How the Mighty Fall

Customer Reviews

• 3 out of 5
  
  
  by Ramakrishnan from New Delhi, 10, India | May 4, 2010
  

  I am a big fan of Jim Collins. I really loved his previous books - “Built to Last” and “Good to Great”. In fact, I consider them amongst the best business books I have ever read.
  
  There are some truly marvelous things about his books – first of all, they are backed by excellent research – hardcore number crunching, countless hours of interviews and analysis; Collins goes into great detail about the origin of the idea, the data collected and analytics behind the findings, the assumptions made, modifications done, things ignored – et al. It really makes the findings so much more convincing; moreover, the research really shows in the quality of the end-documentation. One beauty of this book, for instance, is having a comparison company for each example – A went crashing down; in the same time frame, competitor B kept increasing its shareholder value.
  
  Second great thing - fantastic storytelling. They do not sound like a boring classroom case study or a lecture at any point; almost as readable as fiction. Even the background to his ideas and books are laced with interesting anecdotes that glues the reader to the text.
  
  This particular book – has most of the above. Interestingly, it was actually supposed to be an article, but turned out be a complete book. So it is quite thin and a fast-read. Some of his findings are truly shocking - for instance, companies that do a lot (as opposed to "appearing dull/dormant" – mind you, “appearing” not really dormant) in times of crisis are not necessarily going to grow; they might actually end up destroying value.
  
  Despite all his hallmark greatness, however, Collins has faltered a bit this time. Some of his points are really difficult to grasp.
  
  For e.g., he mentions that trying too much too fast or/and in too many directions can lead to a fall. Now, what is too much? What is too fast? What is (one) too many directions?
  How does one decide the optimum time-frame to sit, synthesize, strategize – before getting into action? Or, how does one decide what step is “one too many”? How do you determine that one needs to pause? In retrospect, many CEOs have been blamed for trying to grow too fast / pushing ideas “ahead of its time”, etc. But how do you really determine the right level? These points are not clear.
  
  He does talk about examples of companies that have risen from the ashes; but how to scientifically avoid the pitfalls is not abundantly clear; the loose frameworks are there, which is good. But how that boils down to simple actionable points and metrics is not clear.
  
  All said and done, the book does make one introspect; makes you think twice – are we taking sane steps to grow, or are we endangering shareholder value? The stories of “why some companies never give in” are truly inspiring. There is clear value in the book – I just wish there was a little more.
  
  PS: I am looking forward to his next book on companies that grew from vulnerability to greatness
  

  
  

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• 5 out of 5
  
  
  by Walter from Montclair, NJ | Nov 14, 2009
  

  This is a great gift in a small package and represents, in my view, the best of Collin's serial strong efforts. In a word, this book is fantastic. Why? Because it's conslusions are as piercingly insightful as always, but this book offers something new as well - it's wisdom works on both the institutional/organizational level and on the personal level. In other words, it's one of the few "business" books that's just as applicable and powerful a tool in a personal context.
  
  In this book, rather than studying greatness as he had in his previous two classics of the business genre - Built to Last (with Jerry I. Porras) and Good to Great - Collins studies its contrast, failure. Specifically, he endeavors to divine why some companies/organizations fail, and, of these, why/how some recover and become even stronger than before. In so doing, he identifies a five-stage process of decline, a model in which the re-ascendant avoid the dreaded and irreversible fifth stage. I won't give away the stages, but suffice it to say that when you read about them, their relevance in personal assessment will be immediately obvious.
  
  It's this dual applicability (i.e., on both the institutional and individual levels), in fact, that is the book's greatest contribution, though the 5-stage model is also compelling and uniquely useful. This being said, the book's not perfect (as none is). In particular, Collins could have dedicated more time/focus to describing the process of recovery and re-ascension. He addresses it, but not in great depth and primarily via three examples described not in the text of the book but in separate appendices at its end.
  
  This is a minor quibble about an otherwise absorbing and insightful work. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in either organizational or personal performance and suggest that we all adopt his suggestion to use its model as a sort of checkup, looking for markers (as he calls them, borrowing a medical term) of the stages to afford us the opportunity to choose to change proactively (and, thereby, to avoid a far more challenging and damaging trip through the stages). It's also not exactly light reading, but it is written more peppily than most business-oriented books, so readers more interested in the individual applicability aspects may be pleasantly surprised by its accessibility.

  
  

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• 3 out of 5
  
  
  by Michael from New York, NY | Jul 31, 2009
  

  I really wanted to enjoy this book as much as I did Good To Great, sadly it just did not live up. While Collins admits that this was more a drawn out research project than a true follow up book, I think it would have suited him better to mine the data a bit more for solid conclusions. What I love about GTG was that it was nearly irrefutable. How The Might Fall is fascinating and walks you through the demise of companies such as Circuit City who were covered in GTG, but have now ceased to operate. It also touches on companies such as Fannie May and Freddie Mac and I valued Collin's opinions on their trouble.
  
  It was an interesting book, but it just was not on par with GTG which is a recent favorite of mine (yes, I know I am the last person to read this). I am sure the book was rushed in order to be topical, I just wish Collins had decided to solidify his ideas and wait a bit longer to approach this subject.

  
  

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• 5 out of 5
  
  
  by MsSmartiePants from Fremont, CA | Jun 3, 2009
  

  Worthy of my trademarked award: SO GOOD, I'M READING IT TWICE!(tm) ;)
  
  THE WORLD MAKES SENSE! This and other thoughts flooded my mind after finishing Jim Collins latest literary release. Concise and timely, the information applies to business as well as our personal lives!
  
  I differ with another critics' premise that Mr. Collins' claims that "companies get into trouble because they overreach..."etc. That is NOT what Mr. Collins' found to happen first. There first is an arrogance, "hubris", which creeps in to the successful company's leadership. This, in turn, 'infects' everyone inside the company down the chain. I kept thinking "Pride goeth before a fall."
  
  The author Jim Collins did not pose a black or white scenario. While I find the research sited by critics of Mr. Collins as interesting, it is NOT either/or. They seem to miss the point which the author goes to great lengths to remind us again and again: each of the five STAGES are indicative of what MAY be happening, and indeed a PATTERN which Mr. Collins and his associates found to be consistent. The stages in and of themselves are NOT the cause, they are all SYMPTOMS which may indicate mistaken direction and/or pending destruction. The further along in the stages, the more dire and imminent may be the decline. It is not a formula, but a set of consistencies.
  
  I loved the book How The Mighty Fall and am re-reading it. I look forward to the soon-to-be released book from Mr. Collins on what to DO in these turbulent times!

  
  

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• 4 out of 5
  
  
  by Chris from The United States | Aug 1, 2009
  

  Already on my third pass. Listened to it twice driving to Wisconsin and back. Now zipping through the book underlining sections and adding my own illustrations in the margins.
  
  Key: Great orgs. (people) get into trouble more often because they overreach/overextend/overpromise than because they become complacent.
  
  Key: Collins tells a story of running with his wife in the mountains. She appeared to be the picture of health. Yet, just two months later, she had radical treatment for a cancer that was growing within her the day of the run. Point: It's possible that orgs. (individuals) are suffering from a malady that doesn't yet show. Like cancer, the factors that contribute to a company's demise are hard to spot early. But if treated early, usually respond to treatment. Similarly, these factors are easy to spot late in the process, but harder to cure. Downfall is like a staged disease.
  
  

  
  

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