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All 16 learnings · one per slide
Built to
Last
Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras, in bytes
16 key learnings on the habits of visionary companies that endure for generations.
16 learnings · ~40 sec eachSwipe →
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Built to Last, in bytes
16 key learnings from Jim Collins and Jerry Porras's study of visionary companies compared with similar rivals. Each takes about 40 seconds to read. Swipe, use the arrows, or your keyboard.
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Learning 1
Clock Building, Not Time Telling
The idea
Visionary founders build organisations that keep producing great ideas, rather than relying on one great idea or leader.
Example
HP's founders focused on building a company that innovates, rather than on one product.
Takeaway
Build the system, not just the product.
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Learning 2
Myths of Visionary Companies
The idea
Visionary companies didn't need a great idea or charismatic leader to start, and profit wasn't their only goal.
Example
Several started without a clear product: Sony's first product, a rice cooker, failed.
Takeaway
Many assumptions about success are wrong.
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Learning 3
The Research
The idea
Collins and Porras compared 18 visionary companies with comparison companies in the same industries over decades.
Example
Pairs such as Ford vs GM, Merck vs Pfizer and HP vs Texas Instruments.
Takeaway
Comparison reveals what's different.
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Learning 4
Core Ideology
The idea
Enduring companies have core values and a purpose beyond profit that stay constant.
Example
Johnson & Johnson's Credo guiding decisions for decades.
Takeaway
Values give stability while everything else changes.
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Learning 5
Purpose Beyond Profit
Example
Merck's purpose of preserving and improving human life guided decisions, including giving away a drug for river blindness.
Why it matters
Profit followed: purpose-driven companies outperformed their rivals over the long run.
Takeaway
Purpose can guide hard choices.
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Learning 6
Preserve the Core, Stimulate Progress
The idea
Keep core values fixed while changing strategies and practices constantly.
Example
Disney kept its values while moving from cartoons to theme parks and beyond.
Takeaway
Know what never changes, and change everything else.
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Learning 7
Big Hairy Audacious Goals
The idea
BHAGs are bold, clear goals that energise people, like Boeing betting on the 707 jet.
Example
Boeing bet the company on building the 707 for commercial aviation.
Try this
Write one 10-to-30-year goal for your team.
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Learning 8
BHAGs Energise
The idea
A good BHAG is clear, compelling and needs little explanation.
Example
Sony's goal to change the image of Japanese products as poor quality.
Try this
Say your goal in one sentence and see if people get it instantly.
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Learning 9
Cult-Like Cultures
The idea
Visionary companies have strong cultures where people either fit tightly or leave.
Example
Nordstrom's employees knew exactly what extraordinary service meant there.
Takeaway
Culture is a choice about fit.
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Learning 10
Indoctrination
The idea
Visionary companies teach their values intensively, through training, language and stories.
Example
Disney's training for new staff.
Takeaway
Teach values, don't just post them.
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Learning 11
Try a Lot, Keep What Works
The idea
Many breakthroughs come from experimentation and happy accidents, not grand plans.
Example
3M's culture of experimentation produced Post-it Notes.
Takeaway
Make room for experiments.
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Learning 12
Branching and Pruning
The idea
Companies evolve by trying variations and keeping what works, like natural selection.
Example
3M let employees spend some time on their own projects.
Takeaway
Experiment widely.
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Learning 13
Home-Grown Leaders
The idea
Visionary companies tend to promote insiders who understand the culture.
Example
GE's leaders, like Jack Welch, came from within the company.
Takeaway
Develop leaders from within.
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Learning 14
Good Enough Never Is
The idea
They create discomfort with the status quo and keep improving.
Example
Motorola and Marriott kept raising their own standards.
Takeaway
Build in a drive to get better.
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Learning 15
The Genius of AND
The idea
Reject the 'tyranny of OR'. Pursue profit and purpose, stability and change, at the same time.
Example
Merck pursued both science-driven purpose and strong profits.
Takeaway
Look for both, not either.
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Learning 16
Building the Vision
The idea
Articulate core values, purpose and an envisioned future.
Example
Purpose like Merck's 'to preserve and improve human life' lasts for generations.
Try this
Write your team's core values in three sentences.
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All 16 learnings complete
That’s all 16 learnings.
Visionary companies preserve the core and stimulate progress. What's your core, and what should change?
Abhay Kumar JaiswalFCA · PMP® · Workday Financeabhayjaiswal.com
Summaries in my own words. Read the book for the full stories.
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Summaries are written in my own words for learning. Read Built to Last by Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras (1994) for the full stories. More Books in Bytes