Preliminary Thoughts on 'Good to Great'

Jim Collins' book, Good to Great, begins with a simple statement. "Good," he writes, "is the enemy of great." That's certainly been my observation. (Rick Warren puts it another way: "The greatest cause of failure is success.") When we're good at something, we can become satisfied and lose the impulse or incentive to get better. We grow smug and self-satisfied. We can even do this while residing in the cellar of near-mediocrity because to think otherwise might cause us to change or challenge ourselves to do better.

Collins and his research team set out to find what lay behind the sustained "greatness" of a number of corporations. I've only read three chapters of the book so far. But I can already tell I'm going to learn a lot from it. Tonight, in an email to the leadership of our congregation, preparing for a strategic planning retreat in the next few weeks, I summarized some things:

While this is a book about companies, Collins asserts early on that the book is not just about businesses and I readily agree. In his studies of companies that made the transition from being simply good to being great, he uncovered lessons (I would say, re-covered lessons) that I think may be applicable to us at Friendship.

He begins the book with a simple statement: "Good is the enemy of great." And so it can be. I believe that Friendship is a very good church. But we have to ask ourselves: Do we want Friendship to be a great church, one that steadfastly works at making disciples of its current members and participants and that just as steadfastly reaches out to make new disciples for Jesus?

Another assertion, based on his studies, that Collins makes here is that it is less important for an organization to have a plan (strategic or otherwise) than it is for that organization to have the right people in place. If leaders have the passion, diligence, and motivation, the plan will be uncovered. While there are obvious limits to this approach--I believe it's essential that we establish some basic priorities as a congregation, we also need to have the flexibility to employ the gifts and passions of the people God gives us. I remember a few years ago, Steve Snoke, several other members, and I met with Norm Shawchuck, a Methodist church growth guru. He told us the story of a little country church that wanted to develop its niche and reach out to others. The congregation decided that they were really good at potlucks. And so they invited non-members to be with them for potlucks, which they then scheduled with greater frequency. This was something they knew that they could do well. They experienced substantial growth as a result. One of the things we must absolutely do with our SWOT analysis is determine what our three to four strongest suits are at Friendship and then build on them, I believe.

Another thing I find really interesting in Collins' book so far is his pyramid for the five levels of leadership. Interestingly, a Level 5 leader, he says, is one who is personally humble but stubborn about the mission and success of the organization. A Level Five leader, it seems to me, is exactly what we all can become when we allow Jesus Christ to work in our lives.

Has any reader of the blog read Collins' book and what do you think of it? What have you learned? Does what Collins writes ring true for your company, church, or other organization? Let me know in the Comments section below this post.

One other thing: Can you name some Level 5 Leaders---either those you've known or observed from afar? (I'll share some advice I recently received from someone: Beware of anyone possessing what is popularly called charisma, that special charm that makes people go gah-gah. According to Collins and others, those aren't the people who create sustained greatness and spawn successors. Such "leaders" are too me-centered to accomplish anything of lasting significance, according to Collins et al. Do you agree?)