Good to Great

“Good is the enemy of great. And that is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great.” 

Collins argues that most companies never achieve greatness because they settle for being good. However, Collins also defines greatness in very pragmatic terms—specifically, through the lens of returns on financial investment when compared to the general stock market, which is by no means a universally accepted definition of greatness. For example, other companies might prioritize their environmental footprints over profits.

“Can a good company become a great company, and, if so, how? Or is the disease of ‘just being good’ incurable?” 

This is a genuine question that Collins seeks to answer in this book, as this inquiry leads to the research that defined the qualities of a company that transcends “goodness” and moves into “greatness.” Collins defines “just being good” as a disease, casting a company’s lack of greatness (as he has defined it) in highly negative terms.

“There is nothing I find more exciting than picking a question that I don’t know the answer to and embarking on a quest for answers.” 

This passage serves as Collins’s own explanation for the motivation behind the book. The journey of discovery and answers here refers to the inquiry behind the central premise of the book: whether there are common factors that unite companies that underwent a transformation from good to great.