This book was not written by a basketball coach or with a basketball team in mind. It was written about what it takes to move an organization from mediocrity towards achieving its potential. Sounds like what most coaches want to do with their teams!
The first chapter of the book starts off with something that coaches can certainly relate to:
“Good is the enemy of great."
And that is one of the key reasons why we have so few that become great. Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is just so easy to settle for a good life.”
That simple beginning had me hooked from the start. We have all coached players or teams that were good but couldn’t get over the hump to become great. They are satisfied with good — good seems, well good! Obviously, as is often the case, the youth that we must teach and coach are the byproducts of the culture of our time and Collins points out that many organizations are caught up not being able to stretch to their potential.
Collins believes that greatness will evolve around the leadership to lift the organization off the ground of good and into the horizons of great. His terminology for the ultimate in leadership is Level 5. According to Collins, Level 5 “refers to the highest level in a hierarchy of executive capabilities,” identified in his research of the world’s best organizations. Collins points out that Level 5 Leaders:
1. Channel their ego needs away from themselves and into the larger goal of building a great company.
2. Have unwavering resolve… to do what must be done.
3. Are fanatically driven, infected with an incurable need to produce results. They will sell the mills or fire their brother, if that’s what it takes to make the company great.
4. Look out the window to apportion credit to factors outside themselves when things go well (and if they cannot find a specific person or event to give credit to, they credit good luck). At the same time, they look in the mirror to apportion responsibility, never blaming bad luck when things go poorly.
Collins also creates a summary of the two sides of Level 5 leadership:
Professional Will
-Creates superb results, a clear catalyst in the transition from good to great.
-Demonstrate an unwavering resolve to do whatever must be done to produce the best long-term results, no matter how difficult.
-Sets the standard of building an enduring great company; will settle for nothing less.
-Looks in the mirror, not out the window, to apportion responsibility for poor results, never blaming other people, external factors, or bad luck.
Personal Humility
-Demonstrates a compelling modesty, shunning public adulation; never boastful.
-Acts with quiet, calm determination; relies principally on inspired standards; not inspiring charisma, to motivate.
-Channels ambition into the company, not the self; sets up successors for even greater success in the next generation.
-Looks out the window, not in the mirror, to apportion credit for the success of the company- to other people, external factors, and good luck.
Collins further goes on to to talk about good-to-great leaders and the importance of who they surround themselves with:
“The good-to-great leaders understood three simple truths. First, if you begin with ‘who,’ rather than ‘what,’ you can more easily adapt to a changing world. If people join the bus primarily because of where it is going, what happens if you get ten miles down the road and you need to change direction? You’ve got a problem. But if people are on the bus because of who else is on the bus, then it’s much easier to change direction. Second, if you have the right people on the bus, the problem of how to motivate and manage people largely goes away. The right people don’t need to be tightly managed or fired up; they will be self-motivated by the inner drive to produce the best results and to be part of creating something great. Third, if you have the wrong people, it doesn’t matter whether you discover the right direction; you still won’t have a great company. Great vision without great people is irrelevant.”
