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The Future: Why No Company Is Invincible Anymore

I have long admired Jim Collins and his book Good to Great. I once saw him speak about his “great” companies at a conference and was stunned by how he pulled everyone (including me) in the room into his gravitational force. Not many people can match Collins’ charisma and ability to captivate a room, but his faith in the seven characteristics of companies that went “from good to great” were incomplete. His book’s conclusion about what it takes for organizations to be “great,” by today’s standards, only takes you so far.

The world is much flatter now, so much faster, so much more connected. Perhaps that is why three of Collins’ “great” companies have gotten into significant trouble since his book ...

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