Turning The Flywheel

February 26 brings Jim Collin’s monograph to his iconic bestseller, Good to Great book. Titled, Turning the Flywheel, Collins explains why some companies build momentum and some don’t.

Eighteen years after writing Good to Great, Collins delves deep into the flywheel approach and how successful flywheels grow through four key stages – Through:

Disciplined People
Disciplined Thought
Disciplined Action
Building to Last

“One you get your flywheel right, you want to renew and extend that flywheel for years to decades – decision upon decision, action upon action, turn by turn – each loop adding to the cumulative effect,” explains Collins.

One good flywheel example is Amazon’s, discovered in 2001: lower prices led to more customer visits, which increased sales volume, which attracted more third-party sellers, which boosted efficiency.

“Look closely at any truly sustained great enterprise and you’ll likely find a flywheel at work, though it might be hard to discern at first,” shares Collins.

Key to creating your flywheel says Collins is that it not be conceived as merely a list of static objectives that you’ve simply drawn as a circle. It must capture the sequence that ignites and accelerates momentum.

Turning the Flywheel is the essential compendium to Good to Great. And, at only 46 pages in length, it’s a quick, essential read, even if you never read Good to Great.

Thank you to the book publisher for sending me an advance copy of the monograph.

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