In 1994, Jim Collins co-authored the landmark title Built to Last followed by Good to Great in 2001. This month’s special edition of Fortune magazine features a piece by Collins.
A technology pundit told Collins that, “‘We live in an era when nothing can be built to last. Everything is in flux; nothing can sustain.’”
When looking at the Fortune 500 facts presented in the piece, that seems to be true:
* Of the 500 companies that appeared on the first list, in 1955, only 71 have a place on the list today. (The 1955 list included industrial companies only, whereas today’s list also includes service companies.)
* Some of the most powerful companies on today’s list–businesses like Intel, Microsoft, Apple, Dell, and Google–grew from zero to great upon entirely new technologies, bumping venerable old companies off the list. Robert Noyce invented the integrated circuit in 1958, three years after the first Fortune 500. Dozens of companies on this year’s list did not even exist in 1955.
* Some of the most celebrated companies in history no longer even appear on the 500, having fallen from great to good to gone from the list–companies like Scott Paper, Zenith, Rubbermaid, Chrysler, Teledyne, Warner Lambert, and Bethlehem Steel–most often because they gave up their independence, and sometimes because they outright died.
Jim counters those points with proof of endurance: P&G, started before the American Civil War, continues to succeed; as does Johnson & Johnson whose roots were planted back in 1886 and GE which has been around for over 100 years. Then there’s Nucor Steel who rose from near bankruptcy to the 151 spot on the Fortune 500 list (its story can be found in the out-of-print book, American Steel). Or Xerox which turned over profits of over $1 billion in 2007, a mere seven years after suffering losses of over $300 million.
Jim’s underlying message is that the environment is not responsible for a company’s success or failure. He points out that success or failure “depends more on what you do to yourself than on what the world does to you.”
The full article is available here.
On one of my recent pilgrimages to New York City, I re-discovered the art of tourism and decided to visit places I have not been to in a while. One of these was the United Nations. Upon entering the perimeters after the extensive security screening, you cannot help but be in awe over the countless number of conference rooms, offices, and works of art that the many countries have donated. India’s masterpiece in one the great hallways stands out in my memory, but all of the works represent not only the country involved in the U.N. but their people and culture as well. We are but one part of a great picture in more way than one, and visiting the U.N. puts it in perspective a hundred fold. The many rows upon rows of delegates that serve there are a reminder that one person can make a difference sometimes, no matter how big or massive their country is – everyone has a voice.
Following in the wake of 
Exposed: The Alpha Businessman’s Non-Feminine Ways by Andrea Learned
Andrea Learned is the co-author of 
As 
We have two new excerpts up on the blog devoted to excerpts, the 
The second excerpt is from 
The excerpt below is the first chapter–or “week” as the chapters are called–from the new book, 
the 1950s, research and variations of this initial research on the meaning of work posed the question: “Would you stop working if you won the lottery or inherited a substantial amount of money?” Over the course of time and even during shifts of social influences, more than 70 percent of people still state that they would continue working (R. Snir and I. Harpaz. “To Work or Not to Work: Non-Financial Employment Commitment and the Social Desirability Bias,” Journal of Social Psychology, 2002, pp. 635-644). Surprisingly, according to a 2004 Gallup poll, more than 70 percent of people are disengaged from their job. This disconnect between data underlies the tension that most of us have between the desire to draw fulfillment from our jobs and the challenges to achieving that fulfillment.
challenging, depending on your work environment, history, or outlook. Whatever the case, in order to make the most of your Job Spa, you will need to let go of what might be holding you back and take on a new angle. This is your time and opportunity for change. To make the most of this opportunity, you will need to be completely present, open-minded, and focused on your success. Engagement means you will walk down the corporate hallways with the following attitude: “I am 100 percent committed to my success. When you make this attitude shift, you start to see your work differently and the opportunities within it. You are intentionally crossing a threshold by making this commitment. Here’s what this means:
