Jim Collins talks to Joanna Higgins about what makes a great business leader

Jim Collins knows a thing or two about endurance. The bestselling author of Good to Great (2001) spent several years on research before committing his views to paper, then allowed colleagues to draft and redraft his copy until it was ready for print.

Collins's research for Good to Great, and its follow-up monograph for social enterprises, compared exceptional organisations with mediocre, or "good", ones in order to identify any common traits that the great ones shared.
"What emerged were a set of core values that included a sense of purpose beyond making money," says Collins, a trend emerging even more strongly today.

Three other qualities will form the bedrock of great organisations, he believes: first, exceptional results, be they in shareholder returns, reduction in crime or a dramatic improvement in super-bug prevention.
Second, the organisation should have "a distinctive impact on the world you touch, so that were it to disappear, it would leave a hole." Third, greatness goes "beyond a single leader," says Collins. "You are not a great company if you are dependent on a great leader."

Collins's current work follows the GTG trajectory in the opposite direction, from great to good... and falling. "One of the things that jumped out is that it is mostly self-inflicted," he says. "Any company can ruin itself. You cannot blame circumstances—because the circumstances were the same, yet one rose and another fell." It is rarely what the world does to organisations: this applies in the public or private-sector. Reputation is becoming increasingly important, what Collins calls the "glue of continual reinforcement: how do you get that flywheel moving in a virtuous circle?" And what does it mean for tomorrow's businesses? "The ability to exercise financial discipline and be less obsessed with growth." Directors need to ask: what do we mean by great results? How can we improve them?
He's not, though, a great believer in the concept of motivation, believing there's something inherently insulting in the notion that you need to motivate others. "Better to assume people are motivated and don't stupidly demotivate them." But this goes hand-in-hand with "unforgiving standards", he adds: "The real key is getting the right people in the first place.

It's not a question of circumstance, then, but nature: "Executives dedicated to building excellence seem always to have been that way. They bring it with them, with everything they do." The traits of a great business leader include some not especially endearing qualities—being totally neurotic; never satisfied. "Hire people for key seats that are equally neurotic: it's not about motivating, disciplining or bringing out dedication. Instead, get those who already have that self-drive. Increasingly, there is a need for the right people without necessarily having the right answers."

Likewise, many lasting businesses are run by uncharismatic leaders who produce "inspired results and have inspired standards, but are not necessarily very inspiring." So the basic "to great" path remains the same. But Collins is the first to acknowledge that the leader's role is changing, with globalisation, technology, and the shifting balance between risk and capital bringing new pressures to bear.

The Boulder-based 49-year-old is also a climbing fan, which explains his metaphors as he considers the challenges facing future leaders. "What do we learn from 27,000-foot survivors," he asks at one point. "We believe most leaders feel they are moving higher up the mountain, dealing with big forces that may be outside of their control. The environment is less forgiving: you're no longer at base camp."

What's really changing is the idea of a job. Says Collins: "People no longer hold to the concept of careers or jobs, but of shared values and responsibilities." This makes people think differently about work and their accountability: they understand their role in terms of what they are ultimately responsible for, he explains."When you see people embracing that idea, other structures melt away."

A traditional career is part of a stable world. In an ambiguous world, responsibilities become more useful. He believes people may even start to see the traditional job, where your livelihood is tied up with that of an employer, as more risky than entrepreneurship.

Perhaps most unsettling, though, is Collins's view of the context in which this non-linear approach takes place: "Economically, the prosperity of the past 50 years might be an aberration. We may be in a more normal mode now, where volatility is common." This requires a different approach to risk management, he says: "The world today is more uncertain. It's not so much riskier as more ambiguous."