TEN LESSONS FROM BUILT TO LAST
1. You don’t need a great idea to start a great company.
Few of the visionary companies in the book began with even any specific
idea. Visionary companies often get off to a slow start, but set BHAGs
(below) and continue to experiment with ideas that move them towards
their vision while sticking to their core values.
The success of visionary companies comes primarily from successful
underlying processes and core values, not a special idea, patent, or trade
secret.
2. Charismatic, visionary leaders are not required.
Visionary companies benefit from strong leadership, but the book found the
best leaders were more akin to architects building a company based on
human ideals and values. Any leader, charismatic or not, can design a
company that is built to last by following these lessons.
3. Don’t make “maximizing profit” your primary goal.
Visionary companies set a target that is about more than profit. Profitability
is a necessary condition in any company, but it is not the why and reason
for the company to exist. The organization exists to do something
collectively that could not be accomplished separately. Paradoxically,
visionary companies make more money than the more purely profit-driven
comparison companies.
4. There is no “right” set of core values.
There is no “correct” set of core values for a visionary company, and two
companies with opposite values can both be visionary and highly
successful.
5. Visionary companies almost religiously preserve their core
ideology.
The key is to maintain continuity and stability while simultaneously
stimulating progress and continuous improvement. Companies that are
built to last are constantly adapting and improving while keeping the core
ideology fixed. Intentions don’t matter; it is the translation of intentions into
concrete action and results that make the difference.
6. Visionary companies set Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals
(BHAGs).
Big, hairy, audacious goals stimulate progress by focusing and engaging
the people on the team. Good BHAGs (pronounced bee-hags) are clear
and compelling. They must be related to and preserve the core ideology of
the company.
BHAGs often appear nearly impossible to outsiders. Company employees
must see the goals as challenging but achievable. A good way to develop
your BHAG is to look for the alignment in three areas:
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What are you deeply passionate about?
What drives your actions and income now?
What can you be the best in the world at?
7. Visionary companies do not try to be great places to work for
everyone.
Visionary companies are tough and disciplined. They have clarity about
who they are, what they are for, and their goals. They don’t have patience
for employees who are unwilling or unsuited to their demanding standards.
Built to Last companies often create cult-like cultures. Not every person will
agree with the core values and ideology of the business and fit-in.
8. Visionary companies succeed mainly through experimentation.
First, determine your core values and why you exist. Next, try a lot of stuff
and see what works. The Built to Last companies experiment and learn
what works. Read our posts about the improvement cycle and Lean
innovation to learn more.
The authors note, “We found the concepts in Charles Darwin’s Origin of
Species to be more helpful for replicating the success of certain visionary
companies than any textbook on corporate strategic planning.”
9. Companies develop leaders from within the organization rather
than hire outsiders.
Built to last companies typically developed and promoted leaders from
within rather than hiring outsiders. This ensures an understanding and
agreement with the core values and ideology that is not guaranteed when
hiring an outsider.
9. Visionary companies focus on beating themselves, not the
competition.
Visionary leaders build for the long term while simultaneously holding
themselves accountable to highly demanding short-term standards. Any
Lean practitioner knows that the goal of continuous improvement is
perfection and never ends.
Six Lessons of Alignment for CEOs, Managers
and Entrepreneurs
1. Paint the Whole Picture: A visionary company is like a great
work of art –minor details matter! It is comprehensiveness and
consistency over time that builds the culture.
2. Sweat the Small Stuff: Vision statements, core values, etc.
don’t matter as much as the day-to-day details of the company
and culture. Employees notice little things. They want to
believe in the vision, but will be on the lookout for
inconsistencies that break the bonds of trust with management.
3. Cluster, Don’t Shotgun: Collins notes this again in Good to
Great with the mantra: Fire bullets, then cannonballs. Once you
have a successful experiment, leaders must put in place pieces
that reinforce one another and combine into a powerful punch.
4. Swim in Your Own Current, Even if it is Against the Tide:
The correct question to ask is not, “Is a practice good?” but
rather “Is this practice appropriate for us – does it fit with our
ideology and ambitions?” Alignment is about being guided by
your own vision and values, even if it is contrary to trends and
fads.
5. Obliterate Misalignments: Alignment is not just adding new
things, it is also about correcting misalignments that move a
company away from its core ideology. The only sacred cow in a
visionary company is its core ideology. Anything else should be
changed or eliminated if it isn’t aligned.
6. Keep Universal Requirements While Inventing New
Methods: You must have a core ideology and drive for
progress to be a visionary company. Every leader should be
working to implement methods that share and preserve a core
ideology to guide and inspire employees.