Moving from "7 Habits" to "Good to Great"

As I mentioned when I began blogging about the book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, I was asked to read 4 books on leadership by CCC, in order to develop in that area. I just finished reading 7 Habits and so now I am moving onto a book called Good to Great by Jim Collins. The subititle of this book is, "Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't"

The general theme of this books seems to be contained in the opening lines:

Good is the enemy of Great. And that is one of the main reasons why we have so
little that becomes great. We don't have great schools, principally because we
have good schools. We don't have great government, principally because we have
good government. Few people attain great lives, in large part because it is
so easy to settle for a good life. The vast majority of
companies never become great, precisely because the vast
majority become quite good - and that is their main problem.

The first chapter outlines the process the author took in making this book. He wanted to study various companies that became great, and how that happened in order to squeeze out some principles that could be applied elsewhere. He ended up finding 11 companies, that after 15 years of being good, made a jump to become great, and then have lasted at least 15 years being great. He also found 11 other companies for direct comparison, meaning that they are in the same field of business as the corresponding good to great company, and had similar resources, etc, but never made the jump to great. He also found 6 unsustained good to great comapanies, which after a year or two of greatness, fizzled back down to being good.

The goal of reading this book for myself is to find and apply some of these principles that the author finds, in order to become greater in ministry, as well as life in general. Again, as with the 7 Habits, I hope to blog about some of the key things I am reading. I know what you are saying... Boring... but what can I say...It'll help me remeber what I am learning, and if I am just reading without applying, then I am not taking heed to the words of James 1:22-25:

22But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
23For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who
looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24For he looks at himself
and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25But the one who looks
into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer
who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing

I know the author is refering to the law, but I think there is definatly an applicable principle here for us all.

Anyways, I will leave it at that, here comes "Good to Great"!