James C. Collins Quotes & Sayings

was so straightforward and obvious that it sounds almost ridiculous to talk about it. — James C. Collins

Some managers are uncomfotable with expressing emotion about their dreams, but it's the passion and emotion that will attract and motivate others. — James C. Collins

When you turn over rocks and look at all the squiggly things underneath, you can either put the rock down, or you can say, 'My job is to turn over rocks and look at the squiggly things,' even if what you see can scare the hell out of you."25 — James C. Collins

The signature of mediocrity is chronic inconstancy. The signature of greatness is a disciplined and consistent focus on the right things. — James C. Collins

My God, these guys don't even know what the return-on-investment will be on this thing. — James C. Collins

The only mistakes you can learn from are the ones you survive. — James C. Collins

If you are a prospective entrepreneur with the desire to start and build a visionary company but have not yet taken the plunge because you don't have a "great idea," we encourage you to lift from your shoulders the burden of the great-idea myth. Indeed, the evidence suggests that it might be better to not obsess on finding a great idea before launching a company. Why? Because the great-idea approach shifts your attention away from seeing the company as your ultimate creation. — James C. Collins

We must reject the idea ... Well-intentioned, but dead wrong ... That the primary path to greatness in the social sectors is to become "more like a business." Most businesses ... Like most of anything else in life ... Fall somewhere between mediocre and good. — James C. Collins

In no case do we have a company that just happened to be sitting on the nose cone of a rocket when it took off. — James C. Collins

How can you succeed by helping others succeed? We succeed at our very best only when we help others succeed. — James C. Collins

The greatest leaders build organizations that, in the end, don't need them. — James C. Collins

Consider the idea that charisma can be as much a liability as an asset. Your strength of personality can sow the seeds of problems, when people filter the brutal facts from you. — James C. Collins

We hire five, work them like ten, and pay them like eight."31 — James C. Collins

We find out who they are by asking them why they made decisions in their life. The answers to these questions give us insight into their core values.33 — James C. Collins

Not every financial company toppled during the 2008 crisis, and some seized the opportunity to take advantage of weaker competitors in the midst of the tumult. — James C. Collins

first who... then what" start-up. — James C. Collins

The people who don't have a great life are the ones who settle for a good one. — James C. Collins

The secret to a successful retirement is to find your retirement sweet spot. The sweet spot is where your passions, what you do best, and what people will pay you to do overlap. — James C. Collins

The start of the New Year is a perfect time to start a stop doing list and to make this the cornerstone of your New Year resolutions, be it for your company, your family or yourself. It also is a perfect time to clarify your three circles, mirroring at a personal level the three questions ... 1) What are you deeply passionate about? 2) What are you are genetically encoded for - what activities do you feel just "made to do"? 3) What makes economic sense - what can you make a living at? — James C. Collins

Not all time in life is equal. How many opportunities do you get to talk about what your life is going to add up to with people thinking about the same question? — James C. Collins

If your company disappeared, would it leave a gaping hole that could not easily be filled by any other enterprise on the planet? — James C. Collins

Good is the enemy of great. And that's one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great. — James C. Collins

Those who build and perpetuate mediocrity ... are motivated more by the fear of being left behind. — James C. Collins

I don't know where we should take this company, but I do know that if I start with the right people, ask them the right questions, and engage them in vigorous debate, we will find a way to make this company great. — James C. Collins

SMaC recipe is a set of durable operating practices that create a replicable and consistent success formula. The word "SMaC" stands for Specific, Methodical, and Consistent. You can use the term "SMaC" as a descriptor in any number of ways: as an adjective ("Let's build a SMaC system"), as a noun ("SMaC lowers risk"), and as a verb ("Let's SMaC this project"). A solid SMaC recipe is the operating code for turning strategic concepts into reality, a set of practices more enduring than mere tactics. Tactics change from situation to situation, whereas SMaC practices can last for decades and apply across a wide range of circumstances. — James C. Collins

Greatest danger is not failure, but be successful and not know why. — James C. Collins

Twenty percent of our success is the new technology that we embrace ... [but] eighty percent of our success is in the culture of our company."24 Indeed, — James C. Collins

True leadership has people who follow when they have the freedom not to. — James C. Collins

Hedgehog Concept - disciplined action, following from disciplined people who exercise disciplined thought. — James C. Collins

It may seem odd to talk about something as soft and fuzzy as "passion" as an integral part of a strategic framework. But throughout the good-to-great companies, passion became a key part of the Hedgehog Concept. — James C. Collins

You need self-control in an out-of-control world. — James C. Collins

Peter Drucker once observed that the drive for mergers and acquisitions comes less from sound reasoning and more from the fact that doing deals is a much more exciting way to spend your day than doing actual work.35 — James C. Collins

doing what you are good at will only make you good; — James C. Collins

Creativity dies in an indisciplined environment. — James C. Collins

Good is the enemy of great. That's why so few things become great. — James C. Collins

We did not begin this project with a theory to test or prove. We sought to build a theory from the ground up, derived directly from the evidence. — James C. Collins

The executives who ignited the transformations from good to great did not first figure out where to drive the bus and then get people to take it there. No, they first got the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off the bus) and then figured out where to drive it. — James C. Collins

accomplish the organization's mission. — James C. Collins

Creative leadership impact increases in your 50's. When I turn 50 I want to say, "Nice start!" — James C. Collins

Our findings do not represent a quick fix, or the next fashion statement in a long string of management fads, or the next buzzword of the day, or a new 'program' to introduce. No! The only way to make any company visionary is through a long-term commitment to an eternal process of building the organization to preserve the core and stimulate progress. — James C. Collins

The difference between a good leader and a great leader is humility. — James C. Collins

The essence of profound insight is simplicity. — James C. Collins

Resilency, not perfection, is the signature of greatness. — James C. Collins

When [what you are deeply passionate about, what you can be best in the world at and what drives your economic engine] come together, not only does your work move toward greatness, but so does your life. For, in the end, it is impossible to have a great life unless it is a meaningful life. And it is very difficult to have a meaningful life without meaningful work. Perhaps, then, you might gain that rare tranquility that comes from knowing that you've had a hand in creating something of intrinsic excellence that makes a contribution. Indeed, you might even gain that deepest of all satisfactions: knowing that your short time here on this earth has been well spent, and that it mattered. — James C. Collins

For, in the end, it is impossible to have a great life unless it is a meaningful life. And it is very difficult to have a meaningful life without meaningful work. — James C. Collins

By definition, it is not possible to everyone to be above the average. — James C. Collins

If we only have great companies, we will merely have a prosperous society, not a great one. Economic growth and power are the means, not the definition, of a great nation. — James C. Collins

Level 5 leaders are a study in duality: modest and willful, humble and fearless. To quickly grasp this concept, think of United States — James C. Collins

I see the Baldrige process as a powerful set of mechanisms for disciplined people engaged in disciplined thought and taking disciplined action to create great organizations that produce exceptional results. — James C. Collins

When you have disciplined people, you don't — James C. Collins

Don't be interesting - be interested. — James C. Collins

If you have more than three priorities then you don't have any. — James C. Collins

Mediocrity results first and foremost from management failure, not technological failure. — James C. Collins

But what I find so striking is their incredible simplicity. — James C. Collins

Yes, the world is changing, and will continue to do so. But that does not mean we should stop the search for timeless principles. Think of it this way: While the practices of engineering continually evolve and change, the laws of physics remain relatively fixed. I like to think of our work as a search for timeless principles - — James C. Collins

For no matter what we achieve, if we don't spend the vast majority of our time with people we love and respect, we cannot possibly have a great life. But if we spend the vast majority of our time with people we love and respect - people we really enjoy being on the bus with and who will never disappoint us - then we will almost certainly have a great life, no matter where the bus goes. The people we interviewed from the good-to-great companies clearly loved what they did, largely because they loved who they did it with. — James C. Collins

Lasting transformations from good to great follow a general pattern of buildup followed by breakthrough. — James C. Collins

If you have the right people, they will be self-motivated. — James C. Collins

Most men would rather die, than think. Many do. — James C. Collins

The question, Why try for greatness? would seem almost tautological. If you're doing something you care that much about, and you believe in its purpose deeply enough, then it is impossible to imagine not trying to make it great. It's just a given. — James C. Collins

Indeed, the real question is not, "Why greatness?" but "What work makes you feel compelled to try to create greatness?" If you have to ask the question, "Why should we try to make it great? Isn't success enough?" then you're probably engaged in the wrong line of work. — James C. Collins

The inner experience of fallure is totally different than failure. Going to fallure means 100% commitment - you leave nothing in reserve, no mental or physical resource untapped, you never give yourself a psychological out. Failure means making a decision to let go, to be less than 100% committed, when confronted by fear, pain and uncertainty. — James C. Collins

I ... had no need for cheering dreams," he wrote. "Facts are better than dreams. — James C. Collins

We learned that a former prisoner of war had more to teach us about what it takes to find a path to greatness than most books on corporate strategy. — James C. Collins

Granted, the Scott Paper story is one of the more dramatic in our study, but it's not an isolated case. In over two thirds of the comparison cases, we noted the presence of a gargantuan personal ego that contributed to the demise or continued mediocrity of the company.33 — James C. Collins

In other words, the budget process is not about figuring out how much each activity gets, but about determining which activities best support the Hedgehog Concept and should be fully strengthened and which should be eliminated entirely. — James C. Collins

How can we do better tomorrow than we did today? — James C. Collins

What is the purpose of budgeting? Most — James C. Collins

Level 5 leaders embody a paradoxical mix of personal humility and professional will. They are ambitious, to be sure, but ambitious first and foremost for the company, not themselves. — James C. Collins

by breakthrough, broken into three broad stages: disciplined people, disciplined thought, and disciplined — James C. Collins

You absolutely cannot make a series of good decisions without first confronting the brutal facts. The good-to-great companies operated in accordance with this principle, and the comparison companies generally did not. — James C. Collins

Recruit entrepreneurial leaders and give them freedom to determine the best path to achieving their objectives. On the other hand, individuals must commit fully to the system you use and be held rigorously accountable for their objectives. You give them freedom, but freedom within a framework. — James C. Collins

It's more important than ever to define yourself in terms of what you stand for rather than what you make, because what you make is going to become outmoded faster than it has at any time in the past ... hang on to the idea of who you are as a company, and focus not on what you do, but on what you could do. By being really clear about what you stand for and why you exist, you can see what you could do with a much more open mind. You enhance your ability to adapt to change. — James C. Collins

Bad decisions made with good intentions, are still bad decisions. — James C. Collins

One of the most important steps you can take in building a visionary company is not an action, but a shift in perspective. — James C. Collins

Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice, and discipline. — James C. Collins

There is a sense of exhilaration that comes from facing head-on the hard truths and saying, "We will never give up. We will never capitulate. It might take a long time, but we will find a way to prevail." — James C. Collins

Discipline is consistency of action. — James C. Collins

A dream is a feeling that sticks - and propels. — James C. Collins

Larger-than-life, celebrity leaders who ride in from the outside are negatively correlated with going from good to great. Ten of eleven good-to-great CEOs came from inside the company, whereas the comparison companies tried outside CEOs six times more often. — James C. Collins

Genius of AND. Embrace both extremes on a number of dimensions at the same time. Instead of choosing a OR B, figure out how to have A AND B-purpose AND profit, continuity AND change, freedom AND responsibility, etc. — James C. Collins

If you have Level 5 leaders who get the right people on the bus, if you confront the brutal facts of reality, if you create a climate where the truth is heard, if you have a Council and work within the three circles, if you frame all decisions in the context of a crystalline Hedgehog Concept, if you act from understanding, not bravado - if you do all these things, then you are likely to be right on the big decisions. — James C. Collins

The most effective leaders of companies in transition are the quiet, unassuming people whose inner wiring is such that the worst circumstances bring out their best. They're unflappable, they're ready to die if they have to. But you can trust that, when bad things are happening, they will become clearheaded and focused. — James C. Collins

It's not how you compensate your executives, it's which executives you have to compensate in the first place. If — James C. Collins

If we allow the celebrity rock-star model of leadership to triumph, we will see the decline of corporations and institutions of all types. The twentieth century was a century of greatness, but we face the very real prospect that the next century will see very few enduring great institutions. — James C. Collins

A culture of discipline is not a principle of business, it is a principle of greatness. — James C. Collins

Just because a company falls doesn't invalidate what we can learn by studying that company when it was at its historical best. — James C. Collins

Dreams make you click, juice you, turn you on, excite the living daylights out of you. You cannot wait to get out of bed to continue pursuing your dream. The kind of dream I'm talking about gives meaning to your life. it is the ultimate motivator. — James C. Collins

The Mach3 - leaving hundreds of millions of people to a more painful daily battle with stubble.19 — James C. Collins

Greatness is an inherently dynamic process, not an end point. The moment you think of yourself as great, your slide toward mediocrity will have already begun. — James C. Collins

We expected that good-to-great leaders would begin by setting a new vision and strategy. We found instead that they first got the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats - and then they figured out where to drive it. — James C. Collins

Focusing solely on what you can potentially do better than any other organization is the only path to greatness. — James C. Collins

The only way to remain great is to keep on applying the fundamental principles that made you great. — James C. Collins

Those fortunate enough to find or create a practical intersection of the three circles have the basis for a great work life. — James C. Collins

The best CEOs in our research display tremendous ambition for their company combined with the stoic will to do whatever it takes, no matter how brutal (within the bounds of the company's core values), to make the company great. Yet at the same time they display a remarkable humility about themselves, ascribing much of their own success to luck, discipline and preparation rather than personal genius. — James C. Collins

WHY 20 MILE MARCHERS WIN 20 Mile Marching helps turn the odds in your favor for three reasons: 1. It builds confidence in your ability to perform well in adverse circumstances. 2. It reduces the likelihood of catastrophe when you're hit by turbulent disruption. 3. It helps you exert self-control in an out-of-control environment. — James C. Collins

In determing "the right people," the good-to-great companies placed greater weight on character attributes than on specific educational background, practical skills, specialized knowledge, or work experience. — James C. Collins

Don't take care of your career. Take care of your people. They will take care of your career. — James C. Collins

The difficulties, AND at the same time have the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be. — James C. Collins

A Culture of Discipline. All companies have a culture, some companies have discipline, but few companies have a culture of discipline. When you have disciplined people, you don't need hierarchy. When you have disciplined thought, you don't need bureaucracy. When you have disciplined action, you don't need excessive controls. When you combine a culture of discipline with an ethic of entrepreneurship, you get the magical alchemy of great performance. Technology — James C. Collins