Good to Great and the Social Sectors
A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great
Number of pages: 35
Publisher: Harvard Business Press
BBB Library: Corporate Success
ISBN: 9780977326402
Editorial Review
The idea that the path from good to great in the social sectors is to become “more like a business” is dead wrong. Great companies make a prosperous society, but not a great society for economic growth and power are the means, not the end, of a great nation. Few businesses excel to greatness. They’re about as only 11 out of 1435 companies—according to my estimates in my previous book “Good to Great”. So, is it unwise to import the practices of business into the social sectors? I shared these thoughts with a gathering of business CEOs, and offended nearly everyone in the room. A hand shot up from a CEO: “Do you have evidence to support your point? He demanded. “Nonprofits are in desperate need of discipline in people, governance, and allocation of resources.” I replied: “Discipline is not a business practice! Most businesses also need discipline. A culture of discipline is not exclusively a principle of business; it is a principle of greatness.” I asked the CEO: “If you had taken a different path in life and become, say, a university president, a nonprofit leader, or a hospital CEO, would you have been any less disciplined in your work? Would you have put less energy into your work?” The CEO considered the question, and replied: “No!”
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Wisdom to Share
The critical distinction is not between profit and nonprofit, but between great and good. Our work should not focus exclusively on business; it should expand to study what separates great from good, whether in business or non-business.
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