Lessons on Leadership by Jim Collins

Jim Collins was the 2nd presenter at the Chick-fil-A Leadership training on May 7, 2010.

Jim Collis is known for these books:





Here are some tips suggested by Jim Collins on leadership.

Build a pocket of greatness.

Good is the enemy.

Failure teaches us more. Failing is a good thing.

Danny P. comment: reminds me of Edison saying he didn’t fail at inviting the light bulb 999 times. He found 999 ways it didn’t work. He persisted despite failure. Had he made one mistake and given up then he would have been a failure. Dating coach for men, David DeAngelo had said that single men who aren’t making mistakes or getting rejected by women probably aren’t taking initiative. The man won’t get rejected if he doesn’t talk to any of them. Failures are good.

Collins pointed out that the very best for the last 6,000 years have made mistakes.

The mighty fail when they’re self-destructive. Collins points out that there are five stages to destruction. He relates them to cancer. If caught and treated early they could save a person. Many people don’t do anything until they’re in the 4th out of 5 stages. The final stage is death or irrelevance. The company has closed.

The first three stages may look good on the outside.

People have control over greatness. It is self-inflicted unlike many types of cancer. Greatness is something you do to yourself.

People can bounce back after a fall as long as they don’t go to stage 5 of Collins identified stages.

Collins says that the # 1 skill is humility. There should be value on work and ambition. Be more plow horse than show horse.

The focus should be on the company or the team and not me.

Stage 1: What am I in it for? Who am I in it for?

Stage 2: Overreaching and going to far may not be the best. Have the number of right people in the right places. Life is about people, so get the right people.

Stage 3: Denial of risk. Evidence is there. Truth is there. It could happen.

Stage 4: You fall and you can’t deny it. How do you respond? The response is important in determining rather you success or fail.

Greatness is not a single event. There is no real overnight success. Keep pushing. Focus on passion. An overnight success is really 20-years in the making. Starbucks was in business for many years before they ever opened a second store.

At stage 5, people don’t come back.

Just because we’ve fallen doesn’t mean we can’t get back up.

You must find a Reason to Fight and struggle beyond money.

Many years ago Disney was in trouble. What would the world have lost had Disney closed?

Why would it matter if you disappear? Why would it matter if I disappear?

All companies from “Built to Last” made it. If they lose their value then they lose their soul and will lose it all.

Don’t abandon values.

Practices have to change over time.

Share values.

Have Big Hairy Audacious Goals a.k.a. (BHAGs)

“We hold these truths to be self-evident” and “I have a dream.”

Don’t allow anyone to make you feel like you need to fail.

Here are Collins 10 Tips for Building a Pocket of Greatness. Collins made it clear that he wanted me to share these tips with people, so here they are:

1. Best leaders never run the show. Take responsibility for making my section a packet of greatness. Do my job to the best of my ability. Take care of my responsibilities.

2. Take Jim Collin’s self-assessment tool online at his web-site http://www.JimCollins.com

3. Get the right people in the right places.

4. Develop my own personal board of directors. Collins talked about a college kid who had called his father for advice. Have my own team of mentors and directors for my life both personally and professionally.

5. Create time for solitude and reflection. This isn’t a time for connections. It is time for mindfulness. Take time to relax and think.

6. Made error in my notes. It said: How to get right questions. The right people. Not sure what this meant now.

7. To do lists are great. Create a stop-doing list.

8. Experiment with moving titles. I don’t have a job. I have a responsibility. This tip reminds me of the recent book, “The Leader Who Had No Title.”

9. Articulate core values. Be prepared for next big shock or surprise. Have big goods. My best book will be “the next one.” Collins told of an author who had written 1/3 of his books by the age of 65. We all have a lot of usefulness. Maybe the marker doesn’t start until we’re 50. Paint a masterpiece.

10. Be useful. Don’t worry about success or survival. Just be useful.

What would be lost if you disappeared? What would be lost of I disappeared?
Are we making enough impact on others? Strive to do better.

Danny Pettrys comment: create a to-do list of five ways to make people’s lives better and five things you could stop doing that are making others lives miserable.




Want to discover wisdom and secrets on becoming great?

In my book, Discover Hidden Secret Wisdom, I outline a system, a plan that is used to help you to become successful and great in life.

Check it out here: