Jim Collins
& Morten Hansen, Great by Choice--Uncertainty,
Chaos, and Luck--Why Some Thrive Despite Them All
“Jim
Collins’ Great by Choice study shows that whether we prevail or fail, endure or
die, depends more upon on what we do, than on what the world does to us.” We
all make mistakes, but we can also self-correct, survive, and build greatness.
I used Jim Collins’ nine years of research on why some companies flourish in
uncertainty and others do not to guide my thinking on how to create a leading
teaching and learning system for all students and staff.
Collins
clarified that successful leaders are not bold risk takers, but observers of
what is working and figuring out why it works and build upon these proven
foundations. It reminded me of the work of Douglas Reeves, a noted expert on
education and school reform and author of the Leadership and Learning
Antecedents of Excellence Matric. Reeves work builds clarity on how good
results with clear understanding of the reasons why it work is “Leading” rather
than “Lucky.” Even poor results with a clear understanding of the reason is a
“Learning” opportunity rather than a “Losing” prospect.
Collins
work helps define how leaders can influence growth and achievement with
fantastic discipline, productive paranoia, and empirical creativity. This true
self-discipline requires having the inner will to do whatever it takes to
create a great outcome, no matter how difficult. During times of change or
uncertainty they look to engage directly with the evidence and rely upon
observations to determine how to best proceed with the genius of the AND, not
the OR. The leaders of enduring great systems are comfortable with paradox, having
the ability to embrace two opposing ideas in the mind as the same time and
still retain the ability to function well.
They
found extensive evidence of having both:
Discipline and Creative,
Imperial Validation and Bold Moves,
Prudence and Big Hairy Audacious Goals,
Paranoid and Courageous,
Furiously Ambitious and NOT Ego Centric,
Performance Standards with No Excuses and Never
Going Too Far,
to become
“Great by Choice.”
