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BE 2.0 (Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0): Turning Your Business into an Enduring Great Company
NEARLY THIRTY YEARS AGO, Stanford University faculty members Jim Collins and Bill Lazier showed you how to turn an entrepreneurial business into an enduring great company.
Beyond Entrepreneurship became a leadership staple, particularly among small and early-stage companies. And while Collins would go on to write a series of famous bestsellers that have sold more than ten million copies worldwide, this lesser-known early work remains the favourite of many of his loyal readers.
Now, with Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0, Collins re-shares the timeless insights in Beyond Entrepreneurship alongside new perspectives gleaned after decades of additional research into what makes great companies tick. In Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0, you'll learn how to turn your company into the 2.0 version of itself. You'll be challenged to grow your own leadership as your company grows, from 1x to 2x to 5x to 10x. You'll learn Collins's newest reflections on people decisions, insights that extend beyond his seminal "first who" principle about getting the right people on the bus. You'll learn why luck favours the persistent, and what it means to look for "who luck." You'll learn about the origins of the "BHAG" (Big Hairy Audacious Goal), and why even a small business needs a galvanising BHAG to have a complete and inspiring vision.
You'll also unlock what Collins calls "The Map." The Map is a road map that pulls together the key concepts developed from thirty years of research and writing into one integrated framework for building a company that delivers superior results, makes a distinctive impact, and achieves lasting endurance.
Finally, you'll learn the lessons that Jim Collins himself learned from the most influential mentor in his life, Bill Lazier.
Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0 is the ambitious upgrade to a classic. In Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0, you'll discover that the goal to turn your business into an enduring great company is as relevant - and as within your reach - as ever.
Beyond Entrepreneurship became a leadership staple, particularly among small and early-stage companies. And while Collins would go on to write a series of famous bestsellers that have sold more than ten million copies worldwide, this lesser-known early work remains the favourite of many of his loyal readers.
Now, with Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0, Collins re-shares the timeless insights in Beyond Entrepreneurship alongside new perspectives gleaned after decades of additional research into what makes great companies tick. In Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0, you'll learn how to turn your company into the 2.0 version of itself. You'll be challenged to grow your own leadership as your company grows, from 1x to 2x to 5x to 10x. You'll learn Collins's newest reflections on people decisions, insights that extend beyond his seminal "first who" principle about getting the right people on the bus. You'll learn why luck favours the persistent, and what it means to look for "who luck." You'll learn about the origins of the "BHAG" (Big Hairy Audacious Goal), and why even a small business needs a galvanising BHAG to have a complete and inspiring vision.
You'll also unlock what Collins calls "The Map." The Map is a road map that pulls together the key concepts developed from thirty years of research and writing into one integrated framework for building a company that delivers superior results, makes a distinctive impact, and achieves lasting endurance.
Finally, you'll learn the lessons that Jim Collins himself learned from the most influential mentor in his life, Bill Lazier.
Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0 is the ambitious upgrade to a classic. In Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0, you'll discover that the goal to turn your business into an enduring great company is as relevant - and as within your reach - as ever.
344 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 2020
About the author
James C. Collins
35 books2,239 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Jim Collins is a student and teacher of enduring great companies — how they grow, how they attain superior performance, and how good companies can become great companies. Having invested over a decade of research into the topic, Jim has authored or co-authored four books, including the classic BUILT TO LAST, which has been a fixture on the Business Week best seller list for more than six years, and has been translated into 29 languages. His work has been featured in Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Harvard Business Review, and Fast Company.
Jim’s book, GOOD TO GREAT: Why Some Companies Make the Leap ... And Others Don’t, attained long-running positions on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Business Week best seller lists, has sold 3 million hardcover copies since publication and has been translated into 35 languages, including such languages as Latvian, Mongolian and Vietnamese.
His most recent book, HOW THE MIGHTY FALL: And Why Some Companies Never Give In, was published on May 19, 2009.
Driven by a relentless curiosity, Jim began his research and teaching career on the faculty at Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he received the Distinguished Teaching Award in 1992. In 1995, he founded a management laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, where he now conducts research and teaches executives from the corporate and social sectors. Jim holds degrees in business administration and mathematical sciences from Stanford University, and honorary doctoral degrees from the University of Colorado and the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University.
Jim has served as a teacher to senior executives and CEOs at over a hundred corporations. He has also worked with social sector organizations, such as: Johns Hopkins Medical School, the Girl Scouts of the USA, the Leadership Network of Churches, the American Association of K-12 School Superintendents, and the United States Marine Corps. In 2005 he published a monograph: Good to Great and the Social Sectors.
In addition, Jim is an avid rock climber and has made one-day ascents of the North Face of Half Dome and the Nose route on the South Face of El Capitan in Yosemite Valley. He continues to climb at the 5.13 grade.
Jim Collins is a student and teacher of enduring great companies — how they grow, how they attain superior performance, and how good companies can become great companies. Having invested over a decade of research into the topic, Jim has authored or co-authored four books, including the classic BUILT TO LAST, which has been a fixture on the Business Week best seller list for more than six years, and has been translated into 29 languages. His work has been featured in Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Harvard Business Review, and Fast Company.
Jim’s book, GOOD TO GREAT: Why Some Companies Make the Leap ... And Others Don’t, attained long-running positions on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Business Week best seller lists, has sold 3 million hardcover copies since publication and has been translated into 35 languages, including such languages as Latvian, Mongolian and Vietnamese.
His most recent book, HOW THE MIGHTY FALL: And Why Some Companies Never Give In, was published on May 19, 2009.
Driven by a relentless curiosity, Jim began his research and teaching career on the faculty at Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he received the Distinguished Teaching Award in 1992. In 1995, he founded a management laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, where he now conducts research and teaches executives from the corporate and social sectors. Jim holds degrees in business administration and mathematical sciences from Stanford University, and honorary doctoral degrees from the University of Colorado and the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University.
Jim has served as a teacher to senior executives and CEOs at over a hundred corporations. He has also worked with social sector organizations, such as: Johns Hopkins Medical School, the Girl Scouts of the USA, the Leadership Network of Churches, the American Association of K-12 School Superintendents, and the United States Marine Corps. In 2005 he published a monograph: Good to Great and the Social Sectors.
In addition, Jim is an avid rock climber and has made one-day ascents of the North Face of Half Dome and the Nose route on the South Face of El Capitan in Yosemite Valley. He continues to climb at the 5.13 grade.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
May 4, 2023
Jim Collins delivers a great book again. It's a great book for entrepreneurs. Also, this book is unique among his works in that is includes a summary of all his other books--that section alone is worth the entire book.
Highly recommended for leaders of organizations, not just business leaders.
[Note: for the first time in my life I'm re-reading my favorite books, to reinforce their messages and to see if I would still consider them one of the greats. The review above is my original reaction. The comments below are my thoughts now.]
How does it compare to my memory of the book? Would I still recommend it to others?
The best part of this book is also the worst part of this book. This is by far the most comprehensive of all Jim Collins' books. It not only is longer, but covers everything from what is good leadership to finances to what is a good vision/mission to the role of innovation. It also has a "map" showing how every other book he wrote--every other major concept--fits together and helps you to build an "enduring, great company."
Highly recommended for leaders of organizations, not just business leaders.
[Note: for the first time in my life I'm re-reading my favorite books, to reinforce their messages and to see if I would still consider them one of the greats. The review above is my original reaction. The comments below are my thoughts now.]
How does it compare to my memory of the book? Would I still recommend it to others?
The best part of this book is also the worst part of this book. This is by far the most comprehensive of all Jim Collins' books. It not only is longer, but covers everything from what is good leadership to finances to what is a good vision/mission to the role of innovation. It also has a "map" showing how every other book he wrote--every other major concept--fits together and helps you to build an "enduring, great company."
January 24, 2021
This is a must-read. Although it's an update from an early book, everything in it is as modern as it was when first written.
If you have a smaller company, this is a must-read. You'll walk away with more actionable ideas than you can implement in years, much less months.
If you have a smaller company, this is a must-read. You'll walk away with more actionable ideas than you can implement in years, much less months.
March 31, 2021
I enjoyed this book, it was recommended reading at Trek. You can definitely see a lot of the guidance in this book was embraced by Trek's corporate culture, and I that's a good thing. Why did I give it only 3 stars? I guess it was a little dry or I wasn't as in the mood for this type of book. The real-life examples were often fun to hear about. I just felt a lot more drawn into a book like Infinite Game where as BE 2.0 I was not as excited to pick it up each time.
Also it is the type of book that is probably not as great as an audio book because you want to have it in your hands and taking notes and highlighting stuff to remember or study. As an audio book you are kind of just nodding along thinking these are great points, but then when asked to summarize your takeaways you will likely be at a loss.
Also it is the type of book that is probably not as great as an audio book because you want to have it in your hands and taking notes and highlighting stuff to remember or study. As an audio book you are kind of just nodding along thinking these are great points, but then when asked to summarize your takeaways you will likely be at a loss.
December 2, 2023
Wisdom and practical advice for every part of a business, from small teams to the whole company.
February 2, 2023
Great read, jumping between the 1990s and 2020, this was very enjoyable and proof of the enduring value of the author's ideas. I will likely review this book in more details in the future.
October 12, 2021
Jim Collins, researcher and professor of Stanford Graduate School of Business, and also an author of a series of books that have sold more than 10 million copies worldwide, returns to his initial focus on small, entrepreneurial businesses with this ambitious update BE 2.0. According to Forbes, Jim Collins is now one of the 100 Greatest Living Business Minds.
BE 2.0 is a tremendous upgrade to the classic Beyond Entrepreneurship and was born to honor Jim’s coach Bill Lazier who was his professor and his life’s greatest mentor. It incorporates Bill's practical advice as well as the entrepreneurship and small company skills they taught at Stanford.
Along with his other #1 bestsellers “Good to Great”, which examines why some companies succeed while others fail and the timeless classic “Built to Last”, investigating why some businesses remain visionary for generations; Jim’s “BE 2.0” acts as an ideal roadmap for executives in small and mid-sized businesses who want to build long-lasting great organizations.
As a foundation of so many business theories of the past 20-30 years, this is a must read and re-read book for those who want to create enduring companies or have a humongous responsibility to save the company from an ultimate disaster. The real-life examples made this book so much practical along with the knowledge and original insight to be gained. I would highly recommend this inspiring work to any entrepreneur or business owner to consider it as a roadmap for good practices and come back to it again, as there are so many important guidance and recommendations during each stage of company’s growth.
“Get the right people on the bus then figure out where to drive.”
“Take our 20 best people away and I will tell you that Microsoft would become an unimportant company”. - Bill Gates
“Life is too short not to enjoy what you are doing. If we can’t make this fun, we should stop doing it!” - Bill Lazier
BE 2.0 is a tremendous upgrade to the classic Beyond Entrepreneurship and was born to honor Jim’s coach Bill Lazier who was his professor and his life’s greatest mentor. It incorporates Bill's practical advice as well as the entrepreneurship and small company skills they taught at Stanford.
Along with his other #1 bestsellers “Good to Great”, which examines why some companies succeed while others fail and the timeless classic “Built to Last”, investigating why some businesses remain visionary for generations; Jim’s “BE 2.0” acts as an ideal roadmap for executives in small and mid-sized businesses who want to build long-lasting great organizations.
As a foundation of so many business theories of the past 20-30 years, this is a must read and re-read book for those who want to create enduring companies or have a humongous responsibility to save the company from an ultimate disaster. The real-life examples made this book so much practical along with the knowledge and original insight to be gained. I would highly recommend this inspiring work to any entrepreneur or business owner to consider it as a roadmap for good practices and come back to it again, as there are so many important guidance and recommendations during each stage of company’s growth.
“Get the right people on the bus then figure out where to drive.”
“Take our 20 best people away and I will tell you that Microsoft would become an unimportant company”. - Bill Gates
“Life is too short not to enjoy what you are doing. If we can’t make this fun, we should stop doing it!” - Bill Lazier
April 22, 2024
Я вважаю ця книга має бути настільною книгою будь-якого власника чи власниці малого чи серендього бізнесу. Вона дуже коротка (на той об‘єм інформації, який там), ілюстративна і практична. Буду рекомендувати всім своїм клієнтам.
Прекрасно розкладає теми:
- місії і цілей
- цінностей
- найму працівників
- як будувати сталі системи для величних компаній
Тощо.
Я в захваті. Це так книга, яку хочеться «смакувати» повільно, але проковтуєш повністю - бо цікаво дочитати що далі. Або я просто гік, яка обожнює управління і управлінські дослідження!
Прекрасно розкладає теми:
- місії і цілей
- цінностей
- найму працівників
- як будувати сталі системи для величних компаній
Тощо.
Я в захваті. Це так книга, яку хочеться «смакувати» повільно, але проковтуєш повністю - бо цікаво дочитати що далі. Або я просто гік, яка обожнює управління і управлінські дослідження!
November 29, 2021
“Launching a startup is like winning the War of Independence, but building a company that can last is like writing the Constitution”
The phrase above is from the book.
I finished BE 2.0 and all works from Jim Collins and his partners. This one completes all the missing gaps left. That was amazing reading. It made me anxious in way that sometimes I couldn’t move to next page, sometimes.
The only minor inconsistent I found, It was about the details. There is so much emphasis about pursuing execution and have attention to details and somehow they also discuss not be too hard on detail. Anyway… details needed.
The phrase above is from the book.
I finished BE 2.0 and all works from Jim Collins and his partners. This one completes all the missing gaps left. That was amazing reading. It made me anxious in way that sometimes I couldn’t move to next page, sometimes.
The only minor inconsistent I found, It was about the details. There is so much emphasis about pursuing execution and have attention to details and somehow they also discuss not be too hard on detail. Anyway… details needed.
February 11, 2021
Trust & respect, tactical excellence, people are everything, vision & values come first.
May 26, 2022
Feels like a strong summary with all the learnings of Collins other books.
December 19, 2020
This was an excellent read, as all of Jim Collins' books have been. However, I have a real problem with the fact that almost every idea that Jim later develops in his supposedly inductive approach to research was already present in the 1992 version of BE. This greatly undermines all those self-proclaimed "discoveries" found in Built to Last, Good to Great, Great by Choice, and How the Mighty Fall. Don't get me wrong, I think there is much truth here and knowledge to be gained by reading these books, but the source of this truth is closer to a humanities approach than the rigorous analysis claimed endlessly in Built to Last and Good to Great. Jim's gift is that he's a great storyteller. He brings well known and well-documented knowledge from strategy courses taught in every university to life through literary analogies, sticky labels, etc. He makes management research entertaining and engaging. That's enough to justify reading all of his work. So, if you're looking for a great read about strategy and organization theory, then this book will be up your alley, but prepare yourself to look past the ridiculous claims of analytical rigor and original insight. Those are a stretch. Collins is a brilliant wholesaler of knowledge, but he's not a manufacturer of it, no matter how emphatic he might proclaim otherwise. Enjoy!
January 15, 2024
𝐁𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐁.𝐄. 2.0
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 1: 𝐉𝐢𝐦’𝐬 𝐕𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 2020. 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐞
Build a meaningful life by building relationships.
WHEN, WHOM & WHY have a mentor or mentee.
Mentorship should start early. Nowadays many mentors are more of coaches, and they run mentorship as a business. Passive mentorship is possible through observing those whom we see as our passive mentors or by reading books written by those we perceive as our passive mentors.
Mentees become mentors of the next generation.
Values come before goals, before strategy, before tactics before products, before market choices, before financing, before business plans, and before every decision.
A statement of values: We hold these truths to be self-evident. Values come first, and all else follows - in business, in career, in life.
Living to core values is the hard stuff.
Never confuse a great life with a long life.
Exceed the Limit of our potential.
What is our full potential?
How do you achieve it?
Some people’s lives are different and better because of you.
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 2: 𝐉𝐢𝐦’𝐬 𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 2020. 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭.
Which Seat do you sit on? What makes for a key seat?
Business is like bus purchases. You might be tempted to pick a destination first. However, the first thing you need to do is decide who will fill the seats.
The person in that seat has the power to make significant people's decisions. Failure in the seat could expose the entire enterprise to significant risk or potential catastrophe.
Pareto rule 80/20: 20% of people do the 80% of the job. They bring the highest revenue to a company/ institution.
Money is not a good motivator.
You can’t retain the best people only through money. More motivation is needed.
Right people
What’s your strategy for hitting that target? By skilling people up for their roles, you can either develop them or replace them with better people. Although it is usually more advantageous to develop rather than replace, there are times when it makes more sense to replace.
Right Culture
One way to build an enduring great company that makes great products is to have the right people working in the right culture.
Now that the key roles have been filled, you should focus on retaining talent by creating an environment that promotes autonomy, responsibility, and recognition among employees.
You don’t have to worry about where you are going as long as you’re on the right bus. It’s halfway there already.
Key Takeaways.
A great culture in an organization is a platform for self-motivation.
Sometimes your request for mentorship might be rejected. Consider passive mentorship.
A moment of prayer. Always remember to pray. Mentor from coincidence with life (Maybe a mistake happened, and someone offered to mentor you so that you don’t make the mistake again) is an answered prayer.
Always strive to retain the best employees.
Test drive for employee: Maybe through referral, internship, or attachment.
Replace or reassign someone if they outgrow their role or the role outgrows them.
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 3: 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏 𝐒𝐓𝐘𝐋𝐄
How do we become better in decision-making?
How do we know we made the right decision? Experience in decision-making. Have the right people on the table of decision-making.
Analytical skills may assist in making decision-making.
Intuition and Gut can assist us to know when we make the right decision.
Charisma does not equate to a great leadership function and style. Too friendly to people at the expense of being firm and fair. Jesus Christ was a great leader with Charisma.
You do not need a powerful charismatic personality to inspire people to do great things.
Key to a leader’s impact is sincerity. To convince them he must himself believe.
Far better to be an uncharismatic leader who gets the right people to confront the brutal facts than to be a magnetic force of personality who leads compliant followers to disaster.
Your leadership style will be a function of your unique personality characteristics.
Quiet, shy and reserved
Outgoing and gregarious
Hyperactive and impulsive
Methodical.
Cultivate your Style; don’t try to be someone you are not or take on a style that doesn’t fit.
Effective leadership consists of two parts: Leadership function and leadership style.
As a leader, you are supposed to catalyze a clear and shared vision for the company and to secure commitment to and vigorous pursuit of that vision.
For great leadership, first, get your “WHY.”
As a leader, counterbalance any criticism in practice with a bit of praise. Positive feedback tends to improve performance.
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 4: 𝐕𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍
Have a Vision for yourself. What Vision do you aspire to?
In your personal life, family, career.
As an effective corporate leader, catalyze a clear and shared vision for the company and secure commitment to and vigorous pursuit of that vision.
You begin with Vision, move to strategy, and then to tactics.
Vision is essential to greatness.
A shared vision is like having a compass and a distant destination in the mountains. The vision must transcend the founder.
Your Vision is your WHY.
How do you help entrepreneurs with all the cradles of workers?
Vision messages should be understandable to Five-year-old kids. People will resonate with the message.
Vision is composed of three basic parts:
Core Values and belief
Purpose
Mission.
Mission must be sincere and authentic; something that you want to obtain badly enough that you are willing to make personal sacrifices for its attainment.
Purpose is the fundamental reason for your company’s existence.
Core values and beliefs must be an absolute authentic extension of the values and beliefs you hold in your gut as a leader.
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 5: 𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐊 𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓
What is LUCK?
Be at the right place at the right time. Be prepared.
Be prepared for your time: Preparation and persistence are key.
Luck favors the prepared.
Good or bad luck: What you do with the unexpected.
Whatever good or bad luck comes your way; you can use it to achieve great things.
Is the Environment part of the Luck?
Environment accelerates your growth. Your initial seed determines your direction of growth.
Big doesn’t equate to great and great doesn’t equate to big.
Failure stories are never discussed.
Great companies never started great.
Visionary entrepreneurs suffer more setbacks in the early stages of their business. After these setbacks, they developed strategies and structures that rendered them bulletproof against future failures, not just from bad luck.
Taking an alternative route does not equate to quitting. Winners never quit and quitters never win.
Never Never Never give up!
Never Never Never give in!
Ideas are as good as you work on them.
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 6: 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐒 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐊-𝐌𝐀𝐏
Those who think and do, own the future.
Charismatic leaders are so eloquent. But that is not enough to drive a company from good to great.
𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 5 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩.
Level 5 – Level 5 Executive
Level 4 - Effective Leadership
Level 3 – Competent Manager
Level 2 – Contributing Team Manager
Level 1 – Highly capable Individual.
Growth from level 1 to level 5.
You are given level 1, other levels are built.
Most people reach level 3 and stagnate there. Sometimes even if they deliver growth, they become arrogant. They most times don’t take feedback positively.
Brutal Facts.
Bible: Proverbs 27:5-6
5 Better is open rebuke than hidden love.
6 Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 7: 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐆𝐘
What is the Essence of Strategy?
A strategic plan for a company creates a competitive advantage.
Create value for Customers. Happy customers create value for the company.
What good thing are you good at?
For example, Safaricom is good in MPESA. So far the best in the telecommunication industry in Kenya.
Operationalize your vision through strategic planning.
For example, Kenya Vision 2030: to transform Kenya into a newly industrializing, middle-income country providing a high quality of life to all its citizens.
The strategy follows Vision.
Ask key questions on Vision before getting to strategic planning.
Performance of management. Setting targets for the employee on how to achieve the strategy.
When do you come up with Strategic planning?
Strategic planning is a continuous management tool and a stepping stone to achieving your BHAG.
BHAG: Big Hairy Audacious Goal.
Revise the strategy every 2 years due to the many changing dynamics.
A start-up needs a strategic plan too.
Aligning to your long-term goal through a strategy.
Ask a tough question.
Why are you joining the market?
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 8: 𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍.
Woodwork factor.
By solving your problem, other people who have the same problem come out of the woodwork.
Be the first client of your product.
Articulate your problem and solve it.
Great innovation is out of solving a problem.
Define the problem.
The problem should speak out.
You are invited into a problem by the problem existing.
Mistakes
Innovation requires experimentation and mistakes. You can’t have one without the other.
The lesson learned from a mistake makes it valuable, not the mistake itself.
Conventional wisdom
Breadth and diversity breed creative insights. People with different experiences and backgrounds working on the same problem will usually produce more creative answers.
The single biggest roadblock to creativity and innovation in business is conventional wisdom.
Innovation is not a heavenly visitation. Innovation and punishment don't go hand in hand.
Results and exposure lead to conventional knowledge. Open up, and cross-check what is going around.
The uncommon man fits the rest world into his world.
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 9: 𝐓𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐄𝐗𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄
How do you execute a strategy?
Preparation
Responsibilities.
Challenges for the execution of strategy.
No connection between strategy and people.
Normal operations of an organization away from strategy.
No clear plan for the implementation of the strategic plan.
Who is doing it?
What is being done?
The budget for implementation and the budget are open to everyone who is a stakeholder in the implementation of the strategic plan.
Leaders are the key stakeholders in the implementation of the strategy.
If you have good people/teams and a bad plan, they will change the plan to be good.
Example: The former President, the late Mwai Kibaki used the old constitution for the better part of his term and delivered spectacular development in Kenya.
Leadership is key for strategic plan implementation.
Human beings always shape up. As far as they get to know why they have to do things stipulated in the strategic plan.
Do the right thing at the right time.
Deadline
Every project has a deadline.
Meet the deadline, it calls for discipline and commitment.
Deadline is a test of discipline ~ Dr. Emmanuel Mango.
There is the power of a deadline.
𝐀𝐀𝐑: 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰.
Implementing lessons learned after review.
The aspect of completeness is inconsistent.
𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝑵𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒂 𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒆, 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒅.
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 1: 𝐉𝐢𝐦’𝐬 𝐕𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 2020. 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐞
Build a meaningful life by building relationships.
WHEN, WHOM & WHY have a mentor or mentee.
Mentorship should start early. Nowadays many mentors are more of coaches, and they run mentorship as a business. Passive mentorship is possible through observing those whom we see as our passive mentors or by reading books written by those we perceive as our passive mentors.
Mentees become mentors of the next generation.
Values come before goals, before strategy, before tactics before products, before market choices, before financing, before business plans, and before every decision.
A statement of values: We hold these truths to be self-evident. Values come first, and all else follows - in business, in career, in life.
Living to core values is the hard stuff.
Never confuse a great life with a long life.
Exceed the Limit of our potential.
What is our full potential?
How do you achieve it?
Some people’s lives are different and better because of you.
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 2: 𝐉𝐢𝐦’𝐬 𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 2020. 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭.
Which Seat do you sit on? What makes for a key seat?
Business is like bus purchases. You might be tempted to pick a destination first. However, the first thing you need to do is decide who will fill the seats.
The person in that seat has the power to make significant people's decisions. Failure in the seat could expose the entire enterprise to significant risk or potential catastrophe.
Pareto rule 80/20: 20% of people do the 80% of the job. They bring the highest revenue to a company/ institution.
Money is not a good motivator.
You can’t retain the best people only through money. More motivation is needed.
Right people
What’s your strategy for hitting that target? By skilling people up for their roles, you can either develop them or replace them with better people. Although it is usually more advantageous to develop rather than replace, there are times when it makes more sense to replace.
Right Culture
One way to build an enduring great company that makes great products is to have the right people working in the right culture.
Now that the key roles have been filled, you should focus on retaining talent by creating an environment that promotes autonomy, responsibility, and recognition among employees.
You don’t have to worry about where you are going as long as you’re on the right bus. It’s halfway there already.
Key Takeaways.
A great culture in an organization is a platform for self-motivation.
Sometimes your request for mentorship might be rejected. Consider passive mentorship.
A moment of prayer. Always remember to pray. Mentor from coincidence with life (Maybe a mistake happened, and someone offered to mentor you so that you don’t make the mistake again) is an answered prayer.
Always strive to retain the best employees.
Test drive for employee: Maybe through referral, internship, or attachment.
Replace or reassign someone if they outgrow their role or the role outgrows them.
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 3: 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏 𝐒𝐓𝐘𝐋𝐄
How do we become better in decision-making?
How do we know we made the right decision? Experience in decision-making. Have the right people on the table of decision-making.
Analytical skills may assist in making decision-making.
Intuition and Gut can assist us to know when we make the right decision.
Charisma does not equate to a great leadership function and style. Too friendly to people at the expense of being firm and fair. Jesus Christ was a great leader with Charisma.
You do not need a powerful charismatic personality to inspire people to do great things.
Key to a leader’s impact is sincerity. To convince them he must himself believe.
Far better to be an uncharismatic leader who gets the right people to confront the brutal facts than to be a magnetic force of personality who leads compliant followers to disaster.
Your leadership style will be a function of your unique personality characteristics.
Quiet, shy and reserved
Outgoing and gregarious
Hyperactive and impulsive
Methodical.
Cultivate your Style; don’t try to be someone you are not or take on a style that doesn’t fit.
Effective leadership consists of two parts: Leadership function and leadership style.
As a leader, you are supposed to catalyze a clear and shared vision for the company and to secure commitment to and vigorous pursuit of that vision.
For great leadership, first, get your “WHY.”
As a leader, counterbalance any criticism in practice with a bit of praise. Positive feedback tends to improve performance.
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 4: 𝐕𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍
Have a Vision for yourself. What Vision do you aspire to?
In your personal life, family, career.
As an effective corporate leader, catalyze a clear and shared vision for the company and secure commitment to and vigorous pursuit of that vision.
You begin with Vision, move to strategy, and then to tactics.
Vision is essential to greatness.
A shared vision is like having a compass and a distant destination in the mountains. The vision must transcend the founder.
Your Vision is your WHY.
How do you help entrepreneurs with all the cradles of workers?
Vision messages should be understandable to Five-year-old kids. People will resonate with the message.
Vision is composed of three basic parts:
Core Values and belief
Purpose
Mission.
Mission must be sincere and authentic; something that you want to obtain badly enough that you are willing to make personal sacrifices for its attainment.
Purpose is the fundamental reason for your company’s existence.
Core values and beliefs must be an absolute authentic extension of the values and beliefs you hold in your gut as a leader.
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 5: 𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐊 𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓
What is LUCK?
Be at the right place at the right time. Be prepared.
Be prepared for your time: Preparation and persistence are key.
Luck favors the prepared.
Good or bad luck: What you do with the unexpected.
Whatever good or bad luck comes your way; you can use it to achieve great things.
Is the Environment part of the Luck?
Environment accelerates your growth. Your initial seed determines your direction of growth.
Big doesn’t equate to great and great doesn’t equate to big.
Failure stories are never discussed.
Great companies never started great.
Visionary entrepreneurs suffer more setbacks in the early stages of their business. After these setbacks, they developed strategies and structures that rendered them bulletproof against future failures, not just from bad luck.
Taking an alternative route does not equate to quitting. Winners never quit and quitters never win.
Never Never Never give up!
Never Never Never give in!
Ideas are as good as you work on them.
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 6: 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐒 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐊-𝐌𝐀𝐏
Those who think and do, own the future.
Charismatic leaders are so eloquent. But that is not enough to drive a company from good to great.
𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 5 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩.
Level 5 – Level 5 Executive
Level 4 - Effective Leadership
Level 3 – Competent Manager
Level 2 – Contributing Team Manager
Level 1 – Highly capable Individual.
Growth from level 1 to level 5.
You are given level 1, other levels are built.
Most people reach level 3 and stagnate there. Sometimes even if they deliver growth, they become arrogant. They most times don’t take feedback positively.
Brutal Facts.
Bible: Proverbs 27:5-6
5 Better is open rebuke than hidden love.
6 Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 7: 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐆𝐘
What is the Essence of Strategy?
A strategic plan for a company creates a competitive advantage.
Create value for Customers. Happy customers create value for the company.
What good thing are you good at?
For example, Safaricom is good in MPESA. So far the best in the telecommunication industry in Kenya.
Operationalize your vision through strategic planning.
For example, Kenya Vision 2030: to transform Kenya into a newly industrializing, middle-income country providing a high quality of life to all its citizens.
The strategy follows Vision.
Ask key questions on Vision before getting to strategic planning.
Performance of management. Setting targets for the employee on how to achieve the strategy.
When do you come up with Strategic planning?
Strategic planning is a continuous management tool and a stepping stone to achieving your BHAG.
BHAG: Big Hairy Audacious Goal.
Revise the strategy every 2 years due to the many changing dynamics.
A start-up needs a strategic plan too.
Aligning to your long-term goal through a strategy.
Ask a tough question.
Why are you joining the market?
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 8: 𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐎𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍.
Woodwork factor.
By solving your problem, other people who have the same problem come out of the woodwork.
Be the first client of your product.
Articulate your problem and solve it.
Great innovation is out of solving a problem.
Define the problem.
The problem should speak out.
You are invited into a problem by the problem existing.
Mistakes
Innovation requires experimentation and mistakes. You can’t have one without the other.
The lesson learned from a mistake makes it valuable, not the mistake itself.
Conventional wisdom
Breadth and diversity breed creative insights. People with different experiences and backgrounds working on the same problem will usually produce more creative answers.
The single biggest roadblock to creativity and innovation in business is conventional wisdom.
Innovation is not a heavenly visitation. Innovation and punishment don't go hand in hand.
Results and exposure lead to conventional knowledge. Open up, and cross-check what is going around.
The uncommon man fits the rest world into his world.
𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 9: 𝐓𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐄𝐗𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄
How do you execute a strategy?
Preparation
Responsibilities.
Challenges for the execution of strategy.
No connection between strategy and people.
Normal operations of an organization away from strategy.
No clear plan for the implementation of the strategic plan.
Who is doing it?
What is being done?
The budget for implementation and the budget are open to everyone who is a stakeholder in the implementation of the strategic plan.
Leaders are the key stakeholders in the implementation of the strategy.
If you have good people/teams and a bad plan, they will change the plan to be good.
Example: The former President, the late Mwai Kibaki used the old constitution for the better part of his term and delivered spectacular development in Kenya.
Leadership is key for strategic plan implementation.
Human beings always shape up. As far as they get to know why they have to do things stipulated in the strategic plan.
Do the right thing at the right time.
Deadline
Every project has a deadline.
Meet the deadline, it calls for discipline and commitment.
Deadline is a test of discipline ~ Dr. Emmanuel Mango.
There is the power of a deadline.
𝐀𝐀𝐑: 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰.
Implementing lessons learned after review.
The aspect of completeness is inconsistent.
𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝑵𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒂 𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒆, 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒅.
March 3, 2021
If you ever read any Jim Collins book, you know what to expect. Consider it another great delivery on the same approach as beyond entrepreneurship from the 90's.
I would advise any entrepreneur, or director of any organization, not to use it as a bible, but at least to consider it as a roadmap for good practices.
Even if you read the original BE from 1992, you'll find that the core message is the same, the rules are the same, but the case studies progressed and some of the concepts were refined.
It's not a light read to do while you're distracted, and it truly broke two records on my side:
-amount of notes taken on a single book
-time to finish a single book
and both are good signs :)
I would advise any entrepreneur, or director of any organization, not to use it as a bible, but at least to consider it as a roadmap for good practices.
Even if you read the original BE from 1992, you'll find that the core message is the same, the rules are the same, but the case studies progressed and some of the concepts were refined.
It's not a light read to do while you're distracted, and it truly broke two records on my side:
-amount of notes taken on a single book
-time to finish a single book
and both are good signs :)
January 21, 2022
Best leadership book i have ever read. It really has it all: examples, how Tos, simple explinations. Treasure!
December 28, 2021
This is the first significant book that was published by Collins in 1995, at that time I had just started my formal education and knew nothing about those concepts. The founders of Netflix, Google and many other Silicon Valley Tech success stories consider this book the enterpreneurship "bible" and as I had not read the original 1995 version I tried to make sense of it from my own perspective. Built to Last and Good to Great are among the very best enterpreneurship books that I've read and I still consider then the best Collins books, all the later books have not managed to make such an impact. I feel that BE 2.0 is a bit a victim of it's original success. When I was thinking back of my own 15+ year career in business then new concepts and operating models implemented back then felt like inventing the wheel and very novel, but cannot be appreciated by today's people the same way because they have been recycled so much in other books and theories and have become so common sense that most people don't even bother to question why things should be done according to those principles or why different approach does not work. Due to this the book still does read as a classic in 2021 but it does not feel "as novel".
Key domains covered in the book:
*Great business ideas don't happen without great people.
*Leadership sets the stage for success - or failure.
*Get laser-focused about your vision.
*You can't control luck, but you can capitalize on it (Great by Choice covers this topic in more depth).
*To achieve success in business, start by cultivating discipline.
*Good strategy is simple.
*You can't innovate without ideas.
*Hard work is the secret to success.
Some more keywords on those topics:
First who, then what
Embracing the genius and confronting the brutal facts
Clarifying a Hedgehog Concept (fox VS hedgehog)
Build momentum by turning the flywheel
Achieving breakthrough with 20 Mile March discipline)
Renew and extend via Fire Bullets, then Cannonballs
Practice Productive Paranoia
Do more Clock Building, less time telling
Preserve the core, stimulate progress (towards the next BHAG)
Getting a high return on luck
How many of your key seats are filled with the right people - ideally this should be 100%. “What makes for a key seat? Any seat meeting any one of the following three conditions qualifies as key: The person in that seat has the power to make significant people decisions. Failure in the seat could expose the entire enterprise to significant risk or potential catastrophe. Success in the seat would have a significantly outsized impact on the company’s success.”
When to get rid of the "wrong people":
If keeping someone in the role is costing you other employees, it's probably better to replace them. The same is true if your staff constantly cannot work with or under someone.
When someone sees the role as a job, rather than a set of responsibilities.
Retaining the right people by creating a company culture where employees are given autonomy, responsibility and recognition.
Key domains covered in the book:
*Great business ideas don't happen without great people.
*Leadership sets the stage for success - or failure.
*Get laser-focused about your vision.
*You can't control luck, but you can capitalize on it (Great by Choice covers this topic in more depth).
*To achieve success in business, start by cultivating discipline.
*Good strategy is simple.
*You can't innovate without ideas.
*Hard work is the secret to success.
Some more keywords on those topics:
First who, then what
Embracing the genius and confronting the brutal facts
Clarifying a Hedgehog Concept (fox VS hedgehog)
Build momentum by turning the flywheel
Achieving breakthrough with 20 Mile March discipline)
Renew and extend via Fire Bullets, then Cannonballs
Practice Productive Paranoia
Do more Clock Building, less time telling
Preserve the core, stimulate progress (towards the next BHAG)
Getting a high return on luck
How many of your key seats are filled with the right people - ideally this should be 100%. “What makes for a key seat? Any seat meeting any one of the following three conditions qualifies as key: The person in that seat has the power to make significant people decisions. Failure in the seat could expose the entire enterprise to significant risk or potential catastrophe. Success in the seat would have a significantly outsized impact on the company’s success.”
When to get rid of the "wrong people":
If keeping someone in the role is costing you other employees, it's probably better to replace them. The same is true if your staff constantly cannot work with or under someone.
When someone sees the role as a job, rather than a set of responsibilities.
Retaining the right people by creating a company culture where employees are given autonomy, responsibility and recognition.
August 1, 2022
I'm a fan of Jim Collins. I've now succeeded in reading all of his books, and over the years, his insight has played an outsize role in how I think about leadership, management, and even how I've made my own career decisions. This book is a fitting capstone work that encapsulates the principles he's built out across all of his other books. If there was such a thing as "The Essential Jim Collins" (such as The Essential DruckerThe Essential Drucker, of whom Collins is both heavily influenced by and a suitable successor), this book is it.
This book is more than just a second edition. It is reorganized, and while the original text remains, a substantial portion of this work is Collin's own notes drawing upon decades of research.
I would roughly summarize the general aims of his books as follows: Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't identifies the hallmarks of a company that can become truly great, and Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck—Why Some Thrive Despite Them All describes how a company can succeed during chaotic times. Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies explores what makes a company enduringly great while How The Mighty Fall: And Why Some Companies Never Give In describes the opposite: what exactly leads to great companies failing. This book summarizes all of these ideas and digs further into the key choices entrepreneurs need to make to set their company up to become enduringly great. In particular, the section on vision is invaluable and this work provides particularly useful insights into how to be a great leader. While definitely aimed at an early-to-mid stage startup, the principles in this book are timeless and could apply to any organization. Overall, a phenemonally insightful, useful work.
This book is more than just a second edition. It is reorganized, and while the original text remains, a substantial portion of this work is Collin's own notes drawing upon decades of research.
I would roughly summarize the general aims of his books as follows: Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't identifies the hallmarks of a company that can become truly great, and Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck—Why Some Thrive Despite Them All describes how a company can succeed during chaotic times. Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies explores what makes a company enduringly great while How The Mighty Fall: And Why Some Companies Never Give In describes the opposite: what exactly leads to great companies failing. This book summarizes all of these ideas and digs further into the key choices entrepreneurs need to make to set their company up to become enduringly great. In particular, the section on vision is invaluable and this work provides particularly useful insights into how to be a great leader. While definitely aimed at an early-to-mid stage startup, the principles in this book are timeless and could apply to any organization. Overall, a phenemonally insightful, useful work.
February 5, 2023
Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0: Turning Your Business into an Enduring Great Company
by Jim Collins & Bill Lazier
“The American Dream is not just about doing well for yourself: it is even more about the opportunity to do useful work and to freely give of yourself to others. You might give with money. Or with time. Or with service to a cause or country. Or by teaching and mentoring the next generation. Or putting yourself at risk for something you believe in.” - Jim Collins
I’ve recommended Dave Ramsey’s ‘Entreleadership’ as the number one business book for small business owners to read for over a decade. But now, I have a new number one recommendation: ‘Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0.’
Originally published in 1992, this is an updated version published in 2020 by Jim Collins, the co-author of Good to Great and Built to Last, and Bill Lazier, one of Jim’s mentors, who passed away in 2004.
It’s a handbook/guidebook for small business owners, covering everything from leadership to hiring, vision to strategy. This updated version includes the original text plus “Jim’s View from 2020” - new entries by Jim Collins nearly 30 years after writing the original book.
Some key takeaways:
Always start with values
Building a great team
Effective leadership
Vision, Strategy & Tactics
As I enter my 20th year as a small business owner, I admit that I’ve made a lot of mistakes. Some of those mistakes may have been avoided if I would have read this book at the beginning of my entrepreneurial career.
But it’s not too late! From what I’ve heard, and the way that I feel, the next 20 years should be the most productive of my life. And now I have the guidebook to make the most of them.
“Life is just too short not to enjoy what you’re doing. If we can’t make this fun, we should stop doing it!” - Bill Lazier
by Jim Collins & Bill Lazier
“The American Dream is not just about doing well for yourself: it is even more about the opportunity to do useful work and to freely give of yourself to others. You might give with money. Or with time. Or with service to a cause or country. Or by teaching and mentoring the next generation. Or putting yourself at risk for something you believe in.” - Jim Collins
I’ve recommended Dave Ramsey’s ‘Entreleadership’ as the number one business book for small business owners to read for over a decade. But now, I have a new number one recommendation: ‘Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0.’
Originally published in 1992, this is an updated version published in 2020 by Jim Collins, the co-author of Good to Great and Built to Last, and Bill Lazier, one of Jim’s mentors, who passed away in 2004.
It’s a handbook/guidebook for small business owners, covering everything from leadership to hiring, vision to strategy. This updated version includes the original text plus “Jim’s View from 2020” - new entries by Jim Collins nearly 30 years after writing the original book.
Some key takeaways:
Always start with values
Building a great team
Effective leadership
Vision, Strategy & Tactics
As I enter my 20th year as a small business owner, I admit that I’ve made a lot of mistakes. Some of those mistakes may have been avoided if I would have read this book at the beginning of my entrepreneurial career.
But it’s not too late! From what I’ve heard, and the way that I feel, the next 20 years should be the most productive of my life. And now I have the guidebook to make the most of them.
“Life is just too short not to enjoy what you’re doing. If we can’t make this fun, we should stop doing it!” - Bill Lazier
August 27, 2022
I have arrived at this book because of Reed of Netflix's rec: I have no idea if the first chapter to which he mentioned is kept in this second volume, or if it is corrupted.
The text is from a preacher / ideologue of a quite dark sort. Guilt tripping, sacrifice, all that is more disgusting from what philosophies Christianity has gathered in two thousand years, all is here. Like a Sith Lord, Collins is about destroying your self for the sake of a faceless corporation that will puppeteer some employees. It is about government bureaucrats in academia crossing over into the business realm with their messianic cult of power to the Machine, against the individual.
This book makes Seth Godin's Socialism look like a child's play.
The text is from a preacher / ideologue of a quite dark sort. Guilt tripping, sacrifice, all that is more disgusting from what philosophies Christianity has gathered in two thousand years, all is here. Like a Sith Lord, Collins is about destroying your self for the sake of a faceless corporation that will puppeteer some employees. It is about government bureaucrats in academia crossing over into the business realm with their messianic cult of power to the Machine, against the individual.
This book makes Seth Godin's Socialism look like a child's play.
June 27, 2021
Classic leadership book for entrepreneurs updated with Jim Collins developed concepts. The book emphasises the importance of going ‘all in at the crucial moment’ with bold irreversible decisions and setting BHAG big hairy audacious goals. Another key theme is leaders as teachers, investing in mentoring relationships from the perspective of what you can give and mentees becoming mentors in the future. Other great nuggets include make your unit (no matter how small) a pocket of greatness and get out of the literal (the point is to communicate correctly not be logically correct). Finally the book talks about delivery, the importance of cross checking and targeting t-3 approach with a culture of self discipline (if you have disciplined thought you don’t need bureaucracy).
February 18, 2023
I have no intentions to become an entrepreneur, but I had read Good to Great years earlier, and recently listened a Jim Collins interview. This gave me a reason to read a bit, thinking that even if I'm not running a company, I am anyway leading myself and running the family.
The book has a lot packed into it, and there's now plenty of pages tagged to make it easier to go back to them later. I didn't perhaps see the value in all of the notes in the 2.0, but some of them tried to underline how the book is still valid. The contents made sense and the views were in the lines of how I see things. Some ways, this though means that the book didn't revolutionize my thinking. For someone else, it could be an eye-opener. I anyway see the value even just as a reminder (and handbook).
The book has a lot packed into it, and there's now plenty of pages tagged to make it easier to go back to them later. I didn't perhaps see the value in all of the notes in the 2.0, but some of them tried to underline how the book is still valid. The contents made sense and the views were in the lines of how I see things. Some ways, this though means that the book didn't revolutionize my thinking. For someone else, it could be an eye-opener. I anyway see the value even just as a reminder (and handbook).
August 29, 2021
This book main ideas seemed so obvious in many way. All though it's necessary to remind that original book was written in the early 90's, which makes it exceptional and very interesting. Many of the main points were still very relevant to any business nowadays and Jim Collins 2020 views to chapters gave new point of views to the original book.
This is for anyone who is thinking what company needs to thrive, which basically is people, culture, vision and resilience to take those in action.
Book did not shake my world, but included a lot of important lessons to remember and it was good to rehearse these basic principles to mind again.
This is for anyone who is thinking what company needs to thrive, which basically is people, culture, vision and resilience to take those in action.
Book did not shake my world, but included a lot of important lessons to remember and it was good to rehearse these basic principles to mind again.
February 26, 2022
Super. Listening 10-20% of this book I got really scared, because I took SO MANY NOTES already and I was almost depressed, questioning myself “Will this book keep on this great content?” I actually hoped not :D And yes, the last 70% was just a good book, not a super good book. Huh, but even so, the collection of good notes I took was crazy. I rarely think of a book I would have to listen again in the future, this is one be one of them. Just pure gold. I have heard a lot about Jim Collins but this was the first book I have read. I am going to have to embrace myself for continuous heavy note-taking and start with his other books also… Wish me luck :)
February 19, 2023
There are two kinds of business books - those that are highly technical with raw business concepts and ideas, and those that teach you the very soft skills you need to excel, not only in leading a company, but also yourself as a person. Coming straight from finishing 'The Lean Startup,' I can most certainly say that this is one of the latter types.
Jim Collins is a phenomenal writer. I could tell right from the start that this had the makings of a really good read. I know for sure that I will be picking up the rest of Collins' masterpieces very soon although I think the ideas will more or less be similar to those in this book.
This second edition isn't merely a reprint of the older version but with a fancier cover and a newer publication date. He's taken the time to put together numerous accounts of his experiences in the few decades since the first one was published. Not many books have the preface as the last chapter.
I totally recommend this one. 5/5.
Jim Collins is a phenomenal writer. I could tell right from the start that this had the makings of a really good read. I know for sure that I will be picking up the rest of Collins' masterpieces very soon although I think the ideas will more or less be similar to those in this book.
This second edition isn't merely a reprint of the older version but with a fancier cover and a newer publication date. He's taken the time to put together numerous accounts of his experiences in the few decades since the first one was published. Not many books have the preface as the last chapter.
I totally recommend this one. 5/5.
June 19, 2021
All Collins books are must read but this one is special. In this book Collins revisits his first book without his first co-author. The book bounces back and forth between the original version of Beyond Entrepreneurship (gray pages) and Jim’s thoughts on the old words with a 2020 lens (white pages).
The reason I love this Book over the other Collins books is that you get the distillation of the most important concepts from every other book. This is a great strategic roadmap for any small business owner.
The reason I love this Book over the other Collins books is that you get the distillation of the most important concepts from every other book. This is a great strategic roadmap for any small business owner.
December 21, 2021
This book is a comprehensive guide on leadership for business growth and endurance; the principles discussed are, in my opinion, applicable for both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. BE 2.0 is the updated edition of Beyond Entrepreneurship by Jim Collins and Bill Lazier. The book combines the elements and writing of the original book with the new thoughts and learnings from Jim Collins. The book is a homage to Bill Lazier. This book is a must read for anyone with an entrepreneurial mindset looking to turn businesses into enduring great companies.
March 9, 2021
This book is a great addition to any library. The authors, with decades of experience, list out the different, important factors that help a company move from good to great. Starting with leadership skills to vision, strategy, and tactical excellence, and including along the way, a chapter on the criticality of innovation. All of the topics carry a multitude of vivid and real-life examples from companies the author's had researched over the years
April 7, 2021
I cannot say enough great things about this book. I first learned about it from a Beene Brown podcast and I see why she raved about Jim Collins. For anyone who manages a team, whether large or small, there is much to be gained from this book. Years of research that are broken down into easily digestible recommendations for achieving success within your team and the company at large. I feel better equipped as a leader having read this book.
October 17, 2022
This is not just one of the best books on Entrepreneurship, it’s one of the Nest books I have ever read. The writing style speaks to you and connects with you in more ways than 1. I love that it has so many implementation and execution ideas. You will find making changes to your professional and leadership styles to effect changes in your work life.
This should be a teaching curriculum in all schools and colleges. Brilliant.
This should be a teaching curriculum in all schools and colleges. Brilliant.
December 22, 2022
An unquestionably important book that I can truly recommend to anyone who’s trying to understand what makes a company great, how you can contribute to making one, and how you can build one yourself. There’s so much knowledge you can find in every chapter that you can apply right now in your daily life and at work. The author points out the important factors with the right amount of examples and comparisons.
November 6, 2023
I've long been a fan of Jim Collins' work, and refer to them frequently.
This book, a contextually appropriate update to the original, is a real gem. It answers the critical question of what does it take to build a company that will be able to pursue enduring greatness.
Collins (& Lazier) do a great job of moving beyond the cliches by deftly mixing empirical research with useful anecdotes.
This goes into my Top 10 business books reading list.
This book, a contextually appropriate update to the original, is a real gem. It answers the critical question of what does it take to build a company that will be able to pursue enduring greatness.
Collins (& Lazier) do a great job of moving beyond the cliches by deftly mixing empirical research with useful anecdotes.
This goes into my Top 10 business books reading list.
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