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Beyond Entrepreneurship: Turning Your Business into an Enduring Great Company Paperback – September 21, 1995
Every great company, no matter how large or small, has as its core a compelling vision. Beyond Entrepreneurship explains step by step how any firm can develop this vision and achieve enduring greatness. It provides a complete blueprint for steering your company to success.
Packed with real-world examples of firms that have grown and attained corporate greatness—including Nike, L.L. Bean, Mrs. Fields’ Cookies, Sony, and FedEx—this inspirational yet practical book . . .
· Covers in depth the five key elements common to all great enduring companies
· Shows how to lay a foundation for greatness while a company is still small and adaptable . . . how to set values, purpose, and mission, and instill them into the very roots of your organization
· Demonstrates how to develop the most effective leadership style for your specific situation
· Shows how to translate vision into effective day-to-day business tactics –and how to foster consistent tactical excellence in everything your company does
· Explains how to resolve the critical strategic issues faced by every small and mid-sized firm
· Prevents a set of concepts—and a host of practical techniques—for stimulating creativity and maintaining innovation as the company evolves
“Beyond Entrepreneurship is a blueprint for becoming great.” –Entrepreneur Magazine
- Print length256 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherPrentice Hall Press
- Publication dateSeptember 21, 1995
- Dimensions6 x 0.66 x 9 inches
- ISBN-100133815269
- ISBN-13978-0133815269
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About the Author
William C. Lazier was the Nancy and Charles Munger Professor of Business, Emeritus, at Stanford Law School. He graduated from Stanford in 1957 with a master's in business administration. Lazier returned there in 1982 to lecture at the Graduate School of Business, where he taught management of smaller companies and real estate for the next 11 years. He served on the boards of numerous corporations and organizations, including Diamond Rentals, American Security Products, Yes Reading, BUILD, Interplast, SCRMA, and the Stanford Bookstore. Lazier passed away in 2005 at the age of 73.
Product details
- Publisher : Prentice Hall Press; Ex-library edition (September 21, 1995)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 256 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0133815269
- ISBN-13 : 978-0133815269
- Item Weight : 14.4 ounces
- Dimensions : 6 x 0.66 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #744,316 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3,870 in Business Motivation & Self-Improvement (Books)
- #4,527 in Entrepreneurship (Books)
- #7,993 in Leadership & Motivation
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Jim Collins is a student and teacher of what makes great companies tick, and a Socratic advisor to leaders in the business and social sectors. Having invested more than a quarter century in rigorous research, he has authored or coauthored a series of books that have sold in total more than 10 million copies worldwide. They include Good to Great, the #1 bestseller, which examines why some companies make the leap and others don’t; the enduring classic Built to Last, which discovers why some companies remain visionary for generations; How the Mighty Fall, which delves into how once-great companies can self-destruct; and Great by Choice, which uncovers the leadership behaviors for thriving in chaos and uncertainty. Jim has also published two monographs that extend the ideas in his primary books: Good to Great and the Social Sectors and Turning the Flywheel.
His most recent publication is BE 2.0 (Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0), an ambitious upgrade of his very first book; it returns Jim to his original focus on small, entrepreneurial companies and honors his coauthor and mentor Bill Lazier.
Driven by a relentless curiosity, Jim began his research and teaching career on the faculty at the 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 conducts research and engages with CEOs and senior-leadership teams.
In addition to his work in the business sector, Jim has a passion for learning and teaching in the social sectors, including education, healthcare, government, faith-based organizations, social ventures, and cause-driven nonprofits. In 2012 and 2013, he had the honor to serve a two-year appointment as the Class of 1951 Chair for the Study of Leadership at the United States Military Academy at West Point.
Jim holds a bachelor's degree in mathematical sciences and an MBA from Stanford University, and honorary doctoral degrees from the University of Colorado and the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University. In 2017, Forbes selected Jim as one of the 100 Greatest Living Business Minds.
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Customers find the book insightful and practical for learning business basics. They describe it as a good reference for CEOs and managers on how to articulate vision and purpose. The content includes great examples and pointers that can be implemented immediately.
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Customers find the book readable and insightful. It provides practical advice on strategic planning for CEOs and managers. The lessons are timeless and provide a good refresher for business owners.
"...pretend to be scientific in its recommendations: it is a kind of merger of philosophy, business strategy, and management in a single readable volume...." Read more
"...the are used, and the book provides an example of a short, concise strategy document that is clear enough to assist in decision making and short..." Read more
"...Even though it was written over 20 years ago, the lessons here are timeless, and many companies (including startups/unicorns) are struggling with..." Read more
"...foundation were presented in a step by step manner that were easy to follow. The examples helped keep us on track." Read more
Customers appreciate the book's content variety. They find it easy to read with great examples and practical pointers that can be implemented immediately.
"...It's chuck full of pointers that can be implemented immediately; there's no fluff to wade through. My copy is heavily marked up and dog-eared...." Read more
"...Easy to read and contains many great examples. The only caveat is that it was published around 1994, if I remember correctly...." Read more
"This book is great stuff..So much wisdom and so many bits and pieces of true leadership gems...." Read more
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2018I first heard of this book because it was recommended by Reed Hastings (CEO, Netflix) as a must-read for young entrepreneurs. I was not disappointed with the purchase, despite having to track down a used softcover copy.
Originally published in 1992, this book is notable for its focus/devotion to a single concept: how business managers/leaders can build the foundation of an everlasting company into the bones/genes of their institution while the company is still small.
Part of why the book is so good is that it does not pretend to be scientific in its recommendations: it is a kind of merger of philosophy, business strategy, and management in a single readable volume. Jim Collins' later books (Good to Great, Built to Last) would focus on trying to build a data-oriented foundation for understanding company greatness, whereas this book focused much more on vision formulation, strategic decision-making, and team dynamics. To me, it is therefore a much more important book than his later best-sellers, and, more actionable, to boot. Many of the illustrative company examples also ended up (mostly) withstanding the test of time: HP, IBM, Apple, Patagonia, Nike, Herman Miller, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, among others.
I think if you are a young business leader looking for guidance of how to take your company from its first decade to its second/third and beyond, this is the book for you, despite it being over 25 years old. Highly recommended.
- Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2013The book focuses on start up companies which have had some initial success and seek to establish themselves as enduring enterprises. I have used this book several times with early stage clients and found it clear and helpful, especially to those just starting to deal with business strategy. The middle chapters contain the basic terminology and frame work.
Strategies only have value if the are used, and the book provides an example of a short, concise strategy document that is clear enough to assist in decision making and short enough to be actually used by the entire company.
There's a lot more to strategic thinking that this book covers, but it is a good, practical place to start.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2016Very insightful book about the importance company values and vision -- both often overlooked by companies/leadership. A lot of parallels between this book and the Netflix culture deck.
What I love about this book is that the authors will give a piece of advice at a high level and then they will back it up with lots of real-world examples, and explain why that advice is important.
It's also a relatively quick read without much filler, which I appreciate. Even though it was written over 20 years ago, the lessons here are timeless, and many companies (including startups/unicorns) are struggling with these issues today.
- Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2013A quick glance at this book's cover is enough to drive anyone away. Ignore this impulse because, after reading its contents, you will be much better prepared to take your business to a higher level. I've read dozens of business books and this one sits on top of them all as the best one around. It's chuck full of pointers that can be implemented immediately; there's no fluff to wade through. My copy is heavily marked up and dog-eared. I refer back to it again and again.
- Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2012I was leery because the book was written in the early 90s. Although all the online hoopla and social media was not in existence the materials presented in the book are relevant. All the building blocks for a solid business foundation were presented in a step by step manner that were easy to follow. The examples helped keep us on track.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2014Unless there are videos someplace, reading this book is the closest you can get to sitting in Jim Collins' class on entrepreneurship at Stanford (circa 1990). It's a distillation of what he taught in that class, minus the palpable energy he brought to every session and in particular the final class of each term. Twenty four years later, I still return to this book for inspiration and ideas for leadership, crafting strategy, creating genuine passion in a company, and gaining alignment. I'd also recommend Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive to build and sustain alignment. Both are useful.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2015Excellent business book. I have read 100's of books on business and this one is at the top of the list. I pride myself on business leadership, strategy development and execution. Collin and Lazier did an excellent job of laying out the requirements of being a performing CEO and the fundamentals to use to build a successful business.
I discovered this book after watching a video with Reed Hastings (Netflix) and he mentioned this book being influential in the development of his business skills.
Top reviews from other countries
- Antonio DamiánReviewed in Mexico on May 14, 2021
5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente producto.
Excelente producto.
- DeepReviewed in India on March 19, 2019
5.0 out of 5 stars Very insightful for business owners!
Great content and structure.
- Parvinder SandhuReviewed in Canada on August 24, 2017
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Simply awesome
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Antonio HReviewed in Spain on February 12, 2018
5.0 out of 5 stars la guía del fundador de netflix
Dice siempre Reed Hastings que este es uno de los pocos libros que él recomienda y que lo lee todos los años. No es de los más famosos del autor, tal vez porque no se centra tanto en empresas consolidadas (sus grandes estudios) sino en emprendedores, pero como todos los de Collins no puede faltar entre quien quiera aprender sobre estrategia empresarial
- OReviewed in the United Kingdom on January 19, 2016
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Great