Great by Choice

Initially, some listeners will wish for a professional narrator in place of the author. Between the vocal drama and biting enunciation, his intensity competes at first with the substance of his book. But soon listeners will conclude that his enthusiasm is genuine--and a perfect vehicle for the riveting findings of this research. The authors compared extraordinarily successful companies to those that were mediocre or worse in the same industries, business climates, and time frames. Exhaustive comparative analyses revealed that leaders of high-performing companies were not more creative, visionary, charismatic, ambitious, lucky, or likely to make bold and risky decisions. Fueled by more passion for noble ideals, these leaders were more fanatically disciplined, creatively empirical, and productively wary of survival issues. Read with appealing verve, this is an energizing lesson for leaders in all realms of life. T.W. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

November 15, 2011
Current economic events challenge corporations like never before, so why do companies such as Apple and Southwest Airlines thrive during uncertain environmental conditions for decades while competitors do not? This book builds on the material in Collins' previous books Good to Great (2001) and Built to Last (2002), sharing new concepts learned from his and coauthor Hansen's nine-year study of companies that outperformed their competition over time by at least 10 times the industry stock index. Collins and Hansen analyze the best companies and their leaders' actions in extreme environments and demonstrate by example that greatness is determined by the choices made, not luck. They discuss the role of luck in corporate success and show how companies such as Southwest and Biomet use return on luck as a key success factor, capitalizing on good luck and minimizing bad luck, testing ideas by firing bullets, then cannonballs, and using specific, methodical, and consistent operating procedures. Entrepreneurs and business leaders may find the concepts in this book useful for making choices to increase their odds of building a great company.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)