Mediocrity results first and foremost from management failure, not technological failure.
JAMES C. COLLINSMediocrity results first and foremost from management failure, not technological failure.
JAMES C. COLLINSBuilt to Last is about how you take a company with great results and turn it into an enduring great company of iconic stature.
JAMES C. COLLINSBad decisions made with good intentions, are still bad decisions.
JAMES C. COLLINSIn a world of constant change, the fundamentals are more important than ever.
JAMES C. COLLINSWe are not imprisoned by circumstances, setbacks, mistakes or staggering defeats, we are freed by our choices.
JAMES C. COLLINSYou absolutely must have the discipline not to hire until you find the right people.
JAMES C. COLLINSIf you have a charismatic cause you don’t need to be a charismatic leader.
JAMES C. COLLINSThe only acceptable goals are measurable,” but that’s actually an undisciplined statement. Lots of goals-beauty, quality, life change, love-are worthy but not quantifiable. But you do have to be able to tell if you’re making progress.
JAMES C. COLLINSIt’s what you do before you are in trouble, so that you can be strong when people most need you.
JAMES C. COLLINSI am completely Socratic.
JAMES C. COLLINSThe moment you feel the need to tightly manage someone, you’ve made a hiring mistake. The best people don’t need to be managed. Guided, taught, led-yes. But not tightly managed.
JAMES C. COLLINSWhether you prevail or fail depends more on what you do to yourself than on what the world does to you.
JAMES C. COLLINSIf I were running a company today, I would have one priority above all others: to acquire as many of the best people as I could. I’d put off everything else to fill my bus. Because things are going to come back. My flywheel is going to start to turn.
JAMES C. COLLINSYou not only want to win a gold medal at the Olympics, you not only can see yourself standing there on the podium, but you can also feel the goose bumps as your national anthem is played; the tears are in your eyes. (That’s how real a dream can be and should be)
JAMES C. COLLINSThe purpose of bureaucracy is to compensate for incompetence and lack of discipline.
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