Thoughts

Link: http://www.jimcollins.com/lib/articles/socialsectors.html

Jim Collins was one of the general session speakers at the National Performing Arts Convention in Denver last month. He had a few thoughts that I deeply resonated with. I’ll share them briefly:

• Greatness is not determined by circumstance (take Southwest Airlines as an example, consistent high performance despite overwhelming opposition).
• The model of good business is a model of averageness. Good is the enemy of greatness. The social sector is not the business sector and following the business model will produce only average results.
• Greatness is a cumulative process. Most overnight success stories in the arts are the cumulative effort of 20 or so years of work.
• Greatness requires excellence and excellence is produced through a culture of discipline.
• Money is not the measure of success in the social sector. Success is measured in other ways.
• If you have a "to do" list and no "not to do" or "stop doing" list you are not living a life of discipline.
• We need to define our values: "No matter what happens we are going to hold to these values." Traditions are not values.
• Choices are based on our values.
• Making a choice and keeping to it through discipline lead to greatness.

If you’re interested in hearing more of his thoughts, click the link above or check out his book: Good to Great in the Social Sector.