Note: At our website, www.jimcollins.com, we have posted a diagnostic tool for assessing an organization through the lens of these concepts. The diagnostic tool is free for use inside any organization.
(The principles in Stages 1 through 3 derive from the research for the book Good to Great by Jim Collins; the principles in Stage 4 derive from the book Built to Last by Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras.)
STAGE 1: DISCIPLINED PEOPLE
LEVEL 5 LEADERSHIP: Level 5 leaders are ambitious first and foremost for the cause, the organization, the work—not themselves—and they have the fierce resolve to do whatever it takes to make good on that ambition. A Level 5 leader displays a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will.
FIRST WHO, THEN WHAT: Those who build great organizations make sure they have the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the key seats before they figure out where to drive the bus. They always think first about “who” and then about what.
STAGE 2: DISCIPLINED THOUGHT
CONFRONT THE BRUTAL FACTS—THE STOCKDALE PARADOX: Retain unwavering faith that you can and will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties, and at the same time have the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.
THE HEDGEHOG CONCEPT: Greatness comes about by a series of good decisions consistent with a simple, coherent concept—a “hedgehog concept.” The hedgehog concept is an operating model that reflects understanding of three intersecting circles: what you can be the best in the world at, what you are deeply passionate about, and what best drives your economic or resource engine.
STAGE 3: DISCIPLINED ACTION
CULTURE OF DISCIPLINE: Disciplined people who engage in disciplined thought and who take disciplined action—operating with freedom within a framework of responsibilities: this is the cornerstone of a culture that creates greatness. People do not have jobs; they have responsibilities.
THE FLYWHEEL: There is no single defining action, no grand program, no one killer innovation, no solitary lucky break, no miracle moment. Rather, the process resembles relentlessly pushing a giant heavy flywheel, turn upon turn, building momentum until a point of breakthrough, and beyond.
STAGE 4: BUILDING GREATNESS TO LAST
CLOCK BUILDING, NOT TIME TELLING: Truly great organizations prosper through multiple generations of leaders, the exact opposite of being built around a single great leader, great idea, or specific program. Leaders in great organizations build catalytic mechanisms to stimulate progress and do not depend upon having a charismatic personality to get things done; indeed, many have had a “charisma bypass.”
PRESERVE THE CORE/STIMULATE PROGRESS: Enduring great organizations are characterized by a fundamental duality. On the one hand, they have a set of timeless core values and core reason for being that remain constant over long periods of time. On the other hand, they have a relentless drive for change and progress—a creative compulsion that often manifests in BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals). Great organizations keep clear the difference between their core values (which never change) and operating strategies and cultural practices (which endlessly adapt to a changing world).