First published 2009
Jim Collins tackles a crucial business question: why do successful companies fail? Through more than four years of research, Collins identifies five sequential stages that mark corporate decline. The first stage involves hubris stemming from success. Companies then pursue growth without discipline. They deny mounting risks and dangers. Desperate measures follow as organizations grasp for salvation. Finally comes surrender to irrelevance or death. Collins demonstrates that decline can be spotted early and prevented. Companies can reverse their downward trajectory even after reaching advanced stages of failure. The research reveals that organizational collapse is typically self-imposed rather than caused by external forces. Recovery remains possible as long as companies stay in the game. Collins provides business leaders with concrete frameworks for recognizing warning signs and implementing corrective action before decline becomes irreversible.
Genres: business, self-help, non-fiction, organizational-culture
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: non-fiction, self-help
240 pages · Hardcover · JimCollins