Jim C. Collins is a well known business advisor and teacher of what makes great companies tick.
In this story we’ll have a look into an everlasting legacy that took many companies to a level of excellence.
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How it all started
Jim C. Collins was born on 25 January 1958, in Aurora, Colorado named after his late grandfather.
As a child, Jim spent his time going to San Francisco elementary school. After elementary school, he attended Stanford University, where he studied mathematical sciences.
After graduating in 1980 Jim spent 18 months in McKinsey & Co.'s San Fransisco office where he got exposed to a very influential project.
The project resulted in a bestseller book called In Search of Excellence, written by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman, who where at that time partners at McKinsey.
This exposure formed the basis for his views on excellence in enterprise.
In 1983, Jim returned to Stanford to study and eventually graduating with an MBA in Mathematical Science from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
A honorable career
After gaining his MBA, Jim worked his first full-time job as a product manager for Hewlett-Packard, where he worked for 18 months.
He stopped working for Hewlett-Packard when his wife, Joan Ernst, took on the challenge of partaking in the Ironman triathlon.
Jim left his job to train his wife and arranged several sponsorship deals, including Nike and Budweiser. Because of his unwavering loyalty and her unlimited discipline, Joan managed to become the Ironman World Championship winner.
After her victory, Jim started working again as a researcher and instructor at Stanford University's Graduate School of Management.
His teaching period lasted from 1989 to 1995. After three years of teaching he received the Distinguished Teaching Award in 1992.
During this period he also published his first best-seller book, together with his former teacher Jerry Porras, called Built To Last.
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One year after the success of his first best-seller book, Jim founded a management laboratory in Boulder Colorado.
From there, Jim conducts research and teaches executives from various social and corporate sectors. These include Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, the Girl Scouts of the USA, the American Association of K–12 School Superintendents and the United States Marine Corps.
He invested more than 25 years studying businesses and sectors, which resulted in a total of 6 best-selling books.
Some of these books have been translated into more than 30 different languages and sold more than ten million copies worldwide.
His most renowned piece of writing is the book Good to Great, which has inspired many entrepreneurs from around the world.
Level Five Leadership
Jim describes 5 levels of leadership, which are backed by empirical evidence from a 5 year research project.
The results of this project debunked the conventional view of company leaders.
At that time, the main view was that only a larger-than-life charismatic leader could lead a company to greatness.
To illustrate what was wrong with the old statement, Jim used a pyramid form divided into 5 parts:
A level 5 leader distinguishes himself by putting people first and strategy second.
This implies finding the right people for the organisation and getting rid of the wrong ones.
A level 5 leader also embodies the duality of weighing professional will against professional humility.
According to Jim, level 5 leaders are distinguished by this trait in contrast to egocentric and charismatic leaders.
Companies with this kind of leadership have the tendency to go from good to great.
First Who - Then What
First get the right people on the bus, then make sure the right people are seated in the proper position. - Jim Collins
Jim emphasises that companies truly go from good to great due to the people that are involved.
Once the people are in their designated seats, you should focus on the 'what' side of the equation.
This is one of the three points Jim urges leaders to know.
The second point Jim makes is; when working with the right people, they will be able to motivate themselves.
Lastly, Jim makes the point that without the right people, even the best strategies wont take a company to the next level.
This is also said in Jim’s famous quote,
Great vision without great people is irrelevant. - Jim Collins
So always ask, first WHO then WHAT
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Closing remarks
In today's world, people are being flooded by self-proclaimed business guru's.
While Jim Collins is in a league of his own, he has proven to scale and grow real businesses.
Jim is a prime example that first you have to become excellent yourself before being able to help others achieve the same.
Jim continues to inspire people around the globe and guides them to achieve greatness in their endeavours.
Let Jim C. collins be an inspiration to take your life from good to great.
Famous quotes by Jim C. Collins,
'Creativity dies in an undisciplined environment'
'A culture of discipline is not a principle of business, it is a principle of greatness.'
'Bad decisions made with good intentions, are still bad decisions.'
'A company should limit its growth based on its ability to attract enough right people.'
The links inside this story are NOT affiliate links, they are included in respect for the people discussed in this story.
Thinkark is not profiting from this story!
This is written out of my uttermost respect for the Collins Family and the impact they made on my personal life!
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