Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies

This book is not about visionary leaders who are charismatic. It has nothing to do with innovative product ideas, innovative goods, or innovative market research. It's also not simply about having a business vision. This book is about something far bigger, more lasting, and more substantial. This book is about forward-thinking businesses." Thus write Jim Collins and Jerry Porras in this ground-breaking book that dispels falsehoods, offers fresh perspectives, and offers helpful advice to those who want to create iconic businesses that last a lifetime. Based on a six-year study conducted at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Collins and Porras compared each of the eighteen incredibly remarkable and enduring companies—which, on average, are almost a century old and have outperformed the overall stock market by a factor of fifteen since 1926—to one of their main rivals. They looked at the businesses as start-ups, midrange businesses, and big enterprises, covering their whole history. The question "What makes the truly exceptional companies different from other companies?" was posed by the writers repeatedly. What sets apart Philip Morris, Walt Disney, Hewlett-Packard, General Electric, 3M, Merck, and Wal-Mart from their competitors? For example, how did Procter & Gamble, which started well behind competitor Colgate, become the leading organization in its sector? How did Motorola go from small-scale battery repairs into integrated circuits and cellular communications, while Zenith remained a leader in TVs alone? What did Boeing have that McDonnell Douglas did not, and how did Boeing overtake the latter to become the greatest commercial airplane manufacturer in the world? By responding to these inquiries, Collins and Porras find characteristics that have always set exceptional businesses apart from the ceaseless stream of management jargon and fads of the day. Additionally, by dispelling the myth yet widespread belief that only charismatic visionary leaders can create visionary businesses, they inspire all executives and entrepreneurs. Complete with hundreds of concrete examples and arranged into a clear framework of useful ideas that managers and business owners of all stripes can implement, Built to Last offers a comprehensive guide for creating companies that will thrive well into the twenty-first century and beyond.