--- product_id: 171401769 title: "Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies (Good to Great, Book 2)" price: "€ 4.96" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.hr/products/171401769-built-to-last-successful-habits-of-visionary-companies-good-to store_origin: HR region: Croatia --- # Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies (Good to Great, Book 2) **Price:** € 4.96 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies (Good to Great, Book 2) - **How much does it cost?** € 4.96 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.hr](https://www.desertcart.hr/products/171401769-built-to-last-successful-habits-of-visionary-companies-good-to) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Drawing upon a six-year research project at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras took eighteen truly exceptional and long-lasting companies and studied each in direct comparison to one of its top competitors. They examined the companies from their very beginnings to the present day -- as start-ups, as midsize companies, and as large corporations. Throughout, the authors asked: ""What makes the truly exceptional companies different from the comparison companies and what were the common practices these enduringly great companies followed throughout their history?"" Filled with hundreds of specific examples and organized into a coherent framework of practical concepts that can be applied by managers and entrepreneurs at all levels, Built to Last provides a master blueprint for building organizations that will prosper long into the 21st century and beyond Review: Lasting insights and concepts - We sometimes wonder what makes a company great. We often look at its real and perceived competitive advantages, ideas like a strong brand, an extremely talented and visionary leader, cult followers, great idea or innovative product. We often tend to believe a company should posses these characteristics in order to be successful. I have even witnessed many people refusing to start a company before having the "aha" moment or the brilliant idea which will change the world. Mr. Collins and Mr. Porras researched many companies and identified several characteristics which identify companies which are built to last a long time. The book is written in a way of discussion on concepts and characteristics which distinguish these visionary companies from the rest of the companies. By highlighting these concepts the authors provide surprising facts and insights and breaking several myths about the reasons for a company long term success. The authors took a very interesting approach of comparing a visionary (build to last) company to a comparison company. As you read the book it seems as if the "comparison" company should be the one to last. However, after the authors provide the different approaches, characteristics and choices made by the two companies, we, the readers, are slowly coming to the realization it is the visionary companies which lasted. It is often the case the comparison companies do not even exist today. The book was first published in 1994 and a lot has changed since then. It is interesting to note that today (2012) few of the visionary companies are performing worse than their comparison company. And over the years I have heard readers being disappointed with the selection of companies and even stated, "This book is wrong, you see, these companies were not build to last".¹ I believe the key to understand the book lessons, is not by focusing on the specific companies, but it is by observing the characteristics and concepts which define visionary companies as brilliantly described in this book. I highly recommend the book for leaders of companies, builders of companies and all who wish to understand how a company can be built (or changed) to last. Amir Avitzur Author of "Why do we sell low and buy high? The guide you must read BEFORE you invest" ¹ Mr. Collins researched and wrote about the cause of companies to fail in a more recent book called "How the mighty fall". Review: A Conceptual Framework for Highly Visionary Companies - Jim Collins is a prolific researcher, writer, and teacher of enduring great companies. He graduated from Stanford University with degrees in business administration and mathematical sciences. He also used to research and teach at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Jerry I. Porras is the Lane Professor of Organizational Behavior, Emeritus, at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Like Collins, he is also interested in the characteristics of visionary companies, especially focusing in on the organizational components. He received his BSEE from Texas Western College, his MBA from Cornell University, and his Ph.D from the University of California. The authors have two primary objectives: to develop a conceptual framework based on the common dynamics and characteristics of highly visionary companies, and to effectively communicate these concepts so that they are useful to others (Location 459). In doing this, they discovered that all visionary companies have a core ideology, an unrelenting drive for progress, and an organizational structure to preserve the core and stimulate progress (Location 4974). The specific methods that companies use to implement those requirements may change and are the topics in part two of the book. This book is separated into three sections. Chapters one to four outline the research questions and underlying principles for the book: be a clock builder, embrace the "Genius of the AND," preserve the core and stimulate progress, and seek consistent alignment (Location 4993). Chapters five to nine describe specific methods that visionary companies used to preserve the core and stimulate progress, while not claiming to be the only methods that work: Big hairy audacious goals, a cult-like culture, trying a lot of stuff and keeping what works, home-grown management, and that good enough never is. Chapters ten to the epilogue summarizes the book and separates the major concepts from the minor ones. This book is definitely a must-read for all leaders and managers, whether you are in the non-profit or for-profit spheres. I give this book a 5 out of 5. ## Images ![Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies (Good to Great, Book 2) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/7197nBHGbYL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Lasting insights and concepts *by A***R on January 23, 2013* We sometimes wonder what makes a company great. We often look at its real and perceived competitive advantages, ideas like a strong brand, an extremely talented and visionary leader, cult followers, great idea or innovative product. We often tend to believe a company should posses these characteristics in order to be successful. I have even witnessed many people refusing to start a company before having the "aha" moment or the brilliant idea which will change the world. Mr. Collins and Mr. Porras researched many companies and identified several characteristics which identify companies which are built to last a long time. The book is written in a way of discussion on concepts and characteristics which distinguish these visionary companies from the rest of the companies. By highlighting these concepts the authors provide surprising facts and insights and breaking several myths about the reasons for a company long term success. The authors took a very interesting approach of comparing a visionary (build to last) company to a comparison company. As you read the book it seems as if the "comparison" company should be the one to last. However, after the authors provide the different approaches, characteristics and choices made by the two companies, we, the readers, are slowly coming to the realization it is the visionary companies which lasted. It is often the case the comparison companies do not even exist today. The book was first published in 1994 and a lot has changed since then. It is interesting to note that today (2012) few of the visionary companies are performing worse than their comparison company. And over the years I have heard readers being disappointed with the selection of companies and even stated, "This book is wrong, you see, these companies were not build to last".¹ I believe the key to understand the book lessons, is not by focusing on the specific companies, but it is by observing the characteristics and concepts which define visionary companies as brilliantly described in this book. I highly recommend the book for leaders of companies, builders of companies and all who wish to understand how a company can be built (or changed) to last. Amir Avitzur Author of "Why do we sell low and buy high? The guide you must read BEFORE you invest" ¹ Mr. Collins researched and wrote about the cause of companies to fail in a more recent book called "How the mighty fall". ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Conceptual Framework for Highly Visionary Companies *by D***M on October 19, 2012* Jim Collins is a prolific researcher, writer, and teacher of enduring great companies. He graduated from Stanford University with degrees in business administration and mathematical sciences. He also used to research and teach at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Jerry I. Porras is the Lane Professor of Organizational Behavior, Emeritus, at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Like Collins, he is also interested in the characteristics of visionary companies, especially focusing in on the organizational components. He received his BSEE from Texas Western College, his MBA from Cornell University, and his Ph.D from the University of California. The authors have two primary objectives: to develop a conceptual framework based on the common dynamics and characteristics of highly visionary companies, and to effectively communicate these concepts so that they are useful to others (Location 459). In doing this, they discovered that all visionary companies have a core ideology, an unrelenting drive for progress, and an organizational structure to preserve the core and stimulate progress (Location 4974). The specific methods that companies use to implement those requirements may change and are the topics in part two of the book. This book is separated into three sections. Chapters one to four outline the research questions and underlying principles for the book: be a clock builder, embrace the "Genius of the AND," preserve the core and stimulate progress, and seek consistent alignment (Location 4993). Chapters five to nine describe specific methods that visionary companies used to preserve the core and stimulate progress, while not claiming to be the only methods that work: Big hairy audacious goals, a cult-like culture, trying a lot of stuff and keeping what works, home-grown management, and that good enough never is. Chapters ten to the epilogue summarizes the book and separates the major concepts from the minor ones. This book is definitely a must-read for all leaders and managers, whether you are in the non-profit or for-profit spheres. I give this book a 5 out of 5. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Inspiring, but lacking analytical rigor. *by B***N on December 8, 2005* This is an inspiring book, and informative. It answers the "what" question convincingly. I missed answers to the "why" questions. Why, for example, are successful visionary companies characterized by their emphasis on ethical standards? There are many possible explanations: the staff of the company are inspired by the ideals and give more to their employer; the companies reap payoffs in the long term from grateful recipients of their honorable deeds; the companies acquire a good reputation which increases sales and hence profits. More interesting, is the question of the logic of ethics in the business game - not even touched by these authors. According to Jim Collins and Jerry Porras, it does not matter what the company ideology is, as long as it is passionately believed by the management and employees. I find this a dubious claim, and not supported by the data. The ideological frameworks of the companies that were studied are not interchangeable, not for the trivial reason that the ideology of another company happens not to be the one believed by each of them. Boeing is unlikely to spend money on a program to cure river blindness in Africa. Why does Merck do this? Clearly, a pharmaceutical firm does well to invest in a reputation for medical generosity that flows from a passion for making people well? Merck is purchasing precisely the trust that pays-off in the medical market place. Trust reduces transaction costs, and in some cases is almost as good as a monopoly. Boeing, on the other hand, must buy a brand name attached to their dedication to engineering excellence. It does matter what companies are passionate about. My company operates on the Internet. Our pledge includes the words: "The tragedy of the commons is the propensity of users to take more from the commons than they give. We undertake to contribute more to the commons than we take. Our presence shall make the Internet safer, more useful and greater fun." Why is this a suitable ideology for our company? The answer is not that this is one we happen to believe in, and feel passionate about - although we do. Rather, this ideology is strategically fitting. We enhance to our brand name, and therefore the value of our software, by adding our reputation to the web applications we write. In one of our daughter businesses we are a broker of information from merchants to consumer (information about products that are available) and from consumer to merchant (we generate real time demand curves for a large range of commodities). We have pledged not to become a trader. Why? In ethical terms, we should not be a trader because our insider information would give rise to conflict of interest. The trust that we gain by not being a trader, and hence remaining a disinterested supplier of market information, enables us to broker Coasian agreements with reduced transaction costs between the parties on the Internet. The advantage is large. It is on the Internet commons that trust is scarce. We are able to purchase this by foregoing some potentially profitable trades, and that pays us more in the long term in our role as an information service provider. Our ideology was designed to give us the greatest possible strategic advantage in our markets. That is not to say we do not believe in our ideals, but that the nature of our ideology is important. It does matter what we believe. It matters what you believe, and it matters that you understand that it matters. I strongly recommend "The Modern Firm" by Roberts. Read this alongside "Built to Last". Roberts is a harder read, but he gets under the logic of corporate dynamics better than Collins and Porras. Because "Built to Last" is characterized by an ubiquitous analytical paucity, Jim Collins and Jerry Porras' interpretations of their data are not always correct. That is a pity. Their findings are exciting, inspiring even, and the book despite its limitations is a good read. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.hr/products/171401769-built-to-last-successful-habits-of-visionary-companies-good-to](https://www.desertcart.hr/products/171401769-built-to-last-successful-habits-of-visionary-companies-good-to) --- *Product available on Desertcart Croatia* *Store origin: HR* *Last updated: 2026-10-04*