Jim Collins is one of my favourite leadership writers and speakers. The way in which everything that he says is grounded in rigorous research means that you can really trust what he is saying.

A highlight for me was the importance of the marriage of creativity and discipline. It can be tempting to see these things as separate or even at odds. Yet Jim described a way in which the two come together.

I also really like the way in which he illustrates what he is saying with real world stories. SouthWest Airlines comes up a lot as an example of a great organisation and is worth looking into further if you have the time.

Here is the session breakdown:

I. Two Teams

II. Fanatic Discipline

a. Commit to twenty mile marches

b. Do not over-stretch

c. Consistent and consecutive performance

d. Mediocrity is chronic inconsistency

III. Empirical Creativity

a. Fire bullets before cannonballs

b. Creativity is natural, discipline is not

c. Discipline must amplify, not destroy creativity

IV. Productive Paranoia

a. Learn from the mistakes you survive

b. Translate paranoia into preparation

c. What you do before difficult times that enables you to be strong

V. SMaC – Specific, Methodical and Consistent

a. The greatest danger is not failure, but to be successful without understanding why

VI. The Role of Luck

VII. Defining Greatness

Here are some resources: