Quicklet on Jim Collins' How the Mighty Fall (CliffsNotes-like Book Summary)

Quicklets: Your Reading Sidekick!

ABOUT THE BOOK

When an individual or group entity reaches the pinnacle of success, the inevitable concern is where do we go from here? This zenith of success could be in the financial realm, or in the realm of public perception. Yet, when answering the concern where do we go from here the answer is almost always down, down, down.

Jim Collins How the Mighty Fall is a valiant attempt to codify an intellectual grasp on recognizing, then mitigating the warning signs. In more advanced cases, this means addressing the later stages of decline toward salvaging social standing and profitability.

Though the books subtitle, And Why Some Companies Never Give In, indicates an emphasis or relevance for companies in the private sector. The authors concepts are geared toward business entities, and governments at all levels. These institutions can draw useful, relevant insights toward maximizing their own effectiveness and efficiency. The first chapter clearly sheds important light on thisafter all, a symposium at West Point provided the inspiration for what would become the How the Mighty Fall project. This resulted in a published work that would eventually be distributed by the well-recognized publisher HarperCollins.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Joe Taglieri is a professional journalist and musician (drum set and Latin percussion instruments) in Los Angeles. He has written on a range of subjects for a variety of publications since the 1990s. Taglieri's forte is writing about governmental and economic issues, and he has a keen interest in sports and the arts, most notably music, television and film. He holds a degree in print journalism from the University of Southern California and has studied, taught and performed via the drum set for nearly 25 years and has done the same with Latin percussion instruments such as conga and bongo drums, cajon and timbales for more than 15 years.

EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK

This litany of symptoms of a sick mega-firm is a vehicle for Collins adage: Clearly, the solution to decline lies not in the simple bromide Change or Die; Bank of America changed a lot, and nearly killed itself in the process. We need a nuanced understanding of how decline happens… (How the Mighty Fall)

Through the rest of the book, Collins specifically identifies and analyzes five stages of decline that organizations go through before total collapse such as bankruptcy. As has been the case in recent years, many seemingly indestructible corporationsAIG, Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac, General Motors, Circuit City, just to name a fewhave collapsed and caused major havoc in the markets and among an assortment of societal segments. The five stages of decline, according to How the Mighty Fall, are…

Buy a copy to keep reading!

CHAPTER OUTLINE

Quicklet on Jim Collins’ How the Mighty Fall

+ Introduction

+ About the Author

+ Overall Summary

+ Important People

+ …and much more