Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck--Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 1

Entrenched myth: Successful leaders in a turbulent world are bold, risk-seeking visionaries. Contrary finding: The best leaders we studied did not have a visionary ability to predict the future. They observed what worked, figured out why it worked, and built upon proven foundations.

Answer 1

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 2

Innovation by itself turns out not to be the trump card we expected; more important is the ability to scale innovation, to blend creativity with discipline.

Answer 2

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 3

Entrenched myth: A threat-filled world favors the speedy; you’re either the quick or the dead. Contrary finding: The idea that leading in a “fast world” always requires “fast decisions” and “fast action”—and that we should embrace an overall ethos of “Fast! Fast! Fast!”—is a good way to get killed. 10X leaders figure out when to go fast, and when not to.

Answer 3

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 4

Entrenched myth: Radical change on the outside requires radical change on the inside. Contrary finding: The 10X cases changed less in reaction to their changing world than the comparison cases.

Answer 4

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 5

Peter Drucker taught, the best—perhaps even the only—way to predict the future is to create it.10

Answer 5

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 6

2 10XERS

Answer 6

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 7

“Victory awaits him who has everything in order—luck people call it. Defeat is certain for him who has neglected to take the necessary precautions in time; this is called bad luck.” —Roald Amundsen, The South Pole

Answer 7

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 8

Amundsen’s philosophy: You don’t wait until you’re in an unexpected storm to discover that you need more strength and endurance.

Answer 8

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 9

You prepare with intensity, all the time, so that when conditions turn against you, you can draw from a deep reservoir of strength. And equally, you prepare so that when conditions turn in your favor, you can strike hard.

Answer 9

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 10

DIFFERENT BEHAVIORS, NOT DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES

Answer 10

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 11

Let’s first look at what we did not find about 10Xers relative to their less successful comparisons. They’re not more creative. They’re not more visionary. They’re not more charismatic. They’re not more ambitious. They’re not more blessed by luck. They’re not more risk seeking. They’re not more heroic. They’re not more prone to making big, bold moves. To be clear, we’re not saying that 10Xers lacked creative intensity, ferocious ambition, or the courage to bet big. They displayed all these traits, but so did their less successful comparisons.

Answer 11

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 12

On the one hand, 10Xers understand that they face continuous uncertainty and that they cannot control, and cannot accurately predict, significant aspects of the world around them. On the other hand, 10Xers reject the idea that forces outside their control or chance events will determine their results; they accept full responsibility for their own fate. 10Xers then bring this idea to life by a triad of core behaviors: fanatic discipline, empirical creativity, and productive paranoia.

Answer 12

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 13

Fanatic discipline keeps 10X enterprises on track, empirical creativity keeps them vibrant, productive paranoia keeps them alive, and Level 5 ambition provides inspired motivation.

Answer 13

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 14

FANATIC DISCIPLINE

Answer 14

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 15

Discipline, in essence, is consistency of action—consistency with values, consistency with long-term goals, consistency with performance standards, consistency of method, consistency over time. Discipline is not the same as regimentation. Discipline is not the same as measurement. Discipline is not the same as hierarchical obedience or adherence to bureaucratic rules.

Answer 15

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 16

For a 10Xer, the only legitimate form of discipline is self-discipline, having the inner will to do whatever it takes to create a great outcome, no matter how difficult.

Answer 16

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 17

10Xers are utterly relentless, monomaniacal even, unbending in their focus on their quests. They don’t overreact to events, succumb to the herd, or leap for alluring—but irrelevant—opportunities.

Answer 17

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 18

The 10Xers, we concluded, weren’t just disciplined; they were fanatics.

Answer 18

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 19

He wasn’t weird to be weird; he was behaving with outlandish consistency to animate the culture, like an impactful actor who stays perfectly in character while on stage.

Answer 19

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 20

Both Kelleher and Lewis, like all the 10Xers we studied, were nonconformists in the best sense. They started with values, purpose, long-term goals, and severe performance standards; and they had the fanatic discipline to adhere to them. If that required them to diverge from normal behavior, then so be it. They didn’t let external pressures, or even social norms, knock them off course. In an uncertain and unforgiving environment, following the madness of crowds is a good way to get killed.

Answer 20

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 21

EMPIRICAL CREATIVITY

Answer 21

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 22

Social psychology research indicates that at times of uncertainty, most people look to other people—authority figures, peers, group norms—for their primary cues about how to proceed.16 10Xers, in contrast, do not look to conventional wisdom to set their course during times of uncertainty, nor do they primarily look to what other people do, or to what pundits and experts say they should do. They look primarily to empirical evidence.

Answer 22

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 23

The 10Xers did not generally make bolder moves than their less successful comparisons; both groups made big bets and, when needed, took dramatic action. Nor did the 10Xers exude more raw confidence than the comparison leaders; indeed, the comparison leaders were often brazenly self-confident. But the 10Xers had a much deeper empirical foundation for their decisions and actions, which gave them well-founded confidence and bounded their risk.

Answer 23

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 24

The 10Xers don’t favor analysis over action; they favor empiricism as the foundation for decisive action.

Answer 24

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 25

despite their empirical confidence, 10Xers never feel safe or comfortable; indeed, they remain afraid—terrified, even—of what the world can throw at them. So, they prepare to meet head-on what they most fear, which brings us to the third core behavior.

Answer 25

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 26

PRODUCTIVE PARANOIA

Answer 26

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 27

“Fear should guide you, but it should be latent,” Gates said in 1994. “I consider failure on a regular basis.”

Answer 27

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 28

Anyone who understood Gates would’ve known that the memo didn’t signal a change; he’d always lived in fear, always felt vulnerable, and he would continue to do so. “If I really believed this stuff about our invincibility,” he said the year after the nightmare memo, “I suppose I would take more vacations.”

Answer 28

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 29

10Xers differ from their less successful comparisons in how they maintain hypervigilance in good times as well as bad. Even in calm, clear, positive conditions, 10Xers constantly consider the possibility that events could turn against them at any moment. Indeed, they believe that conditions will—absolutely, with 100 percent certainty—turn against them without warning, at some unpredictable point in time, at some highly inconvenient moment. And they’d better be prepared.

Answer 29

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 30

10Xers have a consistent pattern. By embracing the myriad of possible dangers, they put themselves in a superior position to overcome danger.

Answer 30

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 31

10Xers distinguish themselves not by paranoia per se, but by how they take effective action as a result. Paranoid behavior is enormously functional if fear is channeled into extensive preparation and calm, clearheaded action, hence our term “productive paranoia.”

Answer 31

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 32

LEVEL 5 AMBITION

Answer 32

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 33

10Xers channel their ego and intensity into something larger and more enduring than themselves.

Answer 33

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 34

In Good to Great, we wrote about Level 5 leaders, those who lead with a powerful mixture of personal humility plus professional will.

Answer 34

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 35

emergence of a Level 5 leader who deflected attention from himself, maintained a low profile, and led with inspired standards rather than inspiring personality.

Answer 35

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 36

The 10Xers share Level 5 leaders’ most important trait: they’re incredibly ambitious, but their ambition is first and foremost for the cause, for the company, for the work, not themselves. Whereas Good to Great focused heavily on the humility aspect of Level 5 leaders, this work highlights their sheer ferocity of will.

Answer 36

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 37

The central question is, “What are you in it for?” 10X leaders can be bland or colorful, uncharismatic or magnetic, understated or flamboyant, normal to the point of dull, or just flat-out weird—none of this really matters, as long as they’re passionately driven for a cause beyond themselves.

Answer 37

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 38

Every 10Xer we studied aimed for much more than just “becoming successful.” They didn’t define themselves by money. They didn’t define themselves by fame. They didn’t define themselves by power. They defined themselves by impact and contribution and purpose.

Answer 38

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 39

“All Bill’s ego goes into Microsoft.

Answer 39

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 40

we found no consistent pattern in the backgrounds of 10Xers relative to the comparison leaders. 10Xers can come from tough upbringings or they can come from privileged lives or something in the middle. Nor did we find that they necessarily started as 10Xers; some of the 10Xers evolved, developing their leadership capabilities over time.

Answer 40

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 41

CHAPTER SUMMARY 10XERS KEY POINTS ► We named the winning protagonists in our research “10Xers” (pronounced “ten-EX-ers”) because they built enterprises that beat their industry’s averages by at least 10 times. ► The contrast between Amundsen and Scott in their epic race to the South Pole is an ideal analogy for our research question, and a remarkably good illustration of the differences between 10Xers and their comparison companies. ► Clear-eyed and stoic, 10Xers accept, without complaint, that they face forces beyond their control, that they cannot accurately predict events, and that nothing is certain; yet they utterly reject the idea that luck, chaos, or any other external factor will determine whether they succeed or fail. ► 10Xers display three core behaviors that, in combination, distinguish them from the leaders of the less successful comparison companies: • Fanatic discipline: 10Xers display extreme consistency of action—consistency with values, goals, performance standards, and methods. They are utterly relentless, monomaniacal, unbending in their focus on their quests. • Empirical creativity: When faced with uncertainty, 10Xers do not look primarily to other people, conventional wisdom, authority figures, or peers for direction; they look primarily to empirical evidence. They rely upon direct observation, practical experimentation, and direct engagement with tangible evidence. They make their bold, creative moves from a sound empirical base. • Productive paranoia: 10Xers maintain hypervigilance, staying highly attuned to threats and changes in their environment, even when—especially when—all’s going well. They assume conditions will turn against them, at perhaps the worst possible moment. They channel their fear and worry into action, preparing, developing contingency plans, building buffers, and maintaining large margins of safety. ► Underlying the three core 10Xer behaviors is a motivating force: passion and ambition for a cause or company larger than themselves. They have egos, but their egos are channeled into their companies and their purposes, not personal aggrandizement. UNEXPECTED FINDINGS ► Fanatic discipline is not the same as regimentation, measurement, obedience to authority, adherence to social stricture, or compliance with bureaucratic rules. True discipline requires mental independence, and an ability to remain consistent in the face of herd instinct and social pressures. Fanatic discipline often means being a nonconformist. ► Empirical creativity gives 10Xers a level of confidence that, to outsiders, can look like foolhardy boldness; in fact, empirical validation allows them to simultaneously make bold moves and bound their risk. Being empirical doesn’t mean being indecisive. 10Xers don’t favor analysis over action; they favor empiricism as the foundation for decisive action. ► Productive paranoia enables creative action. By presuming worst-case scenarios and preparing for them, 10Xers minimize the chances… Some highlights have been hidden or truncated due to export limits.

Answer 41

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 42

3 20 MILE MARCH Freely chosen, discipline is absolute freedom. —Ron Serino

Answer 42

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 43

Stryker had an equally important self-imposed constraint: to never go too far, to never grow too much in a single year.

Answer 43

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 44

if you want to achieve consistent performance, you need both parts of a 20 Mile March: a lower bound and an upper bound, a hurdle that you jump over and a ceiling that you will not rise above, the ambition to achieve and the self-control to hold back.

Answer 44

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 45

The 20 Mile March is more than a philosophy. It’s about having concrete, clear, intelligent, and rigorously pursued performance mechanisms that keep you on track. The 20 Mile March creates two types of self-imposed discomfort: (1) the discomfort of unwavering commitment to high performance in difficult conditions, and (2) the discomfort of holding back in good conditions.

Answer 45

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 46

Here also we have a publicly traded company willing to leave growth on the table.

Answer 46

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 47

ELEMENTS OF A GOOD 20 MILE MARCH A good 20 Mile March uses performance markers that delineate a lower bound of acceptable achievement. These create productive discomfort, much like hard physical training or rigorous mental development, and must be challenging (but not impossible) to achieve in difficult times. A good 20 Mile March has self-imposed constraints. This creates an upper bound for how far you’ll march when facing robust opportunity and exceptionally good conditions. These constraints should also produce discomfort in the face of pressures and fears that you should be going faster and doing more. A good 20 Mile March is tailored to the enterprise and its environment. There’s no all-purpose 20 Mile March for all enterprises. Southwest’s march wouldn’t apply to Intel. A sports team’s march wouldn’t apply to an Army platoon leader. An Army platoon leader’s march wouldn’t apply to a school. A good 20 Mile March lies largely within your control to achieve. A good 20 Mile March has a Goldilocks time frame, not too short and not too long but just right. Make the timeline of the march too short, and you’ll be more exposed to uncontrollable variability; make the timeline too long, and it loses power. A good 20 Mile March is designed and self-imposed by the enterprise, not imposed from the outside or blindly copied from others. For instance, to simply accept “earnings per share” as the focus of a march because Wall Street looks at earnings per share would lack rigor, reflecting no clarity about the underlying performance drivers in a specific enterprise. A good 20 Mile March must be achieved with great consistency. Good intentions do not count.

Answer 47

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 48

It means we say that we’d rather be consistently growing…than be hot for one year and then gone the next.”

Answer 48

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 49

If they missed it even once, they obsessed over what they needed to do to get back on track: There’s no excuse, and it’s up to us to correct for our failures, period.

Answer 49

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 50

The 20 Mile March imposes order amidst disorder, consistency amidst swirling inconsistency. But it works only if you actually achieve your march year after year. If you set a 20 Mile March and then fail to achieve it—or worse, abandon fanatic discipline altogether—you may well get crushed by events.

Answer 50

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 51

WHY 20 MILE MARCHERS WIN 20 Mile Marching helps turn the odds in your favor for three reasons: 1. It builds confidence in your ability to perform well in adverse circumstances. 2. It reduces the likelihood of catastrophe when you’re hit by turbulent disruption. 3. It helps you exert self-control in an out-of-control environment.

Answer 51

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 52

Accomplishing a 20 Mile March, consistently, in good times and bad, builds confidence. Tangible achievement in the face of adversity reinforces the 10X perspective: we are ultimately responsible for improving performance. We never blame circumstance; we never blame the environment.

Answer 52

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 53

They gained confidence by the very fact of increasing achievement. If you beat the odds, you then gain confidence that you can beat the odds again, which then builds confidence that you can beat the odds again, and again, and again.

Answer 53

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 54

If you deplete your resources, run yourself to exhaustion, and then get caught at the wrong moment by an external shock, you can be in serious trouble. By sticking with your 20 Mile March, you reduce the chances of getting crippled by a big, unexpected shock. Every 10X winner pulled further ahead of its less successful comparison company during turbulent times. Ferocious instability favors the 20 Mile Marchers. This is when they really shine.

Answer 54

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 55

Failure to 20 Mile March in an uncertain and unforgiving environment can set you up for catastrophe. Every comparison case had an episode in its history in which failing to 20 Mile March led to a devastating outcome. In contrast, only two 10X companies had episodes of failing to 20 Mile March, and neither of these episodes led to catastrophe because the 10X companies self-corrected before a storm could rise up and kill them.

Answer 55

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 56

You can get away with failing to 20 Mile March in stable times for a while, but doing so leaves you weak and undisciplined, and therefore exposed when unstable times come. And they will always come.

Answer 56

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 57

Like Amundsen and his team, the 10Xers and their companies use their 20 Mile Marches as a way to exert self-control, even when afraid or tempted by opportunity. Having a clear 20 Mile March focuses the mind; because everyone on the team knows the markers and their importance, they can stay on track.

Answer 57

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 58

20 Mile Marching can help you turn underachievement into superior achievement; so long as you stay alive and in the game, it’s never too late to start the march. Second, searching for—and even finding—the Next Big Thing does not in itself make a great company.

Answer 58

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 59

If you always search for the Next Big Thing, that’s largely what you’ll end up doing—always searching for the Next Big Thing. The 10X cases did not generally have better opportunities than the comparisons, but they made more of their opportunities by 20 Mile Marching to the extreme. They never forgot: the Next Big Thing just might be the Big Thing you already have.

Answer 59

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 60

CHAPTER SUMMARY 20 MILE MARCH KEY POINTS ► The 20 Mile March was a distinguishing factor, to an overwhelming degree, between the 10X companies and the comparison companies in our research. ► To 20 Mile March requires hitting specified performance markers with great consistency over a long period of time. It requires two distinct types of discomfort, delivering high performance in difficult times and holding back in good times. ► A good 20 Mile March has the following seven characteristics: 1. Clear performance markers. 2. Self-imposed constraints. 3. Appropriate to the specific enterprise. 4. Largely within the company’s control to achieve. 5. A proper timeframe—long enough to manage, yet short enough to have teeth. 6. Imposed by the company upon itself. 7. Achieved with high consistency. ► A 20 Mile March needn’t be financial. You can have a creative march, a learning march, a service-improvement march, or any other type of march, as long as it has the primary characteristics of a good 20 Mile March. ► The 20 Mile March builds confidence. By adhering to a 20 Mile March no matter what challenges and unexpected shocks you encounter, you prove to yourself and your enterprise that performance is not determined by your conditions but largely by your own actions. ► Failing to 20 Mile March leaves an organization more exposed to turbulent events. Every comparison case had at least one episode of slamming into a difficult time without having the discipline of a 20 Mile March in place, which resulted in a major setback or catastrophe. ► The 20 Mile March helps you exert self-control in an out-of-control environment. ► 10X winners set their own 20 Mile March, appropriate to their own enterprise; they don’t let outside pressures define it for them. ► A company can always adopt 20 Mile March discipline even if it hasn’t had such discipline earlier in its history, as Genentech did under Levinson. UNEXPECTED FINDINGS ► 20 Mile Marchers have an edge in volatile environments; the more turbulent the world, the more you need to be a 20 Mile Marcher. ► There’s an inverse correlation between pursuit of maximum growth and 10X success. Comparison-company leaders often pressed for maximum growth in robust times, thereby exposing their enterprises to calamity in an unexpected downturn. 10X winners left growth on the table, always assuming that something bad lurked just around the corner, thereby ensuring they wouldn’t be caught overextended. ► 20 Mile Marching wasn’t a luxury afforded to the 10X cases by their success; they had 20 Mile Marches in place long before they were big successes, which helped them to become successful in the first place.

Answer 60

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 61

4 FIRE BULLETS, THEN CANNONBALLS

Answer 61

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 62

1971 that Southwest Airlines President Lamar Muse “says frankly—and repeatedly—that Southwest Airlines has been developed from its inception around the ideas that have proven to be successful for Pacific Southwest Airlines.”3 “We don’t mind being copycats of an operation like that,”

Answer 62

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 63

In only three of seven pairs, the 10X case proved more innovative than the comparison company. The evidence from our research does not support the premise that 10X companies will necessarily be more innovative than their less successful comparisons. And in some surprise cases, such as Southwest Airlines versus PSA and Amgen versus Genentech, the 10X companies were less innovative than the comparisons.

Answer 63

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 64

John Brown at Stryker lived by the mantra that it’s best to be “one fad behind,” never first to market, but never last.

Answer 64

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 65

Of course, Intel did create significant innovations—we’re not saying that Intel failed to innovate—but historical evidence shows Intel to be less of a pioneering innovator at critical junctures than most people realize.

Answer 65

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 66

found that only 9 percent of pioneers end up as the final winners in a market. Gillette didn’t pioneer the safety razor; Star did. Polaroid didn’t pioneer the instant camera; Dubroni did.

Answer 66

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 67

also found that 64 percent of pioneers failed outright. It seems that pioneering innovation is good for society but statistically lethal for the individual pioneer!

Answer 67

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 68

But that isn’t our point; we’re not saying that innovation is unimportant. Every company in this study innovated. It’s just that the 10X winners innovated less than we would have expected relative to their industries and relative to their comparison cases; they were innovative enough to be successful but generally not the most innovative.

Answer 68

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen

Question 69

We concluded that each environment has a level of “thresh old innovation” that you need to meet to be a contender in the game; some industries, such as airlines, have a low threshold, whereas other industries, such as biotechnology, command a high threshold. Companies that fail even to meet the innovation threshold cannot win. But—and this surprised us—once you’re above the threshold, especially in a highly turbulent environment, being more innovative doesn’t seem to matter very much.

Answer 69

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All By Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen