Essay on the Obstacle to Greatness

Many books have been published about success that are based on lessons learnt. Peoples accomplishments can teach us lessons about the value of hard work, perseverance and never giving up. Its incredibly easy to find a brand of leadership and stick to it, without taking into consideration how you can advance and expand your abilities. However, even the greatest leaders can learn a thing or two about how to motivate and encourage their team members. Luckily, some of the biggest and brightest frontrunners throughout history left behind some great examples to help lead the way.

For instance, what makes Tiger Woods great in the history of sports? He simply came into the world with a skill for doing precisely what he ended up doing. No one is born a CEO, a tennis player or an investor. We attain greatness only through a massive amount of hard work over numerous years (Colvin). Also not just any hard work, but a particular type of work that is challenging and painful.

Berkshire Hathaway, the chairman for Warren Buffet which is the world's leading investor, is also renowned for his discipline and the number of hours he spends learning and reviewing financial reports of prospective investment targets. The lack of an individuals natural gift is irrelevant, which means talent has little or absolutely nothing to do with being great. You can work towards achieving anything you want and make yourself great.

Jim Collins is well-known as one of the most significant consultants in the management field, establishing his integrity with the famous Good to Great: Why Some Firms Make the Leap...while Others Dont (J. C. Collins). Also, it is now extensively considered as a contemporary characteristic of management theory.

Good is the Enemy of Great-Chapter 1

This section presents the story of Jim Collinss investigation team, their approach, and in brief, describes the main findings outlined in the book. The study shows real-world knowledge within a structure to teach leaders and book lovers on how to grow and develop practically any business to the next level. Despite the fact that greatness is not assured, those who carefully apply these teachings will be thriving on their way.

The most significant aspect of the selection procedure was a period of development and continued achievement that far overtook the market or business average. Centered on the specified standards, the firms that were carefully chosen for inclusion were Abbott, Circuit City, Kimberly-Clark, Nucor, Pitney Bowes, Walgreens, as well as Wells Fargo among others (Collins).Jim Collins postulates that good is the enemy of great as many individuals tend to merely settle for good regarding the lives they live, learning institutions, government administrations as well as businesses.

Collins similarly offers a few of the most important discoveries garnered from the study. Of specific note are the numerous signs that issues such as manager reimbursement, technology, unions, and acquisitions, as well as change management enterprises played comparatively minor roles in nurturing the Good to the Great procedure. Collins found that achievements which he terms as well-organized people, well-organized thought, as well as disciplined action, were possibly the most substantial aspects in determining a firms ability to attain greatness.

A lot of us stunt our development and stop ourselves from accomplishing what we want by having a fixed mentality. Our thinking needs to change from I cant to I can. What we trust, we can accomplish, and we certainly prosper.

Works Cited

Collins, James C. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't. 16 October 2001. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/76865.Good_to_Great#other_reviews.

Collins, James Charles. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don't. Random House Business, 2001. Book.

Colvin, Geoffrey. Fortune: Secrets of Greatness. 19 October 2006. http://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/10/30/8391794/index.htm.