According Jim Collins and Jerry Porras in Build to Last, the “tyranny of the OR” leads businesses to feel that they can only choose one option or the other, but not both, such as:
- Change OR stability,
- Conservative OR bold,
- Low cost OR high quality,
- Creative autonomy OR consistency and control,
- Invest in future OR do well in short-term,
- Make progress through methodical planning OR by opportunistic groping,
- Shareholder returns OR good for world,
- Values driven OR profit driven.
Visionary companies embrace the “genius of the AND”, the ability to embrace both extremes at the same time. They figure out how to have one option AND the other simultaneously. Does this seem irrational and unrealistic? Possibly, but this is exactly what visionary companies are able to do.
I believe in implementing the “AND” principle in as many situations as reasonably possible. I believe that businesses can be profitable AND values-driven, which is the heart of “social enterprise”, and can result in even greater profitability, as with Adoption.com. I believe businesses can have low cost AND high quality, ad demonstrated by Wal-Mart or Google business applications.
I believe businesses can protect the core business AND relentlessly stimulate progress, as every visionary company seems to have found a means to accomplish. Sam Walton (Wal-Mart founder) said:
You can’t just keep doing what works one time, because everything around you is always changing. To succeed, you have to stay out in front of the change.
Find Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies
(Source: Built to Last)
Posted on April 15th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: Book Reviews, Business Management, Entrepreneurship, Social Enterprise, e-Business
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