There is an interesting parallel between Jim Collins (author of Built to Last, and Good to Great) and G.K. Chesterton.
Telling his faith story, Chesterton compared himself to the English yachtsman who slightly miscalculated his course and discovered England under the impression that it was a new island in the South Seas. Chesterton said he was the man who, “with the utmost daring discovered what had been discovered before.”
I enjoy reading Jim Collins because on one expedition or another, like Chesterton, he discovers Christian principles even though that may not be the reason he set sail. Basically, Collins studies businesses to see what makes them last, or be great, or, in the case of his latest book, to find out why they fail.
Reading Good to Great, it was difficult to not recognize the parallels between Christ and Level 5 leaders. Collins said that Level 5 leaders “embody a paradoxical mix of personal humility and professional will.” Replace “professional” with “holy” and it sounds a lot like washing feet and enduring the Cross.
In his latest book, Collins sets sail to determine why successful companies disintegrate, and again runs aground on the shores of biblical truth. Indeed, on this voyage his discovery of truth is even less subtle. How the Mighty Fall sounds a lot like David singing about Saul and Jonathan in 2 Samuel 1:19.
Much of Collins point in How the Mighty Fall is summarized by 2 Chronicles 26:16a: “But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction.” Or, perhaps, “pride goeth before destruction. . .”
It was at once fascinating and sobering to read Collins description of how Motorola figuratively stood on top of Mt. Everest only to walk off the side. And, to consider each of the 5 stages of mighty companies falling illustrated with other such stories.
- Hubris born of success
- Undisciplined pursuit of more
- Denial of Risk and Peril
- Grasping for Salvation
- Capitulation to Irrelevance or Death
Christian leaders should at least read Collins’ final paragraph:
Finally, there’s a provocative lesson: beware the hubris that can arise in conjunction with missionary zeal. In the Built to Last study, Jerry Porras and I found that during great companies passionately adhere to a set of timeless core values and pursue a core purpose beyond just making money. But there is also a risk to manage: having an almost righteous sense of one’s values and purpose (“We’re the good guys”) can perhaps make a company more vulnerable to Stage 1 and 3. Fannie Mae’s missionary zeal for expanding the American Dream of home ownership to as many Americans as possible contributed, in part, to its arrogance, its pursuit of growth, and even its increased risk profile. Whenever people begin to confuse the nobility of their cause with the goodness and wisdom of their actions – - “We’re good people in pursuit of a noble cause, and therefore our decisions are good and wise”—they can perhaps more easily lead themselves astray. Bad decisions made with good intentions are still bad decisions.
