Jim Collins - 5 Stages of Decline

The second session of the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit featured best-selling author Jim Collins.  Both Built to Last and Good to Great have been important books in the leadership and management genre.  They have introduced language like: "Level 5 Leader", BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal), "Right people in the right seats on the bus", and more. However, in this talk Collins content came from his latest book, How The Mighty Have Fallen. In this session he laid out a very strong warning to leaders in the for-profit and not-for profit world by identifying the "5 Stage of Decline":

STAGE #1:  Hubris Born of Success

• Success leads to outrageous arrogance. Bad decisions made with good intentions are still bad decisions. 
• Level 5 leaders never give up and know it's not about them.

STAGE #2: Undisciplined Pursuit of More

• We must resist growth until we have the right leaders in the key seats
  

STAGE #3:  Denial of Risk and Peril 

• "You must never confuse faith and facts." - Admiral Stockdale
  

STAGE #4:  Grasping for Salvation. Finding the Silver Bullet

• Greatness is never a single event, it is a gradual process
  

STAGE #5:  Capitulation of Values

• Great companies endure because they have a reason to survive. Money is not enough of a reason. 

10 NEXT STEPS

1. Diagnose yourself.
2. Count your blessings (min 100, and do it on a spreadsheet).
3. What is your questions to statements ratio and can you double it?
4. How many key seats do you have on your bus?  How many are filled with the right people? What is plan for getting to 100% with FANTASTIC people?
5. Do you team diagnostics.
6. With your team assembled, at the next meeting, do an inventory of your brutal facts.
7. Create a stop-doing list.
8. Define results and show clicks on flywheel (milestones/results that are concrete).
9. Double your reach to young people by changing your practices without changing your core values.
10. Set a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal).

Comments

[Ed Bahler]

Excellent summary Dave! These are important insights.

[Dave Ferguson]

Thanks Ed. When he said, "We must resist growth until we have the right leaders in the key seats", that felt like it was for me. Good stuff.

[Mike Shipman]

Great run down. Makes me even more sorry I missed the summit. Such great content- thanks for the notes!

[Sean Sabourin]

Great post. Thanks for capturing the session.

[.J. Miller MEd, LPC, LCSW]

This looks like great material and as must read for ministry leaders. I may help them stsy on course. I have seen too masny ministries and congregations get hurt because of these 5 stages of decline. Particularly when leaders don't stasy humble.
Success can be intoxicating even to men of God - everyone needs accountability and checks and balances in their life. This material may prevent some good people from getting off course.

Michael J. Miller MEd, LPC, LCSW
Christian family Guidance Center

[Jeff Pessina]

Superb Post, Great Info. Thanks Dave. We need to pray for more of God's wisdom in all times and seasons.