Good To Great Assignment 2015

Paper details:
Pick one of the seven key concepts or stages in the development of GTG companies.

Part a: Find two journal or news articles demonstrating this concept applied to companies or organizations other than the GTG companies given in the book.

Part b: Discuss how the concept is demonstrated in the articles.

Part c: Briefly discuss any other GTG concepts that appear in the articles

Part d: Discuss the stage of GTG development the organizations in the examples appear to be in and

Part e: any major hurdles they would need to overcome to become great.

Students can work in pairs. The report should include a cover page with the names of the team members and discussion of parts a) to e) for each of the two articles. Submit a single Microsoft Word file that contains discussion of both articles via the upload option in this assignment. Submit an electronic copy of the articles along with your report (html, htm, pdf or Word format is requested). I am expecting your team to find articles about companies on the web so the article will be in electronic format and can be submitted for this assignment. Parts a) through e) should be detailed and reference the Good to Great book for support for your argument.

Undergraduate students: minimum 1000 words

The Seven Key:
https://ded.mo.gov/content/jim%20collins,%20good_to_great_summary_principles%5B1%5D.pdf
GOOD-TO-GREAT PRINCIPLES
1. Level 5 Executive Leadership
Personal Humility
Professional Will, almost fanatical
Workmanlike diligence – more plow horse, than show horse
Ambitious for the company, not themselves
2. First Who, Then What
Getting the right people on the team comes before vision, strategy
and tactics
Get the right people on the bus
Get the wrong people off the bus
Put your best people on your biggest opportunities, not the biggest
problems
3. Confront the Brutal Facts (But Never Lose Faith in the Potential for
Greatness)
Impossible to make good decisions without an honest confrontation
of the brutal facts
Create a culture wherein the truth can be heard
Lead with questions, engage in dialogue not coercion and conduct
autopsies without blame
Charisma can be as much a liability as an asset because a strong
personality often deters people from presenting the brutal facts
Don’t waste time trying to “motivate people”. The right people are
self-motivated but can be de-motivated.
4. The Hedgehog Concept
Organizations should only do what they 1) can be great at, 2) can
make money at and 3) have a passion for doing.
The Hedgehog Concept is not a vision or strategy, but an
understanding.
Good-to-great companies set their goals and strategies based on
understanding; others set their goals and strategies based on
bravado.
Getting the Hedgehog Concept is an iterative process.
Hedgehog companies are simple creatures that know one big thing
and stick to it. Other companies are more like foxes that know
many things but lack consistency.
5. A Culture of Discipline
Sustained great results depend upon building a culture of
disciplined people who take disciplined action within the three
circles of the Hedgehog Concept.
A culture of discipline requires disciplined people who engage in
disciplined thought and then take disciplined action.
The single most important form of discipline for sustained
results is fanatical adherence to the Hedgehog Concept and
the willingness to shun opportunities that fall outside the three
circles.
The purpose of budgeting in a good-to-great company is not to
decide how much each activity gets, but to decide which areas best
fit within the Hedgehog Concept and should be fully funded and
which should not be funded at all.
“Stop doing” lists are more important than “to do” lists.
6. Technology Accelerators
Good-to-great organizations avoid technology fads but become
pioneers in applying carefully selected technologies.
Good-to-great organizations use technology as an accelerator of
momentum, not a creator of it.
The key technology question is does it fit directly your Hedgehog
concept? If yes, then becoming a pioneer in the technology makes
sense. If no, you can settle for parity or ignore it entirely.
7. The Flywheel and the Doom Loop
Good-to-great transformations look dramatic and revolutionary on
the outside but actually are organic, cumulative processes on the
inside. There is no single defining action, no grand program, no
one lucky break or miracle moment.
Sustainable transformations follow a predictable pattern of buildup
and breakthrough – like pushing on a giant, heavy flywheel.
Average organizations follow the “doom loop” pattern. They try to
skip buildup and jump immediately to breakthrough. Then, with
disappointing results, they lurch back and forth, failing to maintain a
consistent direction.

Good To Great Assignment 2015

Paper details:
Pick one of the seven key concepts or stages in the development of GTG companies.

Part a: Find two journal or news articles demonstrating this concept applied to companies or organizations other than the GTG companies given in the book.

Part b: Discuss how the concept is demonstrated in the articles.

Part c: Briefly discuss any other GTG concepts that appear in the articles

Part d: Discuss the stage of GTG development the organizations in the examples appear to be in and

Part e: any major hurdles they would need to overcome to become great.

Students can work in pairs. The report should include a cover page with the names of the team members and discussion of parts a) to e) for each of the two articles. Submit a single Microsoft Word file that contains discussion of both articles via the upload option in this assignment. Submit an electronic copy of the articles along with your report (html, htm, pdf or Word format is requested). I am expecting your team to find articles about companies on the web so the article will be in electronic format and can be submitted for this assignment. Parts a) through e) should be detailed and reference the Good to Great book for support for your argument.

Undergraduate students: minimum 1000 words

The Seven Key:
https://ded.mo.gov/content/jim%20collins,%20good_to_great_summary_principles%5B1%5D.pdf
GOOD-TO-GREAT PRINCIPLES
1. Level 5 Executive Leadership
Personal Humility
Professional Will, almost fanatical
Workmanlike diligence – more plow horse, than show horse
Ambitious for the company, not themselves
2. First Who, Then What
Getting the right people on the team comes before vision, strategy
and tactics
Get the right people on the bus
Get the wrong people off the bus
Put your best people on your biggest opportunities, not the biggest
problems
3. Confront the Brutal Facts (But Never Lose Faith in the Potential for
Greatness)
Impossible to make good decisions without an honest confrontation
of the brutal facts
Create a culture wherein the truth can be heard
Lead with questions, engage in dialogue not coercion and conduct
autopsies without blame
Charisma can be as much a liability as an asset because a strong
personality often deters people from presenting the brutal facts
Don’t waste time trying to “motivate people”. The right people are
self-motivated but can be de-motivated.
4. The Hedgehog Concept
Organizations should only do what they 1) can be great at, 2) can
make money at and 3) have a passion for doing.
The Hedgehog Concept is not a vision or strategy, but an
understanding.
Good-to-great companies set their goals and strategies based on
understanding; others set their goals and strategies based on
bravado.
Getting the Hedgehog Concept is an iterative process.
Hedgehog companies are simple creatures that know one big thing
and stick to it. Other companies are more like foxes that know
many things but lack consistency.
5. A Culture of Discipline
Sustained great results depend upon building a culture of
disciplined people who take disciplined action within the three
circles of the Hedgehog Concept.
A culture of discipline requires disciplined people who engage in
disciplined thought and then take disciplined action.
The single most important form of discipline for sustained
results is fanatical adherence to the Hedgehog Concept and
the willingness to shun opportunities that fall outside the three
circles.
The purpose of budgeting in a good-to-great company is not to
decide how much each activity gets, but to decide which areas best
fit within the Hedgehog Concept and should be fully funded and
which should not be funded at all.
“Stop doing” lists are more important than “to do” lists.
6. Technology Accelerators
Good-to-great organizations avoid technology fads but become
pioneers in applying carefully selected technologies.
Good-to-great organizations use technology as an accelerator of
momentum, not a creator of it.
The key technology question is does it fit directly your Hedgehog
concept? If yes, then becoming a pioneer in the technology makes
sense. If no, you can settle for parity or ignore it entirely.
7. The Flywheel and the Doom Loop
Good-to-great transformations look dramatic and revolutionary on
the outside but actually are organic, cumulative processes on the
inside. There is no single defining action, no grand program, no
one lucky break or miracle moment.
Sustainable transformations follow a predictable pattern of buildup
and breakthrough – like pushing on a giant, heavy flywheel.
Average organizations follow the “doom loop” pattern. They try to
skip buildup and jump immediately to breakthrough. Then, with
disappointing results, they lurch back and forth, failing to maintain a
consistent direction.