Advice for CEOs

Jim Collins was Wrong Jim Collins was wrong……and so was I. You remember Collins. He wrote the book, Good to Great. It was a huge best seller, selling more than four million copies in 35 languages. We’re told Collins used a large team of researchers who studied 6,000 articles and generated more than 2,000 pages of interview transcripts during the five year project to develop and write the book. He described seven characteristics of companies that went from good to great, one of which was. “First who, then what; get the right people on the bus, then figure out where to go.” I disagree.

As discussed in my previous article, I suggested that emerging growth companies need to focus on how they create value and then how much of that value they capture.

I often hear business owners proclaim how important it is to build a great relationship with their customers. I must confess I find this assertion a bit perplexing. I am not at all suggesting that business owners ought to find ways in which to alienate their customers, but I believe the assertion to be double-edged. I have found that the more important the customer relationship is in the sales process, the less differentiated is the product or service.