63 pages • 2 hours read
Jim CollinsGood to Great
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2001A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Chapter 9Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 9 Summary: “From Good to Great to Build to Last”
The book’s final chapter discusses the overlap between Collins’s previous book, Built to Last, and Good to Great. In the initial stages of the research that went into Good to Great, Collins and his team agreed that they would act as if Built to Last had never even existed in order to avoid confirmation bias. However, as Collins now compares the two works, he summarizes his findings into the following four ideas: (1) In the perennially great companies in Built to Last, the early leaders also followed the good-to-great framework; (2) Good to Great acts more as prequel to Built to Last than as a sequel, despite being published several years later; (3) A good-to-great company becomes iconic when it accelerates its momentum in tandem with its core values; (4) The two books’ central ideas complement each other.
Collins then expands on the notion of core ideology, arguing that an enduring great company exists with purpose beyond just profit and cash flow. The values themselves don’t have to fit into predetermined criteria, but they must be clearly identified and expressed. Without a core ideology, a company can remain highly profitable—even great—but it may not be able to sustain or elevate its greatness.
Finally, Collins argues that the general principles of the book don’t apply only to the business world, but also to other areas of our lives. He cites the example of a high school cross-country team that pursues greatness not for financial gain, but for its own sake. Using their own version of the Hedgehog Concept, the team coaches inspire their athletes to focus intensely on their goals, and as a result the team goes from good to great. The final paragraph of the book suggests that greatness and meaning go hand in hand; without meaningful work, it is impossible to have a great life (219).
Chapter 9 Analysis
This final chapter acts more as a thought project for the author and his team than as an end to Good to Great specifically. Even though Collins’s two books are deeply connected in his mind, this connection may be lost on readers who aren’t familiar with Built to Last. Furthermore, Collins seems to use a more pragmatic definition of greatness for the companies in Good to Great, whereas the companies cited in Built to Last are great by a different—though not necessarily contradictory—definition.
One of the themes unifying the two books is the notion that outliers can serve as teaching tools. There is nothing “magical” about the companies Collins cites; instead, there are common trends that connect their trajectories. These companies are statistical anomalies, but their histories reveal sound business principles and a high capacity for patience and resilience. By demystifying these companies, Collins attempts to point his readers to concepts that may hold personal relevance, as the example of the track team demonstrates. However, it’s important to note that Collins’s anecdotes are grounded in his own limited—even privileged—experience. By citing CEOs as the prime examples of Level 5 leaders, for instance, Collins indirectly ignores a litany of leaders who have never risen the corporate ranks, often by nature of the systemic barriers that exist within entire industries.
