Editions

Built To Last

Built To Last

  • Successful Habits of Visionary Companies

'This is not a book about charismatic visionary leaders. It is not about visionary product concepts or visionary products or visionary market insights. Nor 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.'

Drawing upon a six-year research project at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Collins and Porras took eighteen truly exceptional and long-lasting companies and studied each company 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 other companies?'

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 twenty-first century and beyond.

Reviews

  • A huge inspiration for our business growth strategy over the years.

    Management Today

  • 'One of the most eye-opening business studies since In Search of Excellence.'

    Kevin Maney, USA Today

  • 'Built to Last is an unusual business book - seriously researched, unconventional in its conclusions...[It] is well worth reading, particularly by those engaged in trying to reinvigorate our nation's largest enterprises.'

    Richard J. Tofel, Wall Street Journal

  • 'In Built to Last, Collins and Porras present a brilliant and lucid analysis and, yes, a blueprint for organizational excellence. It should be required reading.'

    Warren Bennis

More from this Author

About the Author

James Collins

James Collins is an elite sports nutritionist to the highest performing people on this planet. He has worked with Olympic medallists, Arsenal FC (as the club’s first ever performance nutritionist), France Football (2018 World Cup winners) and is currently working with UEFA, leading a team of scientists to create guidelines for nutrition in world football. He was previously elected President of the Royal Society of Medicine’s Food and Health Forum and he has his own private practice in Harley Street (The Centre for Health and Human Performance) where he sees clients from all walks of life, helping them achieve their physical and mental best. He writes a monthly column in The Telegraph and regularly contributes to the BBC’s Good Food website. In 2018, he worked with a group of celebrities on the BBC’s annual Sport Relief challenge and collaborated with the BBC to support London Marathon runners. He is soon to launch his own podcast, in which he will interview top talent from the world of sports, entertainment and business on how they apply nutrition to their busy lives.

James Collins

Jerry Porras

Jerry L. Porras is the Fred H. Merrill Professor of Organizational Behaviour and Change at Stanford University Graduate School of Business. He is the author of Stream Analysis and the co-inventor of stream analysis computer software.

Jerry Porras

Jim Collins

Jim Collins is a student of companies – great ones, good ones, weak ones, failed ones – from young start-ups to venerable sesquicentenarians. The author of the national bestseller Good to Great and co-author of Built to Last, he serves as a teacher to leaders throughout the corporate and social sectors. His most recent book is Great by Choice, a look at why some companies thrive in uncertain times. His work has been featured in Fortune, Business Week, The Economist, USA Today, and Harvard Business Review. You can find more information about Jim and his work at his e-teaching site, www.jimcollins.com.

Jim Collins

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Features

How to plan to prevent jet lag and keep your energy up

Jet lag comes with a host of uncomfortable symptoms like tiredness, low mood and stomach problems. In this extract from The Energy Plan, elite sports nutritionist James Collins tells you how to prevent jet lag by planning ahead using his Energy Plan method.

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