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We are not imprisoned by circumstances, setbacks, mistakes or staggering defeats, we are freed by our choices.
James C. Collins
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James C. Collins
Age: 66
Born: 1958
Born: January 25
Author
Businessperson
Journalist
Writer
Boulder
Colorado
Choices
Imprisoned
Staggering
Setback
Freed
Defeat
Mistakes
Circumstances
Setbacks
Mistake
Defeats
More quotes by James C. Collins
Good is the enemy of great. And that's one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great.
James C. Collins
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
Most people will look back and realize they did not have a great life because it's just so easy to settle for a good life.
James C. Collins
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.
James C. Collins
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.
James C. Collins
I am completely Socratic.
James C. Collins
Managing your problems can only make you good, whereas building your opportunities is the only way to become great.
James C. Collins
Growth! is not a Hedgehog Concept. Rather, if you have the right Hedgehog Concept and make decisions relentlessly consistent with it, you will create such momentum that your main problem will not be how to grow, but how not to grow too fast.
James C. Collins
You can't manufacture passion or motivate people to feel passionate. You can only discover what ignites your passion and the passions of those around you.
James C. Collins
Discipline should amplify creativity rather than stifle it.
James C. Collins
Start a 'Stop Doing' list. I'll leave it as an existential dilemma on whether to put that task on your To Do list
James C. Collins
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
The signature of mediocrity is not an unwillingness to change. The signature of mediocrity is inconsistency.
James C. Collins
The only way to remain great is to keep on applying the fundamental principles that made you great.
James C. Collins
Consider the idea that charisma can be as much a liability as an asset. Your strength of personality can sow the seeds of problems, when people filter the brutal facts from you.
James C. Collins
In a truly great company profits and cash flow become like blood and water to a healthy body: They are absolutely essential for life but they are not the very point of life
James C. Collins
How can you succeed by helping others succeed? We succeed at our very best only when we help others succeed.
James C. Collins
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
It took Einstein ten years of groping through the fog to get the theory of special relativity, and he was a bright guy.
James C. Collins
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
