Built to Last (1994) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Characters/People edit see section history

• George Merck: Add a description of this character.
• Norton
• J. Willard Marriott
• Jack Welch
• Sam Walton
• William Mcknight
• Burroughs
• David Packard
• Bill Hewlett
• Howard Johnson
• Paul Galvin
• Mcdonnell Douglas
• R.j. Reynolds
• Mcdonald
• Cohn
• Masaru Ibuka
• Dave Packard
• Pearce
• Stillman
• Robert W. Johnson
• George Westinghouse
• Thomas J. Watson
• Philip Morris
• Deupree
• William Procter
• Nordie
• William Allen
• James Gamble
• Bob Galvin
• Henry Ford
• Kennedy
• Macdonald
• Chase
• Sloan
• Jones
• Darwin
• Forbes

Quotes edit see section history

• “most of them view their products and services as making useful and important contributions to customers' lives”

• “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function”

• “Our research indicates that the authenticity of the ideology and the extent to which a company attains consistent alignment with the ideology counts more than the content of the ideology”

• “Intentions are all fine and good, but it is the translation of those intentions into concrete items-mechanisms with teeth-that can make the difference between becoming a visionary company or forever remaining a wannabe”

• Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers

• “How can we improve ourselves to do better tomorrow than we did today?”

  Highlighted by 25 Kindle customers

• Having a great idea or being a charismatic visionary leader is “time telling”; building a company that can prosper far beyond the presence of any single leader and through multiple product life cycles is “clock building.”

  Highlighted by 16 Kindle customers

• It means spending less of your time thinking about specific product lines and market strategies, and spending more of your time thinking about organization design.

  Highlighted by 14 Kindle customers

• Our research indicates that the authenticity of the ideology and the extent to which a company attains consistent alignment with the ideology counts more than the content of the ideology.

  Highlighted by 14 Kindle customers

• The crucial variable is not the content of a company’s ideology, but how deeply it believes its ideology and how consistently it lives, breathes, and expresses it in all that it does. Visionary companies do not ask, “What should we value?” They ask, “What do we actually value deep down to our toes?”

  Highlighted by 13 Kindle customers

• We had to shift from seeing the company as a vehicle for the products to seeing the products as a vehicle for the company.

  Highlighted by 12 Kindle customers

• Those who built the visionary companies wisely understood that it is better to understand who you are than where you are going—for where you are going will almost certainly change.

  Highlighted by 12 Kindle customers

• One of the most important steps you can take in building a visionary company is not an action, but a shift in perspective.

  Highlighted by 9 Kindle customers

• Yet—and this is a key point—visionary companies display a remarkable resiliency, an ability to bounce back from adversity.

  Highlighted by 8 Kindle customers

• IF you are involved in building and managing an organization, the single most important point to take away from this book is the critical importance of creating tangible mechanisms aligned to preserve the core and stimulate progress. This is the essence of clock building.

  Highlighted by 7 Kindle customers

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• United States
• America
• Disneyland
• Japan
• Columbia
• Boeing

First Sentence edit see section history

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Jim Collins (Author)
2. Jerry I. Porras

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 658

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Business & Investing › Management & Leadership › Leadership
• Books › Business & Investing › Management & Leadership › Management
• Books › Business & Investing › Economics › Sustainable Development
• Books › Business & Investing › Management & Leadership › Strategy & Competition
• Books › Business & Investing › Biography & History › Company Profiles