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It occurs to me,Jim,that you spend too much time trying to be interesting. Why don't you invest more time being interested? Collin's advice from John Gardner that he took to heart.

James C. Collins

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James C. Collins
Age: 66
Born: 1958
Born: January 25
Author
Businessperson
Journalist
Writer
Boulder
Colorado
Spend
Took
Collin
Interesting
Gardner
Heart
Occurs
Trying
Invest
Much
John
Time
Advice
Interested

More quotes by James C. Collins

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An organization is not truly great, if it cannot be great without you.
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I am completely Socratic.
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Mediocrity results first and foremost from management failure, not technological failure.
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The most effective leaders of companies in transition are the quiet, unassuming people whose inner wiring is such that the worst circumstances bring out their best. They're unflappable, they're ready to die if they have to. But you can trust that, when bad things are happening, they will become clearheaded and focused.
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Discipline should amplify creativity rather than stifle it.
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Good-to-great companies set their goals and strategies based on understanding comparison companies set their goals and strategies based on bravado.
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True leadership has people who follow when they have the freedom not to.
James C. Collins
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Genuine confidence is what launches you out of bed in the morning, and through your day with a spring in your step.
James C. Collins
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Smart people instinctively understand the dangers of entrusting our future to self-serving leaders who use our institutions, whether in the corporate or social sectors, to advance their own interests.
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Comparison, a great teacher once told me, is the cardinal sin of modern life. It traps us in a game that we can't win. Once we define ourselves in terms of others, we lose the freedom to shape our own lives.
James C. Collins
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The greatest leaders build organizations that, in the end, don't need them.
James C. Collins
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Those fortunate enough to find or create a practical intersection of the three circles have the basis for a great work life.
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Not one of the good-to-great companies focused obsessively on growth.
James C. Collins
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A great company will have many once-in-a-liftetime opportunities.
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Just because a company falls doesn't invalidate what we can learn by studying that company when it was at its historical best.
James C. Collins
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Level 5 leaders are a study in duality: modest and willful, humble and fearless.
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In a world of constant change, the fundamentals are more important than ever.
James C. Collins
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Indeed, the real question is not, Why greatness? but What work makes you feel compelled to try to create greatness? if you have to ask the question, Why should we try to make it great? Isn't success enough? then you're probably int he wrong line of work.
James C. Collins
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Building a visionary company requires one percent vision and 99 percent alignment.
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The secret to a successful retirement is to find your retirement sweet spot. The sweet spot is where your passions, what you do best, and what people will pay you to do overlap.
James C. Collins