Last updated on May 13th, 2019 at 02:24 pm
The Good to Great venture
Many business people throughout the country refer to the book Good to Great (HarperBusiness, 2001, www.goodtogreat.com) by author Jim Collins as a roadmap for how to grow their companies. Of course, no single book can hold all the right answers to all the right questions. However, Collins’ book and its tenets provide a starting point for an enlightening discussion on the strategies that can help a "good" company develop into a "great" company.
It is within that context that Small Business Times presents its annual Ventures: A Guide for Growing Business.
With a nod to Collins, this special report includes the stories of the leaders of several companies in southeastern Wisconsin who share with us their insights about how they’re growing their companies. To be sure, some of these local corporate leaders have never even read Good to Great, but they have instinctively deployed many of the book’s philosophies, including:
By contrast, the hedgehog is plodding, deliberate and has a singular purpose. When the fox attacks, the hedgehog rolls up into a sphere of sharp spikes, repelling the fox. The hedgehog has a singular purpose. He does it well, and he does it over and over again. And he wins the battle.
stimulate progress" – These leaders tend to have a core value, a mission that is beyond that of just making money. What’s your company’s "BHAG" (big hairy audacious goal)? Does your company have any practices or strategies that should be changed or eliminated because they distract from the core mission?
May 30, 2003 Small Business Times, Milwaukee