Good to Great - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Good to Great

Chapter 2 – Level 5 leadership

• “Best example of taking a good company and making it great”
• CEO of Kimberly-Clark 20 Years
• Stock Returns 4.1 times higher during his time
• Not a typical leader but used Level 5 Leadership

“Level 5” Refers to a five-level hierarchy of executive capabilities with Level 5 at the top.

Humility + Will = Level 5

“Level 5 Leaders are ambitious… first and foremost for the company, not themselves”

“Leadership is the answer to everything” is like saying “God is the answer to everything”

• Where did Level 5 Come From?
• Collins ignored executives
• Team Disagreed
• Found that Level 5 Leadership was consistent in all great companies
• Comparison companies lacked Level 5 Leadership

• Key part in making business sustainable and ultimately making the business great.
• Ambition first and foremost for the company and concern for its success rather than one’s own riches and personal renown.
• In over 3 quarters of the comparison companies successors were setup for failure, or chose weak successors, or both.

• Not to be confused with false modesty
• Great leaders tended to place more emphasis on others and the company, rather than themselves.
• Did not take credit for themselves, even where it was due.
• “Seemingly ordinary people producing extraordinary results.”

• Level 5 leaders are driven to produce results
• You must be willing to do whatever it takes
• Promoting from within = stronger resolve

• Level 5 leaders look out the window to apportion credit to factors outside themselves when things go well
• At the same time, they look in the mirror to apportion responsibility, never blaming bad luck when things go poorly
• Simplified, they accept blame for bad, and give credit to others for good.

• Modesty & Humility
• Someone who does not care about the credit
• Accepts blame for failures – but does not give up
• Will
• Direct ambitions towards companies’ goals first and foremost
• Strong Resolve

• Tend to be introverts
• Less charismatic
• Highly motivated (not really atypical)
• Motivated more by success of company than themselves