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Focusing solely on what you can potentially do better than any other organization is the only path to greatness.

James C. Collins

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James C. Collins
Age: 66
Born: 1958
Born: January 25
Author
Businessperson
Journalist
Writer
Boulder
Colorado
Solely
Greatness
Organization
Path
Better
Potentially
Focusing

More quotes by 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.
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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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In determing the right people, the good-to-great companies placed greater weight on character attributes than on specific educational background, practical skills, specialized knowledge, or work experience.
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The x factor of a great leader is humility combined with will.
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Mediocrity results first and foremost from management failure, not technological failure.
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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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By definition, it is not possible to everyone to be above the average.
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Companies that change best over time know first and foremost what should not change.
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In an ironic twist, I now see Good to Great not as a sequel to Built to Last, but more of a prequel. Good to Great is about how to turn a good organization into one that produces sustained great results. Built to Last is about how you take a company with great results and turn it into an enduring great company of iconic stature.
James C. Collins
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I've never found an important decision made by a great organization that was made at a point of unanimity. Significant decisions carry risks and inevitably some will oppose it. In these settings, the great legislative leader must be artful in handling uncomfortable decisions, and this requires rigor.
James C. Collins
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Good is the enemy of great. And that's one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great.
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An organization is not truly great, if it cannot be great without you.
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The greatest leaders build organizations that, in the end, don't need them.
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The signature of mediocrity is not an unwillingness to change. The signature of mediocrity is inconsistency.
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The people who don't have a great life are the ones who settle for a good one.
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You must maintain unwavering faith that you can and will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties, AND at the same time, have the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.
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The signature of mediocrity is chronic inconstancy. The signature of greatness is a disciplined and consistent focus on the right things.
James C. Collins
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In a world of constant change, the fundamentals are more important than ever.
James C. Collins
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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 essence of profound insight is simplicity.
James C. Collins