Jim Collins & Great by Choice

Mark Olson, SpringHill’s former President, was the first to introduce Jim Collins and his work to SpringHill through the book Built to Last.

It was in reading Built to Last that I became a fan of Jim Collins, and it certainly wouldn’t be far off to say, over the years, that I’ve become a disciple of Jim Collin’s research/writing. Since Built to Last, I’ve read all his books, have had our key leaders read his books, then continued the practice Mark started of applying the books’ principles to SpringHill.

After 15 years and 5 books, both Collins’ concepts and terminology have become part of the SpringHill culture. Read our strategic/ministry plan and you’ll see how Collins’ work has impacted and influenced SpringHill.

In an effort to avoid becoming an organization that is always chasing the “flavor of the day” we’ve been intentional about staying consistent in using Collins’s concepts and terminology. We acknowledge there are other good management consultants who use different terminology and have their own twist on strategic and leadership concepts. But we believe it’s counterproductive to switch, mix and change language within a culture, in the name of being cutting edge, when the underlying principles are similar or the same.

Finally we’ve stayed with Collins and his work because, unlike so many other experts and their books, the concepts derive from rigorous research not anecdotal evidence, opinion or folk-lore.

Which brings me to Collins’ new book (written with Morten T. Hansen) – Great by Choice, it’s another “great” work based on “great” research. Many of SpringHill leaders have already read it and a number of our department teams, including my leadership team, have plans to carry out the appropriate concepts into SpringHill.

So once again, Collins provides timely and relevant insight for organizations and leaders looking to stay or become “great”. I highly recommend it.