The power of AND concept was so helpful. It explains a lot of what I’ve tried to accomplish as an entrepreneur. I also loved the analogy of clock building. Be a clock builder, not a time teller. So good.

I decided to read this book because in The Everything Store author Brad Stone notes Jim Collins' ideas were highly influential on Jeff Bezos. That influence is very apparent after reading both books. The key idea in this book is that "Visionary Companies," defined as a set of companies that are respected as industry leaders by a group of CEOs surveyed and have existed for 50+ years, are distinguished by their unwavering commitment to a core ideology, and willingness to change everything else. A Visionary Company has a cult-like culture which is defined by a set of principles that transcend the simple goal of producing profits. A core ideology is well-defined, while the company stimulates progress in every other aspect through experimentation and the setting of "big hairy audacious goals" (BHAGs). This is effectively how Bezos has thought about Amazon (although at the time the book was published in 1994 Amazon was not yet in existence). The core ideology is customer obsession, and everything else is a result of constant experimentation that pushes the company forward. Thus, Amazon is not defined by any specific business line (like AWS, Alexa, or even e-commerce) but is an organization that continues to push on its core ideology. Another key tenet which Bezos has also adopted is the idea that visionary companies are focused on doing better each day, and compete mostly against themselves. By creating an organization that is based on a core ideology, the business can transcend its leaders, products, and even industries as it continues to adapt to constant change.

While I find the ideas to be very persuasive, I can't help but think that the book suffers from significant survivorship and narrative bias. A reader of this book today might find that while many of these companies still exist, many or even most may no longer hold visionary status (IBM, Motorola, HP, Citi, American Express, Nordstrom, Sony, amongst others). While the authors give this criticism much thought and try to control for it by comparing such companies to a control group of good-but-not-visionary companies, it's unclear what the relative importance of these ideas have compared to, say, industry or competitive dynamics. These businesses have all had very long histories, which means they have transcended industry transformations through time. However, to invert, it seems plausible that there are many businesses which may have followed these principles but nevertheless did NOT become visionary companies, even if these principles are far more prevalent in visionary companies compared to their secondary competitors. Nonetheless, I do think that having core principles is an essential part of building a successful organization, and this book does capture the essence of some very successful visionary companies (Bridgewater, Netflix, Amazon, and Google are today's companies that come to mind). It's worth the short read.

'Built to Last'- What I learned
A well-researched Business book which thoroughly describes what building a visionary company entails. It is full of numerous examples from the eighteen sets of Visionary-- Comparison companies studied- from which the findings of the book were derived. After reading this book, you would realize that creating a corporate vision is more of a discovery and in no way a 'wordsmithing' process. Having a vision statement doesn't only make a great company. Visionary companies preserve their Core Values and Purposes while at the same time stimulating progress by using different mechanisms- which would be discovered after reading the book.

How well a company lives by its core ideologies is far(more) important than just having a nice sounding and striking vision statement. If you attempt to copy a well crafted vision statements and values from Google.com, would you-as a company-live by it? that's why only a statement would not make you a visionary company. Also, one of the most interesting thing about a company's core ideology is that 'There is no ideal one' . You would find explanations on Philip Morris' (A cigarette maker) core ideologies quite interesting. Almost everyone could build a visionary company so far there is the right mindset--That which you would get after reading Built-to-Last.


Lastly, note that the book is a serious read! You really need to be determined to switch to appendices which, were often referred to in the book in order for you to visualize the data on which those valuable conclusions therein were based, before reading further. Despite that, The book deserves a 5* from me. I would plan a reread(2 or 3 more times) in a nearby time- I found it difficult to swallow all those interesting findings at once.


I would recommend this book for any business minded person who likes to learn about the processes involved in building a visionary company. Those who plan to have their own companies should make it a MUST for themselves. I would also ensure that I reread the book- from Cover to Cover- whenever I'm ready to set up my own company.

Corporate blah blah blah blah.

I struggled to get through it, but it wasn't the most painful business book ever. I just can't stand the earnestness. Business books that read like they just found the map to the holy grail irk me. Cop to having a great deal of luck and admit your outlook may be totally wrong, but it's the best you could schlep together with what you know, and I'll get on board. If you fully buy into your own BS, I'm not going to enjoy your work.

The book opened my eyes about the difference between great, charismatic leaders and the long-lasting core values/mission of an organization,and that the latter is more important. Bosses/CEOs etc. come and go but the core remains, and that’s what matters and should be protected. Also, anyone in an organization can build a pocket of greatness that will last even after they leave. That’s so different from trying so hard of being indispensable in one’s role/position. If things run well after you leave, it does not mean that you are not indispensable but rather you created that pocket of greatness at core.

Take a few moments to complete the following task.

Name 5 Disney movies

Now

Name 5 Columbia picture movies


If you are like most people you would have easily come up with 5 disney movies yet struggles to come up with 5 Columbia picture movies.

The book ‘Built to last’ explains why.

The authors Jim Collins a former Stanford University lecturer and Jerry I.Porras when on an extensive 6 year research project to understand what separates the good companies like Columbia pictures to the great companies like Disney.

In the book the pair breakdown how things such as setting big audacious goals , setting core values and clock building instead of time telling among other things lead to a company being at the top of their industry for 50+ years.

Would recommend to anyone

Look to build a visionary company that will survive long after they pass.

Anyone interested in how the worlds leading companies like Ford , Disney , Sony got to where they are today.

Connect with me on LinkedIn at Austin okolo where I post book recommendations every Monday.

Ban đầu mình khá sợ quyển sách khi nghe tác giả là những nhà khoa học về kinh doanh của trường đại học Stanford, mà những tài liệu về các nghiên cứu khoa học thì thường rất “khó nuốt”. Tuy nhiên trái với những gì mình tưởng tượng. Đọc chương đầu tiên của quyển sách, mình hiểu ngay đây không phải là một quyển sách để trình bày lại nghiên cứu của các tác giả, mà mục tiêu chính của quyển sách là chia sẻ các kết quả nghiên cứu được từ dự án của họ. Tức là quyển sách viết theo lối chia sẻ kinh nghiệm nhiều hơn là một văn bản khoa học với những số liệu và bằng chứng cứng nhắc.

Mặc dù chỉ chia sẻ lại kết quả nghiên cứu nhưng các tác giả không hề lơ là về dẫn chứng, phương pháp nghiên cứu và những vấn đề có thể mắc phải đối với phương pháp nghiên cứu. Nếu các bạn không quan tâm đến những thứ này thì cũng yên tâm vì chúng chỉ chiếm một phần nhỏ của quyển sách. Riêng cá nhân mình thì rất xem trọng phân mục này vì nó củng cố cho độ tin cậy của những kết luận được đưa ra.

Một điều đáng quan tâm ở đây là mặc dù quyển sách là kết quả phân tích của những công ty lớn đã tồn tại hơn 50 năm, nhưng những bài học này có thể được áp dụng ở nhiều mức độ quản lý khác nhau như ở các ban, các phòng, các nhóm, hay thú vị hơn cả là sự áp dụng ở mức độ cá nhân. Ngoài giúp mình hình thành cách nhìn nhận và đánh giá các công ty, những tư tưởng trong sách còn góp phần giúp đỡ mình trong việc tự nhìn nhận bản thân và định hướng cho tương lai.

Ở đây cũng xin nói sơ qua về cấu trúc của quyển sách để các bạn có thói quen xem mục lục trước như mình không bị bở ngỡ (i.e. chả hiểu cái chi xấc).
-t4 chương đầu (c1 - c4) nói về tư tưởng, triết lý của tác giả về những điều kiện để một công ty có thể “trường tồn”.
-t5 chương tiếp theo (c5 - c9) nói về những cách thức các công ty thành công sử dụng.
-tPhần còn lại (c10, c11, phần kết) là phần kết cho quyển sách.

Hy vọng các bạn tìm được những bài học bổ ích từ quyển sách.

Incredible book on org scaling. Clock builder vs time teller, genius of the AND, preserve the core while stimulating progress, consistent alignment

Mmmmmmm GUUUUUUUUD...

Perhaps this time I can Build my death star To Last longer using these principles...

- My BHAG shall be more Hairy and Audacious, but with dark side.
- My Alignment with the dark side shall be more dark.
- My clones will have a dark side Cult-like Culture. With extra dark.
- Mechanisms of discontent are what I do best, but with dark side.
- Will reward and promote the R&D of new death star improvements with dark chocolate.

*Laughs in sith

What I’ve learnt most from “Built to last” is to be a clock-builder not a time-teller.
Very inspiring and detailed book, analysing visionary companies as Disney, 3M, Procter & Gamble and etc. What factors have influenced these companies’ existence and growth for many years? It seems that there are some of them that are similar among all visionary companies.
My top key takeaways from this book would be: BHAG’s, core ideology for a company, “good enough never is”, stimulate progress, constant experimentation and long-term thinking.
Highly recommend for everyone who is interested in business, entrepreneurship and especially for current CEOs or managers as this book can give you many life-changing lessons that you can apply.

Эта книга очень хорошо дополняет книгу "От хорошего к великому" того же автора. Она является её продолжением. В "Построенные навечно" хорошо обобщаются данные, детализируются принципы успеха, наводятся хорошие примеры и приведены отличные выводы.
Рекомендую её также как и книгу "От хорошего к великому" - обязательную к прочтению. Данные книги будут очень полезными для всех целеустремлённых людей, руководителей, начинающих и всех уровней предпринимателей не зависимо от их опыта, а также инвесторам, исследователям и экспертам.

Oddly enough, though this was the first of the big Jim Collins books, it was the last one I read. Since this was first published in 1994 you can note that one or two of those companies may not last much longer. Motorola, for instance, may be on the edge. But the core concept of this book is still relevant, that you need to stick to your core values but be willing to change everything else.

This book preceded Collins' smash hit "Good to Great", but in fact I would read all three of them together (the most recent is "How the Mighty Fall"), as together they tell a story. They also share a methodology that makes a great deal of sense: match each "success" company with another very similar, but not as successful company. That way you can pick out the distinguishing factors that separate the great from the merely good.