Book Review: Great By Choice by Jim Collins & Morten T. Hansen

Great by Choice by Jim Collins & Morten T. Hansen

This book was written prior to the pandemic and for many of us, we have seen and experienced the various effect pandemic has on every one of us from all walks of life, from all professions and across all industries.

We took turns to read this book to see the relevance of its content with all the changes businesses are going through either to thrive, sustain or rebuilding. We shared and toyed around the different perspectives we had on this book to come to this share.

We believe the summary takeaway shared here can be a gentle reference for entrepreneurs of any industry; and trust that it is applicable for solo-preneurs, too. It all depends on how we digest and execute the information to our relevance.

Let’s start off with the words of the influential management thinker, Peter Drucker,

“ … the best – perhaps even the only – way to predict the future is to create it.”

How do we create it?

1. The 10Xers

Accept, without complaint, that they face forces beyond their control, that they cannot accurately predict events, and that nothing is certain; yet they utterly reject the idea that luck, chaos, or any other external factor will determine whether they succeed or fail.

The 3 core behaviours displayed are: Fanatic discipline, Empirical creativity & Productive paranoid.

2. 20 Mile March

This is hitting specified performance markers with great consistency over a long period of time.

It requires 2 distinct types of discomfort:

i) delivering high performance in difficult times

ii) holding back in good times.

3. Fire Bullets, then Cannonballs

Bullets are tests aimed at learning what works and shall meet 3 criteria: low-cost, low-risk & low-distractions. Upon validation of these tests, cannonballs can be fired.

There are 2 types of cannonballs:

Calibrated (has confirmation based on actual experience – usually prove to be a success)

vs

Uncalibrated (a risky bet that can lead to calamity).

4. Leading Above the Death Line – Productive Paranoia

The 3 core practices are:

a) Build cash reserves & buffers

b) Bounding risk – sometimes acting too fast increases risk. Sometimes acting too slow increases risk. With so many questions surrounding the situation when risk is involved, the primary difficulty lies not in answering the question but in having the presence of mind to ask the relevant questions.

c) Zoom out then Zoom in – Zoom out when sense danger to consider how quickly a threat is approaching and whether it calls for a change in plans. Then zoom in, refocusing their energies into executing objectives.

5. Specific, Methodical and Consistent (SMaC) recipe

A set of durable operating practices that create a replicable and consistent success formula; it is clear and concrete, enabling the entire enterprise to unify and organize its efforts, giving clear guidance regarding what to do and what not to do.

A set of solid SMaC recipe that is well developed can last for years – just like a well crafted constitution.

6. Return on Luck

Luck is an event that meets 3 criteria:

a) some significant aspect of the event occurs largely or entirely independent of the actions of the key actors in the enterprise;

b) the event has a potentially significant consequence (good or bad); and

c) the event has some element of unpredictability.

However, luck is NOT a strategy.

Another add on

At the end of the book, there is an extended chapter on of ‘Frequently Asked Questions” relating to this book and this question we thought was relevant at present:

“Q: Do you see this book as about the past or the future?

We’ve studied the past but we see this book as having great relevance for leading in the future. Our strategy was to carefully examine companies that had achieved greatness in the most uncertain and chaotic industries and to glean the general principles for thriving in such environment so that they can be applied by all enterprises dealing with the uncertainty and episodes of chaos in the 21st century.”

We hope our sharing resonates & we close off with the below quote:

“Go slow when you can; go fast if you must.”