"Good to Great" Book Review
Daniel Crosby • January 22, 2025
“Good to Great” by Jim Collins is a really fun read, at least it is if you’re a business, leadership, personal growth nerd like me.
He did an enormous research study about why some companies are good and why some go on to greatness. You’ll recognize nearly every company and brand he refers to.
But you don’t have to own or lead a business to gain value from this book. It’s easy to adapt the principles for personal growth as well.
Here are 3 snippets of principles he teaches:
First Who Then What – Focus on getting the right people on your team and then decide what direction you’re going to go. Personally, how about that in terms of dating and friendships? The people we surround ourselves with can either elevate or detract from our life goals.
Confront the Brutal Facts – Especially in the south, where I live, people want to be “nice.” In fact, they sometimes want to be so “nice” they end up lying right to your face. Part of success is finding the truth. How valuable in business and relationships would it be to have someone by your side who states the truth and confronts you with the facts every single time?
A Culture of Discipline – We’ve all admired people who seem to have immense self-discipline whether it’s work ethic or personal health. The same is true in business. Setting a standard and abiding by it is crucial to success of moving from good to great. When we waver on our standards that’s when we get shaky and lose focus.
So if you’re like me and your life is pretty good but you’d like for it to be truly great, then you have to go grab this one. “Good to Great” by Jim Collins.
Look for beautiful things when you're restless, uncomfortable, or on edge. There's something about acknowledging the good around us that helps us reset and realize that it's not all bad. If you're struggling to see beautiful things in the world, come see me and we can talk more about it. www.danielcrosbycounseling.com
“The Needs of the Heart” by Chip Dodd is a book that will blow your mind. When I picked it up, it’s a very small thin book. Less than 100 pages. I assumed I’d breeze through it in a couple of hours. About a month later I finished digesting it. The truth is we cannot fully live the life God has called us to unless we acknowledge that we do have needs, that these needs are good, and discover the healthy ways of meeting these needs. Chip takes common human needs like Security and Accomplishment and he unpacks what they really are pointing us to in his typical concise but brilliant depth. There’s no fluff here. With chapters just 3-4 pages each, you’re going to want to have a highlighter ready to underline, to ponder these topics, and maybe then to discuss them with someone you know and trust. You’ll come away from this book with a deeper sense what is already fulfilled within you and ones that might be lacking where you need to go do a deep dive with a lot of prayer and introspection. If you liked Chip’s book “The Voice of the Heart,” this is one is your next read. Go grab “The Needs of the Heart” by Chip Dodd.
Two ways a counselor might help you get uncomfortable and grow: 1. Systematic Desensitization is progressively working your way up to do harder things until you reach your goal and the hard things don't feel as hard anymore. 2. Flooding is when you conquer the struggle by going all in and confronting it head on. It's like teaching someone to swim by throwing them in the deep end of the pool. Could these things help you overcome some complacency? Come see me and we can talk more about it. www.danielcrosbycounseling.com
