From Jim Collins, Good to Great:
Assembling the right team is nothing new… however, you must first get the wrong people off the bus and the right people on the bus BEFORE you try to figure out where to drive it. The key point is the degree of sheer rigor needed with regard to people decisions in order to take a company from good to great.
The good-to-great leaders understand three simple truths. First, if you begin with “who,” rather than “what,” you can more easily adapt to a changing world. If people join the bus primarily because of where it is going, what happens if you get ten miles down the road and you need to change direction? You’ve got a problem. But, if people are on the bus because of who else is on the bus, then it’s much easier to change course if necessary: “Hey, I got on this bus because of who else is on it; if we need to change direction to be more successful, fine with me.” Second, if you have the right people on the bus, the problem of how to motivate and manage people largely goes away. The right people don’t need to be tightly managed or fired up; they will be self-motivated by the inner drive to produce the best results and to be part of creating something great. Third, if you have the wrong people, if doesn’t matter whether you discover the right direction or not. You STILL won’t have a great company. Great vision without great people is irrelevant.
About Wendi McGowan