How the Mighty Fall - Jim Collins

How the Mighty Fall: And Why Some Companies Never Give In

By Jim Collins - Harper Collins 2009

Good news- Written by the same guy who wrote Built to Last and Good to Great, this book takes a look at companies that have either not lasted or attained greatness, and is written very well. It is loaded with engaging stories and solid comparative examples to learn from. Bad news- A little lighter on the research side than his other two books and a bit redundant to them, but not overly redundant, repetitive, or similar. Get it!!?? Good news- It has some very practical lessons for companies, organizations, departments and individuals that I have turned into applications and tactics! As usual, I hope you can put them to use right away. these companies strayed away from what once made them great. How the Mighty Fall uses the same criteria from Good to Great, only in reverse, to show how and why these once great enterprises have fallen.

Applications:

So…the obvious applications are to avoid these stages or do the opposite: Hubris born of success….Be humble, no one knows it all Undisciplined pursuit of more….Have discipline and a tested process Denial of risk and peril….Do risk and potential problem analyses Grasping for salvation….Don’t panic and constantly restructure Capitulation to irrelevance or death….Avoid stages 1-4 and don’t capitulate! And there were some other lessons: 1. Capable continual business model innovators like Kroger, Pitney Bowes, Wal-Mart, Wells Fargo, Best Buy, IBM, TI, and J & J outperform those who mostly try to make old business models more efficient and effective, so be innovative! 2. Companies are more likely to try to do too much and swerve off in weird directions because the CEO feels insecure (Addressograph, Ames, Bank of America, Merck, Motorola, Scott, and Zenith) compared to a predecessor and the predecessor’s track record (or a competitor CEO and that CEO’s track record) rather than because of excess pride, so be confident! 3. Denial...