Collins J. Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies

HarperBusiness, 1994. - 368 p.Drawing upon a six-year research project at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras took eighteen truly exceptional and long-lasting companies and studied each in direct comparison to one of its top competitors. They examined the companies from their very beginnings to the present day - as start-ups, as midsize companies, and as large corporations. Throughout, the authors asked: "What makes the truly exceptional companies different from the comparison companies and what were the common practices these enduringly great companies followed throughout their history?"Filled with hundreds of specific examples and organized into a coherent framework of practical concepts that can be applied by managers and entrepreneurs at all levels, Built to Last provides a master blueprint for building organizations that will prosper long into the 21st century and beyond."Built to Last became an instant business classic." - Amazon.com Review.The best of the best
Clock building, not time telling
Interlude: no "tyranny of the OR"
More than profits
Preserve the core / stimulate progress
Big hairy audacious goals
Cult-like cultures
Try a lot of stuff and keep what works
Home-grown management
Good enough never is
The end of the beginning
Building the vision
Epilogue: frequently asked questions
Appendix. Founding roots of visionary companies and comparison companies