Jim Collins is a student and teacher of what makes great companies
tick, and a Socratic advisor to leaders in the business and social
sectors. Having invested more than a quarter century in rigorous
research, he has authored or coauthored a series of books that have
sold in total more than 10 million copies worldwide. They include
Good to Great, the #1 bestseller, which examines why some companies
make the leap and others don't; the enduring classic Built to Last,
which discovers why some companies remain visionary for
generations; How the Mighty Fall, which delves into how once-great
companies can self-destruct; and Great by Choice, which uncovers
the leadership behaviors for thriving in chaos and uncertainty. Jim
has also published two monographs that extend the ideas in his
primary books: Good to Great and the Social Sectors and Turning the
Flywheel.
His most recent publication is BE 2.0 (Beyond Entrepreneurship
2.0), an ambitious upgrade of his very first book; it returns Jim
to his original focus on small, entrepreneurial companies and
honors his coauthor and mentor Bill Lazier.
Driven by a relentless curiosity, Jim began his research and
teaching career on the faculty at the 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 conducts research and engages with CEOs and
senior-leadership teams.
In addition to his work in the business sector, Jim has a passion
for learning and teaching in the social sectors, including
education, healthcare, government, faith-based organizations,
social ventures, and cause-driven nonprofits. In 2012 and 2013, he
had the honor to serve a two-year appointment as the Class of 1951
Chair for the Study of Leadership at the United States Military
Academy at West Point.
Jim holds a bachelor's degree in mathematical sciences and an MBA
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. In 2017, Forbes
selected Jim as one of the 100 Greatest Living Business Minds.
Jerry I. Porras is the Lane Professor of Organizational Behavior
and Change, Emeritus, at the Stanford University Graduate School of
Business where he served as an Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
and frequent executive education teacher. He studies ways of
aligning companies around their purpose and core values to produce
lasting high performance.
What makes a visionary company? This book, written by a team from Stanford's Graduate School of Business, compares what the authors have identified as "visionary" companies with selected companies in the same industry. The authors juxtapose Disney and Columbia Pictures, Ford and General Motors, Motorola and Zenith, and Hewlett-Packard and Texas Instruments, to name a few. The visionary companies, the authors found out, had a number of common characteristics; for instance, almost all had some type of core ideology that guided the company in times of upheaval and served as a constant bench mark. Not all the visionary companies were founded by visionary leaders, however. On the whole, this is an intriguing book that occasionally provides rare and interesting glimpses into the inner workings and philosophical foundations of successful businesses. Recommended for all libraries.-Randy L. Abbott, Univ. of Evansville Lib., Ind.
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