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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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Those who build and perpetuate mediocrity...are motivated more by the fear of being left behind.
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If you have a charismatic cause you don't need to be a charismatic leader.
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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.
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Change your practices without abandoning your core values.
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By definition, it is not possible to everyone to be above the average.
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Discipline should amplify creativity rather than stifle it.
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If I'm going really, really fast, I can do a page of finished text a day, on average.
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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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The greatest leaders build organizations that, in the end, don't need them.
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Genius of AND. Embrace both extremes on a number of dimensions at the same time. Instead of choosing a OR B, figure out how to have A AND B-purpose AND profit, continuity AND change, freedom AND responsibility, etc.
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We must reject the idea... Well-intentioned, but dead wrong... That the primary path to greatness in the social sectors is to become more like a business. Most businesses... Like most of anything else in life... Fall somewhere between mediocre and good.
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Level 5 leaders are a study in duality: modest and willful, humble and fearless.
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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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Companies that change best over time know first and foremost what should not change.
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If we allow the celebrity rock-star model of leadership to triumph, we will see the decline of corporations and institutions of all types. The twentieth century was a century of greatness, but we face the very real prospect that the next century will see very few enduring great institutions.
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There is a sense of exhilaration that comes from facing head-on the hard truths and saying, We will never give up. We will never capitulate. It might take a long time, but we will find a way to prevail.
James C. Collins
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Building a visionary company requires one percent vision and 99 percent alignment.
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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.
James C. Collins
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The critical question is not whether you'll have luck, but what you do with the luck that you get.
James C. Collins
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How can you succeed by helping others succeed? We succeed at our very best only when we help others succeed.
James C. Collins