , the organization capsized
Though Jack was a genius what separated him from Level 5 leaders is the fact that he believed in having a team of Thousand Capable Helpers rather than investing in great people
Adopted from Jim Collins’s book Good to Great
David Maxwell the top person at Fannie Mae was prepared to sacrifice wrong people for great people to eventually take the company from “Good to Great”
His leadership style involved the following:
“If I start with the right people , ask the right questions and engage them in vigorous debate we will find a way to make the company great”
“First Who then What” thus is a very important Level 5 leadership strategy
Adopted from Jim Collins’s book Good to Great
The two key aspects are:
1) First get the right people in the bus before deciding where to drive it
2) Degree of sheer rigor needed in people decisions to taks the company from “good to great”
Adopted from Jim Collins’s book Good to Great
There are three simple truths –
1) When the organization has to change direction due to a strategic reason , once the right people are on board , they will align with this new course
2) Right people are self motivated towards a cause
3) If wrong people are there onboard , the good to great journey becomes irrelevant
Adopted from Jim Collins’s book Good to Great
Level 5 leaders who have their taken their companies from Good to Great always believed in this:
“If we get the RIGHT PEOPLE on the bus , the RIGHT PEOPLE in right seats , and the wrong people off the bus , then we will figure out how to take it someplace great.”
Adopted from Jim Collins’s book Good to Great
Listed below are some of key characteristics of level 5 infinite minded leaders who leave behind a legacy.
Adopted from Jim Collins’s book Good to Great
Level 5 leaders set up their successors for even greater success in the next generation whereas egocentric yet very talented leaders often set up their successors for failure to prove their greatness.
Adopted from Jim Collins’s book titled Good to Great
Level 5 leaders embody a paradoxical mix of personal humility and professional will.They are ambitious first and foremost for the company not themselves.
Adopted from Jim Collins’s book titled “Good to Great”
Colman Mockler was the CEO of Gillette from 1975 to 91
There were in all three attacks aimed at destroying the company during his tenure
The last one wherein Coniston Partners initiated a proxy battle to seize control of the board hoping to sell the company to the highest bidder to quickly realize gains
Looking at the immediate gain of 44% most executives would have fallen in the trap , not Mockler who instead chose to fight for future greatness of Gillette
Adopted from Jim Collins’s book Good to Great
In his best selling book, Good to Great, Jim Collins mentions about Humility and will power as the two most essential qualities of level 5 leaders.
“These are leaders who build enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will” – Jim Collins’s book Good to Great