Orrin, I loved the article and am a huge admirer of Jim Collins' work! He brings up some excellent points and gives plenty of clarity to the challenging questions proposed to him. It is amazing that you posted this article! A few days ago I was going over my notes from the book "Good to Great" wondering how we (TEAM) are positioned to be a GREAT Company. After thinking about that question for a while, I saw many similarities to the teachings of his book (and what makes Great Companies) with the vision of TEAM! More specifically I see a tremendous coralation between 3 main topics he discusses: 1. Level 5 Leaders 2. Hedgehog Concept 3. Flywheel Concept and how TEAM is positioned to take advantage of making the leap to a GREAT COMPANY! Level 5 Leadership: In his book Jim Collins said what all Great Companies had in common was they had leadership that exemplified Level 5 Leadership qualities. The qualities he explained were the following: 1. Are result-oriented. 2. Possess inspired standards. They do not tolerate mediocrity. 3. Never allow nepotism or seniority. They will fire non-performing family members and friends. 4. Are insiders. They worked many years inside the company or are from the family that owns the company. They are not saviors hired in from the outside. 5. Are diligent. They are not show horses but plow horses. 6. Choose good successors because of their concern for the future of the company. They want to see it endure for generations. 7. Possess Determination. (Darwin Smith sold the paper mills of Kimberly-Clark to focus on consumer products. Everyone else was saying it was a bad move, but they were wrong. Cork Walgreen decided to get out of the food business and into the more lucrative business of convenient drugstores.) Level 5 leaders give credit to others when things go well, (looking out the window) and take full responsibility when things go poorly, (looking at the mirror). Now I don't know how anyone that is affiliated with TEAM can't be excited after reading those qualities! Many of the leaders that are setting the direction and policy of TEAM, in my mind, reflect many of those characteristics. I understand that no one person is perfect, but it excites me that many of them practice all of these qualities in their daily life. Hedgehog Concept: I don't want to bore all of you with every single detail regarding this concept, but there is one point I think should be made clear. According to Collins "Hedgehogs simplify a complex world into a single basic organizing principle that unifies or guides its daily life. Everything else outside this basic concept is irrelevant and not worth wasting energy on." In other words Great companies have a council that uses the company's ultimate vision as a guiding light to make all decisions. Collins suggests to "Build a Council" that embodies the following characteristics: 1. It exists as a device to gain understanding about important issues facing the organization. 2. Assembles and is used by the leading executive, consisting of five to twelve people. 3. Each member has the ability to argue and debate in search of understanding, not from the egotistic need to win a point or protect a parochial interest. 4. Each member retains respect for every other Council member without exception. 5. Members come from a wide range of perspectives, but each member has a deep knowledge about some aspect of the organization and the environment in which it operates. 6. Includes key members of the management team but is not limited to members of the management team, nor is every executive automatically a member. 7. The council is a standing body, not an ad hoc committee assembled for a specific project 8. It meets periodically, as much as once a week, or as infrequently as once per quarter. 9. It does not seek consensus, recognizing that consensus decisions are often at odds with intelligent decisions. The responsibility for the final decision rests with the leading executive. 10.It is an informal body, not listed on any formal organization chart or document 11.It may have a range of possible names, in good to great companies; they had benign names like Long-Range Profit Improvement Committee, Corporate Products Committee, Strategic Thinking Group, and Executive Council. In TEAM world can you say Round Table and Policy Council Members! Flywheel Concept: According to Collins "Similar to pushing a massive flywheel laid horizontally on its axle, with every push the wheel turns one rotation. It goes faster and faster, gaining momentum until the accumulated overall effort over time, pushing consistently in one direction, carries the speed into a breakthrough momentum, moving by itself. This is how the good-to-great companies process of transformation is best described. There was no defining action, innovation, launch event, clever tagline or miracle moment. The breakthrough came from an overall accumulation of consistent effort over time. Under the right conditions, problems of motivation and alignment simply melt away." The TEAM Flywheel will continue rotating consistently for those that continue growing themselves in their leadership capacities. Now is the time for all of us to keep sharpening our skills, serve more than ever, and build stronger relationships. It has been so awesome seeing this principle lived out here on this blog and see how so many of us in our own lives are taking responsibility to keep the "Flywheel" moving in a positive direction! Sorry for the long post, but I am just excited that the 3 main points in Good to Great are being implemented in this community of leaders. We have alot to be thankful for! I am sure many of you have already thought of this correlation before, but it just hit me literally this morning when I read this post. Thanks Orrin! Best, Matt