One of my favorite researcher/writers is Jim Collins. His thirst for understanding and dedication to good research encourages my own journey towards understanding. Organizations are not black boxes. They can be understood. But like many things in life the first step to understanding is asking the right questions. Here are 12 questions that Collins says should be asked by every CEO or President of a company. This is quoted from Inc magazine. You can read the full article at: Inc.com (click here).
Jim
Collins's Plan for Growing Companies
Hedgehogs,
Cannonballs, BHAGs, and Bullets
Jim Collins has spent a career probing the inner
workings of great companies. Below, he boils 25 years of research into 12
questions that leaders must grapple with if they truly want to excel. Collins's
advice: Be systematic. Every month, have your leadership team discuss one of
the following questions. Repeat the process annually for five years.
1. Do we want to build a
great company, and are we willing to do what it takes?
It begins by making a choice, with a clear understanding of what that choice entails.
It begins by making a choice, with a clear understanding of what that choice entails.
2. Do we have the right
people on the bus and in the key seats?
You need to decide whom you do and don't want to have with you. You should do that even before deciding exactly where you want to go.
You need to decide whom you do and don't want to have with you. You should do that even before deciding exactly where you want to go.
3. What are the brutal
facts?
You can't make good decisions if you don't confront the facts, especially the most troubling ones, those that could represent a serious threat to your survival. The key is to do it without losing faith.
You can't make good decisions if you don't confront the facts, especially the most troubling ones, those that could represent a serious threat to your survival. The key is to do it without losing faith.
4. What is our hedgehog:
What can we be the best at, with an economic engine, and for which we have
unbounded passion?
"The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing," wrote Isaiah Berlin. Your hedgehog combines your passion and your special talents with what you can make money doing.
"The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing," wrote Isaiah Berlin. Your hedgehog combines your passion and your special talents with what you can make money doing.
5. What is our 20-Mile
March, and are we hitting it?
That is, what is the specific performance goal you've made a commitment to meeting year in and year out, in good times and bad, and how are you doing with it?
That is, what is the specific performance goal you've made a commitment to meeting year in and year out, in good times and bad, and how are you doing with it?
6. Where should we
place our big bets, based on empirical validation?
You should devote major resources to a new initiative (fire a cannonball) only if you already know it's likely to succeed. That means first conducting low-cost, low-risk tests on a range of possibilities (shooting bullets).
You should devote major resources to a new initiative (fire a cannonball) only if you already know it's likely to succeed. That means first conducting low-cost, low-risk tests on a range of possibilities (shooting bullets).
7. What are the core
values and core purpose on which we want to build this enterprise for 100
years?
The challenge is not just to build a company that can endure, but to build one that is worthy of enduring.
The challenge is not just to build a company that can endure, but to build one that is worthy of enduring.
8. What is our 15- to
25-year BHAG?
To build a great, enduring company, you need a Big Hairy Audacious Goal that is tangible, energizing, and highly focused and that people can understand immediately with little or no explanation.
To build a great, enduring company, you need a Big Hairy Audacious Goal that is tangible, energizing, and highly focused and that people can understand immediately with little or no explanation.
9. What could kill us,
and how can we protect our flanks?
Paranoia is productive when it helps you survive the inevitable bad surprises that will come along and avoid the disasters that they are capable of producing.
Paranoia is productive when it helps you survive the inevitable bad surprises that will come along and avoid the disasters that they are capable of producing.
10. What should we
stop doing, to increase our discipline and focus?
In creating a culture of discipline, it's as important to determine what you should not be doing as it is to know what you should be doing.
In creating a culture of discipline, it's as important to determine what you should not be doing as it is to know what you should be doing.
11. How can we
increase our return on luck?
All companies experience both good and bad luck. It's what you do with your luck that counts. How can you get the most benefit from it either way, and how can you minimize any damage that a run of bad luck will cause?
All companies experience both good and bad luck. It's what you do with your luck that counts. How can you get the most benefit from it either way, and how can you minimize any damage that a run of bad luck will cause?
12. Are we becoming a
Level 5 leadership team and cultivating a Level 5 management culture?
The fifth, and highest, level of leadership builds enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will. Are you providing it?
The fifth, and highest, level of leadership builds enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will. Are you providing it?
No comments:
Post a Comment