James C. Collins

James C. "Jim" Collins, III (born 1958) is an American business consultant, author, and lecturer on the subject of company sustainability and growth.

Biography

Collins studied Mathematics at Stanford University, and afterwards obtained his MBA followed by 18 months as a consultant with McKinsey & Company. He then worked as a product manager for Hewlett-Packard.

Collins began his research and teaching career on the faculty at Stanford University's 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 now conducts research and teaches executives from the corporate and social sectors. During that time, Collins has served as a senior executive at CNN International, and also worked with social sector organizations, such as: Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, the Girl Scouts of the USA, the Leadership Network of Churches, the American Association of K-12 School Superintendents, and the United States Marine Corps.

Collins is married to former triathlete and 1985 Ironman World Championship winner, Joanne Ernst.

Work

Writings

Collins has authored or co-authored six books based on his research, including the classic Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, a fixture on the Business Week best-seller list for more than six years, which has been translated into 25 languages. His most recent book is Great by Choice. Before that he wrote How the Mighty Fall: And Why Some Companies Never Give In. Good to Great, his previous book, "about the factors common to those few companies ... to sustain remarkable success for a substantial period," attained long-running positions on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Business Week best-seller lists, has sold over 2.5 million hardcover copies, and has been translated into 32 languages.

Collins frequently contributes to Harvard Business Review, Business Week, Fortune and other publication.

Level 5 leader

Collins often discusses a "Level 5 leader" in his writings. This refers to the peak of a five-tier hierarchy of leadership characteristics presented in the books. A Level 5 Leader is someone who embodies a “paradoxical mix of personal humility and professional will.”

Test Pilot

Collins re-published an autobiography called Test Pilot (Doubleday, Doran & Co., 1935), written by his grandfather Jimmy Collins, after whom Collins is named. Jimmy Collins was the chief test pilot for the Grumman military aircraft company during the 1930s, and Clark Gable portrayed him in the movie version of his book. Jimmy Collins died in a crash while testing the F3 biplane, having predicted and described his death before it happened.

Publications

Books

• 1994: Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies by James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras
• 1995: Beyond Entrepreneurship: Turning Your Business into an Enduring Great Company by James C. Collins and William C. Lazier
• 2001: Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … And Others Don’t by James C. Collins
• 2005: Good to Great and the Social Sectors by James C. Collins
• 2009: How the Mighty Fall: And Why Some Companies Never Give In by James C. Collins
• 2011: Great By Choice by James C. Collins and Morten T. Hansen