Name:Built to Last
Authors : James Collins and Jerry Porras.
An amazing book to read!!.The book compares the strategy /org. culture of visionary companies (like IBM, 3M, Sony, WaltDisney) with their competitors (Norton, Burroughs, Kenwood, Columbia pictures).
It clearly demarcates the line between a successful firm and a SUCCESSFUL+VISIONARY firm. It describes the key principles that sets a visionary company apart from other organizations. The authors have challenged few basic common notions like :
It takes a great idea to start a company: Everybody thinks that a great company is born of a great idea.But the authors have cited examples from companies like 3M (Minnesota, Mining& Manufacturing), which started as a mining company , and later turned into an innovative product development firm.
The only constant is change: The book stresses a lot on the core issues of a company, and cites examples where these firms have gone out of the way to preserve their core values, and never changed their core values.
The sole purpose of a great company is to maximize profits: The visionary companies look beyond this purpose. Infact, the authors have given examples wherein the firms have suffered a huge loss, but went all the way to satisfy the customer needs.
The authors have cited few key values of visionary companies. Some of them are :
Be a ‘Clock-Builder’, not just a time-teller. Don’t look at the company as a vehicle for the products, rather look at the products as a vehicle for the firm!!
Have a core ideology. And no matter what, stick to it!! 3. Stimulate the progress!..Here, the authors have talked about a practice called BHAGS (Big Hairy Audacious Goals). A firm should commit itself to challenges, and should take risks.The authors have cited the example of how Computing, Tabulating and Recording (CTR) was transformed into IBM.
The best thing about this book is that its beyond those exemplary companies. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning about the organizational culture, and the differences between long-term and short-term visions.