Good to Great Book

"Good is the enemy of Great" - Jim Collins

Talk about an attention grabbing first line that makes you first want to read more to better understand this statement, and secondly through that book down and go do something to better yourself and those around you. Why did I pick that line out of everything he talks about in the book? It's universal, it has no boundaries, it does not only affect men or only women. In a time when there is so much separation amongst people for different beliefs, bettering yourself and those around you is something we can all agree upon.

Chapter 1 – GOOD IS THE ENEMY OF GREAT

I’m the type of person that will decide to read a book, but not even make it through the first chapter. I read the first chapter only three times – not because I couldn’t understand what it was saying – but because I wanted to understand everything it was saying from terminology, to graphs, to ideology behind the development of illustrations, everything. Collins brings up a concept called “Undaunted Curiosity” – essentially answering why he chooses to undertake massive amounts of research. I immediately related to this topic because it is 150% the way I approach our industry. I came into in not even understanding that I was a part of an industry larger than the four-walled restaurant I worked in. Now I research, read, question, and investigate why our industry changes and operates the way it does, why companies merge, and

how one company is more successful than one of a similar business model. It is how I view myself as achieving a top goal of mine – becoming a Level 5 Leader.

Chapter 2 – LEVEL 5 LEADERSHIP

Level 5 leaders “build enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will.” A leader of this sort never stops growing – there is always more to be learned – nor do they stop helping others around themselves grow. One must be transformation, and willing to accept the changes that need to be made, rather than transactional and stuck in the past. A great example of this type of leader talked about in the book is Darwin Smith, former CEO of Kimberly-Clark. He had a simple philosophy that he believed in to be great, and it is something I believe in mixed with a little saying from actor Matthew McConaughey. McConaughey says you need three things in life, one being “someone to chase.” Smith attributed his exception performance by stating “I never stopped trying to become qualifies for the job.” Now first reading this two statements one might wonder how I relate the two together. As of now, I view myself like Smith and McConaughey have. I am not qualified, but myself 10 years from now (i.e. someone to chase) is. But that’s the thing, if you keep chasing yourself 10 years from your current day you will never catch yourself. AND THAT IS PERFECTLY ALL RIGHT! Because if I am trying to be better than I am 10 years from now, and helping those around me just as good if not better, not only will my job/company be good but life as well!

Chapter 3 – FIRST WHO…THEN WHAT

This chapter essentially comes down to one thing – your people are your most important asset; but there’s a twist. It’s not just the people that work for you, it’s important that the right people work for you. “If we get the right people on the bus, the right people in the right seats, and the wrong people off the bus, then we’ll figure out how to take it someplace great.” Easily said, difficult to accomplish. It is important to understand that without the right people working, you cannot take a company from good to great no matter what you change. I experienced this first hand in throughout one of my internships. A restaurant was struggling to find out why their business was unsuccessful. They tried switching food purveyors, offering new specials, changing the menus, adding additional employee training, but nothing was working. As I wrapped up my internship, I was asked to give feedback – what worked, what didn’t work, recommendations for change, etc. Immediately my first piece of advice was the people. The management team/owners thought I was crazy saying “it has to be something wrong with the restaurant.” And this is where they went wrong. They were more concerned about the “what” than the “who.” When in reality, the “who” is most important because not only do they drive your business forwards or backwards, but they are a direct reflection of the “what.” The “who” need to be one board with the vision of the restaurant in order for the restaurant to succeed. But in reality, they were only concerned with making a quick buck.

The management team I mentioned above unfortunately missed a potential opportunity to go from good to great. Rather than being hard headed, they needed to be transformational leaders. They need to look at the long-term goals ahead and assess all possibilities for change. As many of the examples in the book proved, sometimes it takes a drastic change that many people will questions, or maybe it takes the smallest change that nobody things of. Regardless, transformational leadership is the essence of great. You cannot sustain great without first making some sort of transformation (a.k.a. a transition point).