Built to Last
Successful Habits of Visionary Companies
by Collins, James C., Jim Collins, Jerry I. Porras, James C. Collins · first published 1994
67% recommend29% neutral5% critical
Why HN recommends it
Research-based study of what lets companies endure, covering vision, founder succession and organizational principles that hold across time. Seen as especially useful for startup founders and managers.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"This is not a book about charismatic visionary leaders. It is not about visionary product concepts or visionary products or visionary market insights. Nor even is it about just having a corporate vision. This is a book about something far more important, enduring, and substantial. This is a book about visionary companies." So write James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras in this groundbreaking book that shatters myths, provides new insights, and gives practical guidance to those who would like to build landmark companies that stand the test of time. Drawing upon a six-year research project at
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Read Jim Collins' Built to Last. His thesis is that visionary corporations don't result from markets or products or ideas, but from cultures. Entrepreneurs whose companies survive for centuries work very hard to create a whole system…
on “Working Hard. The biggest bullshit.” ↗…impossible for any great company to exist without this possibility. Besides that, the best businesses are usually actually many ideas from many people that result in a great series of products. Read Built to Last. The whole point of a company, rather than a sole proprietorship, is for many people to work together for common goals.
on “Ask HN: Can you truly get behind an idea that's not your own?” ↗Consider "Built to Last" http://www.amazon.com/Built-Last-Successful-Visionary-Compan... by Jim Collins http://www.jimcollins.com/lib/books.html and Jerry Porras, which is an analysis of companies that did that. Vision,…
on “Ask HN: Taking the Long View” ↗…Kevin Mitnick The Elegant Universe - Brian Greene The Trouble With Physics - Lee Smolin Not Even Wrong - Peter Woit The Lean Startup - Eric Ries Blue Ocean Strategy - W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne Built To Last - Jim Collins Business Model Generation - Alexander Osterwalder Started, but unfinished, may yet make the list: Simulacra and Simulation - Jean Baudrillard Reamde - Neal Stephenson The Fabric of…
on “Ask HN: Best book you read in 2011” ↗Here are a few sources which helped us grow our company: - https://www.saastr.com - http://tomtunguz.com - The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz - Built to Last by Jim Collins & Jerry Porras - Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey Moore
on “Ask HN: How to scale a startup after initial traction (books/resources/etc)?” ↗- Tipping point (creates a urgency feeling) - Built to last (tips and best practices) - Blink (helps not to waste ideas, shows how your first impressions/thoughts could be useful) - Phylosophy Books (Republic and Politics) - you can understand and have good…
on “Startup founders, what books did you find most helpful?” ↗The Four Steps to the Epiphany - @sgblank Built To Last - Jim Collins The Purple Cow - Seth Godin The Art of the Start - Guy Kawasaki
on “Ask HN: must read books for startup founders” ↗What I've read recently (and recommend): 1. The Four Steps to the Epiphany - Steve "@sgblank" Blank 2. Built To Last - Jim Collins 3. (re-read) Crossing the Chasm - Geoffrey Moore 4. Positioning - Al Ries & Jack Trout 5. Differentiate or Die - Jack Trout with Steve Rivkin 6. The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing -…
on “Ask HN: Must Read Books” ↗some of these choices are designed to be provocative, not necessarily legitimate. "built to last," the wonderfully insightful book on technology entrepreneurship by jim collins, contains interesting analysis about the difficulties in replacing a charismatic, controlling founder like jobs. suffice…
on “On Succeeding Steve Jobs” ↗"Built to Last", by James Collins and Jerry Porras. Great book that goes into the principles of how to build enduring businesses.
on “Ask HN: Non-tech books that have helped you grow professionally?” ↗…organisations (Re-read after 2 years, worth it) Prisoners of Geography (very interesting view of geopolitics, Putin, et al) Continuous Delivery (great!) Clean Code (must read for any serious programmer) Built to last (picked it back after 1-2 years, cool book) Site Reliability Engineering (didn't quite finish, but good book) Building Microservices (fantastic book which puts everything I've done in the past year…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?” ↗For me, personally, "Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies" by Jim Collins, still stands as THE canon to read for a business book. His research based style resonates with me and makes me trust the findings much more.
on “Three Best Business Books of 2019 (According to Every Other Best-of-2019 List)” ↗High Output Management by Andy Grove (Operations, people mgmt) Swim with the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive by Harvey Mackay Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies by Jerry I. Porras and Jim Collins
on “Ask HN: What are the best books for professional effectiveness?” ↗I recommend reading Built to Last https://www.amazon.com/Built-to-Last-Jim-Collins-audiobook/d... It'll do a much better job than I can in showing why your thinking is so wrong-headed
on “Her Treatment Was Helping. That's Why Insurance Cut Off Her Coverage” ↗…traits that came to me on a 15 minute subway ride Are you serious? Sounds like that post is a lot of BS to get attention. Better go read a good book based on actual _research_ like "Good to Great" or "Built to Last", both by Jim Collins.
on “Characteristics of Great Companies” ↗