The one-sentence summary

Great companies thrive despite uncertainty, chaos and luck by deploying fanatic discipline, empirical creativity, and productive paranoia.

WHAT THE BOOK SAYS

• Some companies thrive despite uncertainty, chaos and luck. This nine-year study from the Good To Great man explains how.
• 10Xers (pronounced Ten Exers) are companies that have beaten their industry by a minimum of ten times over 15 years. Their fortunes are compared with paired companies in the same sector who failed.
• The best leaders were not more risk taking, more visionary, nor more creative – they were actually more disciplined, more empirical and more paranoid.
• The great companies changed less than you would think in reaction to a changing world – in fact fast decisions often lead to poor outcomes. The best question is: “How much time before the risk profile changes?”
• Being more innovative doesn’t always help – 1 successful idea is more productive than 99 unfertile ones.
• 10X companies did not necessarily have better luck. The critical question is what you do with the luck you get, whether good or bad.
• Choosing to be great involves:
• These three characteristics form the 10X triad.

1. Fanatic discipline – considered decisions with clear constraints
2. Empirical creativity – as opposed to uncalibrated cannonballs
3. Productive paranoia – this is not the same as being paranoid (see next)

WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT IT

• The 20 Mile March is a good concept. Amundsen beat Scott to the pole by consistently marching 20 miles a day. In bad weather he did it anyway, and in good he stopped at 20 to save energy for the next day. Scott either stayed in his tent or overshot and wore himself out. Companies should go for similar consistency (fanatic discipline).
• Fire bullets, then cannonballs is good too. Instead of blowing all your resources on one initiative, try a small (low cost, low risk, low distraction) bullet shot at something first, make adjustments from learning, and save ammunition for a better-informed attack (empirical creativity).
• Leading above the death line. This involves building cash reserves (oxygen canisters) and remaining hypervigilant by constantly zooming in and out (detail v. big picture). This level of attention reduces surprises and the impact of unhelpful developments (productive paranoia).

WHAT YOU HAVE TO WATCH

• The book is only half as long as it looks. This is good because you can grasp it fast, but a swizz if you expected 300 pages of content for your £25.

The one-sentence summary

Ignore charismatic leaders, complex strategies and the competition – if you want enduring success, concentrate on having a common sense of purpose.

WHAT THE BOOK SAYS

• It is the sequel to the 1994 classic about the successful habits of companies.
• It uses a 5-year research study to work out how companies can migrate from being merely good to being great. By the time the author had finished, he wondered whether it should in fact have been the prequel.
• Level 5 leaders build enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will.
• Of particular note are the ‘dogs that didn’t bark’, factors that do not play a role in taking a company from good to great, including:

  ~ Larger than life celebrity leaders

  ~ High executive pay

  ~ Strategy (all companies claim to have one)

  ~ Technology (it can only accelerate change, not instigate it)

  ~ Mergers and acquisitions

  ~ Transformation programmes or themes

  ~ Sexy sectors or industries

WHAT’S GOOD ABOUT IT

• Although this book has taken on revered status, much of it remains helpful and relevant. You can try to apply the principles:

  ~ First who…then what. Get the right people on the bus, then decide where to drive it

  ~ Confront the brutal facts (yet never lose faith). Work out what you are good at, and do that. Work out what you are bad at, and don’t do that.

  ~ The hedgehog concept. The hedgehog does one thing well (curling into a ball) whilst the fox rushes around, creating the impression of speed

  ~ Culture of discipline. When you have one, you don’t need hierarchy

  ~ Technology accelerators. These are never the origin of greatness, merely enhancers of it

  ~ The flywheel and the doomloop. Moves to greatness all happen gradually – there is no miracle moment

WHAT YOU HAVE TO WATCH

• The evidence per company is highly detailed, so if you do not know the company (they are all American) or are not interested in it, then you have to wade through for the bits you want
• If you read The Halo Effect, you may think the whole study is rubbish