Leadership

Ep 115: Taking Nonprofits From Good to Great – Part 2 (with Jim Collins)

by Joan Garry

In this episode, Jim Collins and I continue to explore the question of why some organizations thrive in uncertainty and chaos and others do not. Quite timely!

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Welcome to part II of my two part conversation with Jim Collins. In this second part, we discuss how to navigate uncertainty, disruption and chaos. Pretty timely, no?

We continue to explore the question of why some organizations thrive in uncertainty and chaos and others do not, using the research and principles in the book Great by Choice.

Jim and I talk about The Terra Nova Expedition, a story of two teams of polar explorers who in 1910-1913 went to Antarctica to reach the South Pole. Both were under the same harsh conditions. One team never made it back. Why? Collins contends that the successful team employed key leadership behaviors and approaches, and they map perfectly to what a modern day organization needs to do to survive and thrive. Lots to learn here.

If you are hungry to change the world it just might be you need a healthy dose of fanatical discipline, empirical creativity and productive paranoia. “What’s all that about?” you ask. Jim will tell you all about that and why you need to create a “do NOT do” list.

About Jim Collins

Jim Collins is a student and teacher of what makes great companies tick, and a Socratic advisor to leaders in the business and social sectors. He has authored or coauthored six books that have together sold 10+ million copies worldwide, including Good to Great, Good to Great and the Social Sectors, Built to Last, How the Mighty Fall, Great by Choice, and his most recent work Turning the Flywheel published in February 2019.

Driven by a relentless curiosity, Jim began his research and teaching career on the faculty at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he received the Distinguished Teaching Award in 1992. In 1995, he founded a management laboratory in Boulder, Colorado. In 2017, Forbes selected Jim as one of the 100 Greatest Living Business Minds. Jim, an avid rock climber for more than forty years, has completed single-day ascents of El Capitan and Half Dome in Yosemite Valley.

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