The Essence of
Good to Great
By Jim Collins
Testing the Assumptions
Assumptions
 That you have been praying regularly for
this retreat time and all of its participants.
 That you have come prepared with an alert
mind, and an open heart.
 That you have read carefully all of the
chapters of Good To Great by Jim Collins.
Assumptions
 That you understand that I have chosen
this book because of its timeless, universal
principles that can be applied to any
organization.
 That we are more than an organization, we
are the Body of Christ empowered by the
Holy Spirit.
 That our product is Christian disciples.
Assumptions
 That you want our Conference to be the best
conference it can possibly be.
 That good is the enemy of great.
 That you want to be the best leader you can
possibly be.
 That you are resolved to do whatever it takes to
help God make this a Christ-like world, no matter
how big or how hard the tasks.
Assumptions
 That you want to contribute to producing visible,
tangible results.
 That all of us will be polite but openly honest about
our genuine feelings and thoughts.
 That the ‘Common Table’ is better than separate
groups working independently of one another as it
relates to our work and ministry in advancing the
cause of Christ.
Assumptions
 That we understand this retreat will not get
us to the finish line, but can definitely start
(or accelerate) the Fly Wheel turning.
LEVEL 5 LEADERSHIP:
Our Biblical calling is Level 5 leadership …
John 20:21 – Matthew 20:26 & 28 –
Hebrews 12:1-2 – I Corinthians 9:24
Level 5 Leaders
LEVEL 5 LEADERSHIP
 “Greatness is not a function of
circumstance. Greatness, it turns out,
is largely a matter of conscious
choice.” p. 11
 In your heart of hearts, are you
satisfied with good – or for the sake
of Christ and His Church, are you
determined to become a Level 5
leader?
LEVEL 5 LEADERSHIP
 Abraham Lincoln as an example – p.22
 Speaking of Coleman Mockler – “His placid
persona hid an inner intensity, a dedication
to making anything he touched the best it
could possibly be – not just because of
what he would get, but because he simply
could not imagine doing it any other way.”
p.25
LEVEL 5 LEADERSHIP
 They never aspired to be put on a pedestal
or become unreachable icons. They were
seemingly ordinary people quietly
producing extra-ordinary results. p. 28
 It is equally about ferocious resolve –
infected with an incurable need to produce
results. Humble and fearless…were
incredibly ambitious. P.30
LEVEL 5 LEADERSHIP
 Can you evolve, or continue to
evolve, into a Level 5 leader? Under
the right circumstances – selfreflection, conscious personal
development, a mentor, a great
teacher, a significant life experience,
a Level 5 boss … p.37
 What else would you add? What
specifically needs to be on your list?
The 2 Sides of Level 5 Leadership
Professional Will




Creates superb results, a clear
catalyst in the transition from
good to great.
Demonstrates an unwavering
resolve to do whatever must be
done to produce the best longterm 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.
First Who, Then What
 Biblical truth: Matt.
7: 15 – 21 – Rev.
3: 15–16 – Luke 9:
57-62
 If we get the right
people on the bus,
the right people in
the right seats and
the wrong people
off the bus, … p.41
First Who, Then What
 “…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.”
P. 42
First Who, Then What
 The right people don’t
need to be tightly
managed or fired up.
P.42
First Who, Then What
 “…the ‘who’
questions come
before the ‘what’
questions – before
vision, before
strategy, before
tactics, before
organizational
structure, before
technology.” P. 45
First Who, Then What
 In a good to great
transformation,
people are not your
most important
asset. The right
people are. P.51
First Who, Then What
 “To be rigorous
means consistently
applying exacting
standards at all
times and at all
levels, especially
upper
management. “
P.52
First Who, Then What
 The only way to
deliver to the
people who are
achieving is to not
burden them with
the people who are
not achieving. P.53
First Who, Then What
 Alan Wurtzel of Circuit
City in reply to the
question, “At what
point do I
compromise?”
Without hesitation
said, “You don’t
compromise. We find
another way to get
through until we find
the right person.” P. 55
First Who, Then What
 Practical principles:
 1. When in doubt don’t
hire, keep looking.
 2. When you know you
need to make a people
change, act.
 3. Put your best
people on your biggest
opportunities, not on
your biggest problems.
First Who, Then What
 What does this
principle say to us?
 How does this principle
inform your work with
certain ministries?
First Who, Then What
How do these
statements inform the
work of the BOM, the
Cabinet, New Church
Development,
Treasurer, DCM, etc.?
 How does this principle
inform nominations in
the future?
 How might you tell if
someone is the right
person on the bus?
Confront the Brutal Facts
(Yet never lose faith)
 The Biblical Record:
Matt. 23:1-7, 24-33 –
Parable of the Sheep
and Goats, Matt.25 or
Parable of the Good
Samaritan, Luke 10 –
John 4: 15-16 (Woman
at the well) – Matt.
18: 8-9 (Hand and eye
offend you) – Matt.
21: 28-31 – I John 1:
6-10
Confront the Brutal Facts
(Yet never lose faith)
 “You absolutely
cannot make a
series of good
decisions without
first confronting
the brutal facts.”
P. 70
Confront the Brutal Facts
(Yet never lose faith)
 Fred Purdue of Pitney
Bowes said, “When
you turn over rocks
and look at all the
squiggly things
underneath, you can
either put the rock
down, or you can say,
‘My job is to turn over
rocks and look at the
squiggly things,’ even
if what you see can
scare the (stuffens’)
out of you.” P. 72
Confront the Brutal Facts
(Yet never lose faith)
 “Yes, leadership is
about vision. But
leadership is equally
about creating a
climate where the
truth is heard and the
brutal facts
confronted. There’s a
huge difference
between the
opportunity to ‘have
your say’ and the
opportunity to be
heard.” P.74
Confront the Brutal Facts
(Yet never lose faith)
 Creating a climate
where truth is heard:
 1. Lead with
questions, not
answers.
 2. Engage in dialogue
and debate, not
coercion.
 3. Conduct autopsies,
without blame.
 4. Build “red flag”
mechanisms.
Remember The Stockdale
Paradox
 Retain faith
that you will
prevail in the
end,
regardless of
the
difficulties.
 AND at the
same time
confront the
most brutal
facts of your
current reality,
whatever they
might be.
Confront the Brutal Facts
(Yet never lose faith)
 “There is a sense of
exhilaration that
comes in facing headon the hard truths and
saying, ‘We will never
give up. We will never
capitulate. It might
take a long time, but
we will find a way to
prevail.’” P.81
Confront the Brutal Facts
(Yet never lose faith)
 What are some of the brutal facts that we
must face?
 Using The Stockdale Paradox phrase a
statement about one of these brutal facts?
 What mills might we need to sell?
 What restaurants might we need to close?
 What “corporate raiders” need to be fought
off?
The Hedgehog Concept
 The Biblical
foundation: Matt.
28:19-20, Matt.
22: 36-40 – The
Great Commission
and The Great
Commandment.
The Hedgehog Concept
 “Precisely, the
Hedgehog concept
is a simple,
crystalline concept
that flows from
deep
understanding
about the
intersection of the
three circles.” P.95
What are your three circles?
 What are you the
best in the world
at?
 What drives your
economic engine?
 What are you
deeply passionate
about?
The Hedgehog Concept
 A Hedge Hog concept is not a
goal to be the best, a strategy
to be the best, an intention to
be the best, a plan to be the
best. It is an understanding
of what you can be the best
at. P. 98
The Hedgehog Concept
“The only way to remain
great is to keep applying
the fundamental principles
that made you great.”
P.108
The Hedgehog Concept
“We should only do those
things that we can get
passionate about.” P.109
The Hedgehog Concept
 The essence of the process is
to get the right people
engaged in vigorous dialogue
and debate, in fused with the
brutal facts and guided by
questions formed by the three
circles. P.114
The Hedgehog Concept
“Know ‘one big thing’ and
stick to it.” P. 119
The Hedgehog Concept
Which is more important:
the goal to be the best at
something, or realistic
understanding of what you
can (and cannot) be the
best at?
The Hedgehog Concept
Can each
sub-unit and
each person
have a
hedgehog
concept?
The Hedgehog Concept
How is the
Hedgehog
Concept
different for
a church?
The Hedgehog Concept
 What are we deeply passionate about?
(love to do)
 What can we become the best in the world
at? (genetic or God-given talent)
 What drives our economic engine?
 How are we going to finance what we are going
to do?
 What is our single denominator?
 Cash flow per local church offerings.
 We create healthy churches, we create
healthy cash flow.
 People and money flow to VISION!
A Culture of Discipline
The Biblical Call: Matt. 7:13-14 – Heb.
12:1-2 – Phil. 3:13-16 – John 9:4
A Culture of Discipline
“The purpose of bureaucracy is to
compensate for incompetence and
lack of discipline.” P.121
A Culture of Discipline
 “Most companies build their bureaucratic
rules to manage the small percentage of
wrong people on the bus, which in turn
drives away the right people on the bus,
which then increases the percentage of
wrong people on the bus, which increases
the need for more bureaucracy to
compensate for incompetence and lack of
discipline, which then further drives the
right people away, and so forth.” P. 121
 “Avoid bureaucracy and hierarchy and
instead create a culture of discipline.” P.
121
A Culture of Discipline
“Set your objectives for the year, you
record them in concrete. You can
change your plans through the year,
but you never change what you
measure yourself against.” P.122
A Culture of Discipline
“You focus on what you’ve
accomplished relative to exactly
what you said you were going to
accomplish – no matter how tough
the measure.” P.122
A Culture of Discipline
“The point is to first get self-disciplined
people who engage in very rigorous
thinking, who then take disciplined
action within the framework of a
consistent system designed around
the Hedgehog Concept.” P. 126
A Culture of Discipline
“They displayed a remarkable discipline
to unplug all sorts of extraneous
junk.” P.139
A Culture of Discipline
“They displayed a remarkable discipline
to unplug all sorts of extraneous
junk.” P.139
A Culture of Discipline
Should we have a “stop” doing list?
What should be on the list?
A Culture of Discipline
If class distinctions are deeply
divisive, then why do organizations
persist in creating an executive class
that separates itself from those who
do the real work? If you ran the
whole show, what would you remove
to reduce class distinctions?
THE FLYWHEEL AND THE
DOOM LOOP
The Biblical Truth: Parable of the
Mustard Seed (Matt. 13:31) Parable
of the Leaven (Matt. 13:33) - Matt.
17:20 (faith as mustard seed) – Jesus
beginning with the disciples.
THE FLYWHEEL AND THE
DOOM LOOP
“Step by step, action by action, decision
by decision, turn by turn of the
flywheel – that adds up to sustained
and spectacular results.” p.165
THE FLYWHEEL AND THE
DOOM LOOP
“There will be build up and break
through.” P.165
THE FLYWHEEL AND THE
DOOM LOOP
“Tremendous power exists in the fact
of continued improvement and the
delivery of results. Point to tangible
accomplishments … people see and
feel the buildup of momentum, they
will line up with enthusiasm.” P.174
The Doom Loop
The Flywheel Effect
Building Vision
 Do we know what
is core and what is
not?
 What is our vision?
 Do we have a good
BHAG?
 What should be
some of our base
camps?