Jim Collins biography

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Jim Collins
Anne Knudsen

Jim Collins

Jim Collins Biography

Jim Collins is a student and teacher of enduring great companies - how they grow, how they attain superior performance, and how good companies can become great companies. Having invested over a decade of research into the topic, Jim has co-authored four books, including the classic Built to Last a fixture on the Business Week bestseller list for more than five years, generating over 70 printings and translations into 16 languages. His work has been featured in Fortune, The Economist, Business Week, USA Today, Industry Week, Inc., Harvard Business Review and Fast Company.

His other books include Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't and How the Mighty Fall: And Why Some Companies Never Give In. His most recent book is Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck - Why Some Thrive Despite Them All, coauthored with Morten Hansen.

Collins began his research and teaching career on the faculty at Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he received the Distinguished Teaching Award in 1992. In 1995, he founded a management laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, where he now conducts multi-year research projects and works with executives from the private, public, and social sectors.

Collins invests a significant portion of his energy in large-scale research projects - often five or more years in duration - to develop fundamental insights and then translate those findings into books, articles and lectures. He uses his management laboratory to work directly with executives and to develop practical tools for applying the concepts that flow from his research.

Collins is also an avid rock climber and has made free ascents of the West Face of El Capitan and the East Face of Washington Column in Yosemite Valley.

From the author's website

Jim Collins's website

This bio was last updated on 01/02/2014. In a perfect world, we would like to keep all of BookBrowse's biographies up to date, but with many thousands of lives to keep track of it's simply impossible to do. So, if the date of this bio is not recent, you may wish to do an internet search for a more current source, such as the author's website or social media presence. If you are the author or publisher and would like us to update this biography, send the complete text and we will replace the old with the new.

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Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for Jim Collins but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose read-alikes

  • Louis Gerstner

    Louis Gerstner

    Lou Gerstner, Jr., is an American businessman, best known for his tenure as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of IBM. He served as chairman and chief executive officer of IBM from April 1993 until March 2002, ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    Good To Great

    Try:
    Who Says Elephants Can't Dance
    by Louis Gerstner

  • Dick Lyles

    Dick Lyles

    Dick Lyles, Ph.D., is the President and CEO of Leadership Legacies and the former President and Chief Operating Officer of The Ken Blanchard Companies. Lyles has been an active speaker and management consultant for more than ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    Good To Great

    Try:
    Winning Ways
    by Dick Lyles

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