Jim Collins Quotes

“A company should limit its growth based on its ability to attract enough of the right people.”

“A culture of discipline is not a principle of business, it is a principle of greatness.”

“A visionary company doesn't simply balance between idealism and profitability: it seeks to be highly idealistic and highly profitable. A visionary company doesn't simply balance between preserving a tightly held core ideology and stimulating vigorous change and movement; it does both to an extreme.”

“All companies have a culture, some companies have discipline, but few companies have a culture of discipline. When you have disciplined people, you don’t need hierarchy. When you have disciplined thought, you don’t need bureaucracy. When you have disciplined action, you don’t need excessive controls. When you combine a culture of discipline with an ethic of entrepreneurship, you get the magical alchemy of great performance.”

“An organization is not truly great, if it cannot be great without you.”

“Build a culture around the idea of freedom and responsibility, within a framework.”

“By definition, it is not possible for everyone to be above the average.”

“Charisma can be as much a liability as an asset, as the strength of your leadership personality can deter people from bringing you the brutal facts.”

“Good is the enemy of great. And that is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great. Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life.”

“Great vision without great people is irrelevant.”

“Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice, and discipline.”

“In the end, it is impossible to have a great life unless it is a meaningful life. And it is very difficult to have a meaningful life without meaningful work.”

“Letting the wrong people hang around is unfair to all the right people, as they inevitably find themselves compensating for the inadequacies of the wrong people. Worse, it can drive away the best people. Strong performers are intrinsically motivated by performance, and when they see their efforts impeded by carrying extra weight, they eventually become frustrated.”

“The moment you feel the need to tightly manage someone, you’ve made a hiring mistake.”

“The purpose of bureaucracy is to compensate for incompetence and lack of discipline.”