Great by Choice
by Jim Collins & Morten T. Hansen
Reviewed by: Ralph Bender, MBA, CFP®
Great by Choice is the third of Jim Collins’ books which I have read and enjoyed. This one struck me as being not only about building a business but about many of the principles which should apply in managing one’s personal net worth as well.
“10 Xers” is the moniker that Collins gives to the companies in this analysis that have outperformed their comparison companies by tenfold. They are led by decision-making that exhibits a tremendous amount of caution, conviction, perseverance, and knowledge.
Makes no mistake about it, 10X companies do have leaders with vision. But vision alone does not lead to success. It is vision coupled with an intelligently designed plan, and the characteristics mentioned above that make the difference. Oh, and something Collins calls “Return on Luck” – All companies have both good and bad luck, it’s what is done with those lucky (or unlucky) events that makes the difference.
As I was reading the book I felt that virtually everything could be applied as well to managing both portfolios and personal finances.
Reader experience: This book was read on the Kindle Paperwhite and my iPad 4 Kindle app. There are a number of tables in this book which are very cumbersome if not impossible to follow on the Kindle reader. For the tables, the added “real estate” of the iPad’s larger screen proved superior.
Review by Ralph Bender, MBA, CFP®
TRACKING #1-1-337663