10 years after the success of ‘Good to Great‘, author Jim Collins returns with some interesting findings.  Top contenders are findings such as the ability to scale innovation and to blend creativity and discipline.  I have long argued that creativity is not ‘flakey’ but the most disciplined that you will ever be  (Collins = hedgehog).  That creative discipline delivers on performance goals and is consistent with values-in-action. The ability to marry relentless discipline with focused creativity is more important now that ever before. What also hasn’t changed is the leadership mandate of serving a cause bigger than personal ego.  The rest is new findings, not a rehash of old results.  Emphasis is on long-term strategy – a 20 mile march.  Hopefully we have learned by now that a focus on short-term results leads to trouble if not extinction.  I love the concept of ‘zoom-out then zoom-in’ – holding both a mega and micro view builds on what we know of complexity theory that is driving business results, SMaC (specific, methodical and consistent) and the genius of the ‘and’.  A worthwhile read.

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All