Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies
by: Jim Collins, Jerry I. Porras
List Price: $27.50
Prices subject to change.
Price: $18.15
You Save: $9.35 (34%)Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Amazon.com Review:
Built to Last became an instant business classic. Thisaudio abridgement is read by the authors, who alternatechapters. Collins is a bit breathlessly enthusiastic, but clear andinteresting; Porras, unfortunately, is poorly inflected andwooden. They set out to determine what's special about "visionary"companies--the Disneys, Wal-Marts, and Mercks, companies at the verytop of their game that have demonstrated longevity and great brandimage. The authors compare 18 "visionary" picks to a control group of"successful-but-second-rank" companies. Thus Disney is compared toColumbia Pictures, Ford to GM, and so on.
A central myth, accordingto the authors, is that visionary companies start with a great productand are pushed into the future by charismatic leaders. Usually false,Collins and Porras find. Much more important, and a much more tellingline of demarcation between a wild success like 3M and an also-ranlike Norton, is flexibility. 3M had no master plan, little structure,and no prima donnas. Instead it had an atmosphere in which brightpeople were not afraid to "try a lot of stuff and keep what works."
If you listen to this audiocassette on your daily commute, you maydiscover whether you are headed to a "visionary" place of work--and,if so, whether you are the kind of employee who fits your employer'svision. (Running time: two hours, two cassettes) --Richard Farr
Product Description:
"This is not a book about charismatic visionary leaders. It is not about visionary product concepts or visionary products or visionary market insights. Nor is it about just having a corporate vision. This is a book about something far more important, enduring, and substantial. This is a book about visionary companies." So write Jim Collins and Jerry Porras in this groundbreaking book that shatters myths, provides new insights, and gives practical guidance to those who would like to build landmark companies that stand the test of time.
Drawing upon a six-year research project at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Collins and Porras took eighteen truly exceptional and long-lasting companies -- they have an average age of nearly one hundred years and have outperformed the general stock market by a factor of fifteen since 1926 -- and studied each company in direct comparison to one of its top competitors. They examined the companies from their very beginnings to the present day -- as start-ups, as midsize companies, and as large corporations. Throughout, the authors asked: "What makes the truly exceptional companies different from other companies?"
What separates General Electric, 3M, Merck, Wal-Mart, Hewlett-Packard, Walt Disney, and Philip Morris from their rivals? How, for example, did Procter & Gamble, which began life substantially behind rival Colgate, eventually prevail as the premier institution in its industry? How was Motorola able to move from a humble battery repair business into integrated circuits and cellular communications, while Zenith never became dominant in anything other than TVs? How did Boeing unseat McDonnell Douglas as the world's best commercial aircraft company -- what did Boeing have that McDonnell Douglas lacked?
By answering such questions, Collins and Porras go beyond the incessant barrage of management buzzwords and fads of the day to discover timeless qualities that have consistently distinguished out-standing companies. They also provide inspiration to all executives and entrepreneurs by destroying the false but widely accepted idea that only charismatic visionary leaders can build visionary companies.
Filled with hundreds of specific examples and organized into a coherent framework of practical concepts that can be applied by managers and entrepreneurs at all levels, Built to Last provides a master blueprint for building organizations that will prosper long into the twenty-first century and beyond.
Built to Last became an instant business classic. Thisaudio abridgement is read by the authors, who alternatechapters. Collins is a bit breathlessly enthusiastic, but clear andinteresting; Porras, unfortunately, is poorly inflected andwooden. They set out to determine what's special about "visionary"companies--the Disneys, Wal-Marts, and Mercks, companies at the verytop of their game that have demonstrated longevity and great brandimage. The authors compare 18 "visionary" picks to a control group of"successful-but-second-rank" companies. Thus Disney is compared toColumbia Pictures, Ford to GM, and so on.
A central myth, accordingto the authors, is that visionary companies start with a great productand are pushed into the future by charismatic leaders. Usually false,Collins and Porras find. Much more important, and a much more tellingline of demarcation between a wild success like 3M and an also-ranlike Norton, is flexibility. 3M had no master plan, little structure,and no prima donnas. Instead it had an atmosphere in which brightpeople were not afraid to "try a lot of stuff and keep what works."
If you listen to this audiocassette on your daily commute, you maydiscover whether you are headed to a "visionary" place of work--and,if so, whether you are the kind of employee who fits your employer'svision. (Running time: two hours, two cassettes) --Richard Farr
Product Description:
"This is not a book about charismatic visionary leaders. It is not about visionary product concepts or visionary products or visionary market insights. Nor is it about just having a corporate vision. This is a book about something far more important, enduring, and substantial. This is a book about visionary companies." So write Jim Collins and Jerry Porras in this groundbreaking book that shatters myths, provides new insights, and gives practical guidance to those who would like to build landmark companies that stand the test of time.
Drawing upon a six-year research project at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Collins and Porras took eighteen truly exceptional and long-lasting companies -- they have an average age of nearly one hundred years and have outperformed the general stock market by a factor of fifteen since 1926 -- and studied each company in direct comparison to one of its top competitors. They examined the companies from their very beginnings to the present day -- as start-ups, as midsize companies, and as large corporations. Throughout, the authors asked: "What makes the truly exceptional companies different from other companies?"
What separates General Electric, 3M, Merck, Wal-Mart, Hewlett-Packard, Walt Disney, and Philip Morris from their rivals? How, for example, did Procter & Gamble, which began life substantially behind rival Colgate, eventually prevail as the premier institution in its industry? How was Motorola able to move from a humble battery repair business into integrated circuits and cellular communications, while Zenith never became dominant in anything other than TVs? How did Boeing unseat McDonnell Douglas as the world's best commercial aircraft company -- what did Boeing have that McDonnell Douglas lacked?
By answering such questions, Collins and Porras go beyond the incessant barrage of management buzzwords and fads of the day to discover timeless qualities that have consistently distinguished out-standing companies. They also provide inspiration to all executives and entrepreneurs by destroying the false but widely accepted idea that only charismatic visionary leaders can build visionary companies.
Filled with hundreds of specific examples and organized into a coherent framework of practical concepts that can be applied by managers and entrepreneurs at all levels, Built to Last provides a master blueprint for building organizations that will prosper long into the twenty-first century and beyond.
Alternate Versions:
Related Items:
- Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't
- Good to Great and the Social Sectors: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great
- First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently
- Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
- see more
Browse for similar items by category:
- Books » Specialty Stores » Custom Stores » Qualifying Textbooks » General AAS
- Books » Subjects » Business & Investing » Biography & History » Company Profiles
- Books » Subjects » Business & Investing » Economics » Sustainable Development
- Books » Subjects » Business & Investing » Management & Leadership » Leadership
- Books » Subjects » Business & Investing » Management & Leadership » Management
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- Great Analysis of Solid Businesses
This book is a great example of a useful business book. The authors back up all of their findings with solid data and they write it in such a way that it can be read in one sitting. Along with Good to Great, by James Collins, this book is one of the premier business books of the new century. Relevant and informative, I can't say enough good things. As a business owner, it is so refreshing to see a book that realizes the value of a stable team of executives and the importance of strong business ... Read More
Rating: - Business Manager
This is a wonderful book. I used this book for my staff training. How people will buy into the company's philosophy is a key to grow the business as by-product.
Rating: 
- An Oldie but Goodie
Built To Last was published more than ten years ago, and some of its examples of "enduring companies" may seem a bit out of place when you think about how the companies are doing today [Citibank being perhaps the worst example].But the lessons are still potent, and maybe even help explain the fall form grace of companies like Citi, they lost touch with their core ideology and enduring values; they chased profits without real purpose, and it cost them their legacy.
Rating: - Surprisingly insightful - even on a personal level
"Built to Last," in a nutshell, tries to extract the reason for success behind some of the greatest corporate success stories in American history. What do companies like 3M, Boeing, Sony, and Hewlett-Packard have in common, and what made them rise above the pack and keep enduring?
The idea that this subject could extract principles that apply to any organization, from Exxon-Mobil down to an individual person running a small, self-employed business, and that this book is so highly respected ... Read More
Rating: 
- Built to last
Built ot last is the copy of in search of excellence.
I do not know why he copied it and get away with it.
Thanks
- Great Analysis of Solid BusinessesThis book is a great example of a useful business book. The authors back up all of their findings with solid data and they write it in such a way that it can be read in one sitting. Along with Good to Great, by James Collins, this book is one of the premier business books of the new century. Relevant and informative, I can't say enough good things. As a business owner, it is so refreshing to see a book that realizes the value of a stable team of executives and the importance of strong business ... Read More
- Business ManagerThis is a wonderful book. I used this book for my staff training. How people will buy into the company's philosophy is a key to grow the business as by-product.
- An Oldie but GoodieBuilt To Last was published more than ten years ago, and some of its examples of "enduring companies" may seem a bit out of place when you think about how the companies are doing today [Citibank being perhaps the worst example].But the lessons are still potent, and maybe even help explain the fall form grace of companies like Citi, they lost touch with their core ideology and enduring values; they chased profits without real purpose, and it cost them their legacy.
- Surprisingly insightful - even on a personal level"Built to Last," in a nutshell, tries to extract the reason for success behind some of the greatest corporate success stories in American history. What do companies like 3M, Boeing, Sony, and Hewlett-Packard have in common, and what made them rise above the pack and keep enduring?
The idea that this subject could extract principles that apply to any organization, from Exxon-Mobil down to an individual person running a small, self-employed business, and that this book is so highly respected ... Read More
- Built to lastBuilt ot last is the copy of in search of excellence.
I do not know why he copied it and get away with it.
Thanks
