They rely on inspired standards, not charisma, to motivate. They demonstrate a “compelling modesty”, talk about the company (not themselves), shun public praise, and are not boastful. Level 5 leaders put their egos aside, and focus on the companies’ long term interests. They are fanatically-driven to deliver results, set exacting standards, demonstrate an unwavering resolve and a quiet doggedness to do whatever it takes to bring the company to greatness. Level 5 leaders have huge ambitions for their institutions (not themselves). Some examples of level 5 leaders include Colman Mockler, David Maxwell, Darwin Smith, Joe Cullman, and Fred Allen. “Level 5 leaders” are at the top of a 5-level hierarchy, and exhibit the duality of personal humility and professional will. Level 5 LeadershipĪt the time of their big transition, all the good-to-great companies had Level 5 leadership. For more details, do check out our full 12-page Good to Great summary bundle.

Here’s a brief overview of the 6 critical ingredients used by companies who successfully transit from “good” to “great”. This group of 11 companies were compared against 2 groups of comparison companies, the first group from same industry (with similar circumstances but didn’t make the leap), and the second group of “unsustained companies” that made the leap but didn’t sustain the performance.

Followed by cumulative stock returns of at least 3 times that of the general market over the next 15 years.

15 years of cumulative stock returns at/ below the general stock market.To identify “great” companies, Collin and his research team started with 1,435 good companies, examined their performance over 40 years, and identified 11 companies that became great, namely Abbott, Circuit City, Fannie Mae, Gillette, Kimberly-Clark, Kroger, Nucor, Philip Morris, Pitney Bowes, Walgreens, Wells Fargo. In this free Good to Great summary, we’ll give a synopsis the 6 ingredients to transit from good to great, and how they come together with the Flywheel/ Doom Loop to generate massive momentum over time. Can a company make the transition from good to great? If so, how? Through extensive research and analysis, Jim Collins identified a number of timeless principles that helped a small group of companies to break away from the rest and consistently outperform the market.

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