A couple of months back Tomax management wanted all the upper level managers to read chapter four of the book Good to Great by Jim Collins. They printed copies and gave them to everyone. The full book is only about 220 pages so I decided to get it and read the whole thing.
The book is all about how some companies push past being just “good” and move on to being “great”. The case is presented for a dozen or so companies that met a certain criteria for “good to great” and then there were comparison companies as well. Comparisons like Kroger vs. A & P, Walgreens vs. Eckerd, Wells Fargo vs. Bank of America, etc. There is a lot of data presented, and a lot of interviews with executives of those companies.
What I liked best is the summarization of the book’s ideas. Everything was pretty straightforward. It was well presented, backed up with good data, and easy to follow. It presented a lot of philosophies of business that I agree with: promote from within, find good people first, discipline and focus, etc.
And what’s even better is what is in chapter 4 that Tomax wanted us to read. The title is “Confront the Brutal Facts”. The chapter is all about bringing everything out into the open with brutal honesty. This has been the mantra of Tomax for the last month or so. “Andrew, let us know what the brutal facts are of these plans”. So… I’ve been letting them have it. :-) So far it’s being taken well. I’ve always had the reputation since I returned to Tomax of being the guy who will “tell it like it is”. That’s been on purpose. I told myself that if I went back I wasn’t going to just let things go anymore. I think it is finally getting through, and more importantly, being welcomed. Time will tell. In our management meeting last Monday the question was asked if anyone had any “brutal facts” to bring up. The room was silent for a moment and then they turned to me and said “Andrew, you’re the proverbial bee in Tomax’ bonnet, you must have something!… (but don’t worry… you’re a friendly bee!” Ahhh… infamy.
So the book is really pretty good. A good read for anyone involved in business, and I’d even say good for anyone involved in management.
Wake Me Up When September Ends
August 1st, 2008 at 7:51 am
Haven’t read it yet (still trying to finish The World is Flat!) but I remember when this book first came out it was all over the BYU Marriott School. It seemed that every student and professor had it in their hands and I think it was a required read for some of the business classes…might still be…I don’t know. It’s for sure on my ever growing list of “must reads.” Way to “say it like it is” Andrew…you’ve always been a man of good words.