Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies
by James C. Collins, Jerry I. Porras
Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies by James C. Collins, Jerry I. Porras holds a well received rating of 3.98 out of 5, based on 39.6K reader ratings. First published in 1994. The book spans 368 pages.
About Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies
"This is not a book about charismatic visionary leaders. It is not about visionary product concepts or visionary products or visionary market insights. Nor is it about just having a corporate vision. This is a book about something far more important, enduring, and substantial. This is a book about visionary companies." So write Jim Collins and Jerry Porras in this groundbreaking book that shatters myths, provides new insights, and gives practical guidance to those who would like to build landmark companies that stand the test of time.Drawing upon a six-year research project at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Collins and Porras took eighteen truly exceptional and long-lasting companies -- they have an average age of nearly one hundred years and have outperformed the general stock market by a factor of fifteen since 1926 -- and studied each company in direct comparison to one of its top competitors. They examined the companies from their very beginnings to the present day -- as start-ups, as midsize companies, and as large corporations. Throughout, the authors asked: "What makes the truly exceptional companies different from other companies?"What separates General Electric, 3M, Merck, Wal-Mart, Hewlett-Packard, Walt Disney, and Philip Morris from their rivals? How, for example, did Procter & Gamble, which began life substantially behind rival Colgate, eventually prevail as the premier institution in its industry? How was Motorola able to move from a humble battery repair business into integrated circuits and cellular communications, while Zenith never became dominant in anything other than TVs? How did Boeing unseat McDonnell Douglas as the world's best commercial aircraft company -- what did Boeing have that McDonnell Douglas lacked?By answering such questions, Collins and Porras go beyond the incessant barrage of management buzzwords and fads of the day to discover timeless qualities that have consistently distinguished out-standing companies. They also provide inspiration to all executives and entrepreneurs by destroying the false but widely accepted idea that only charismatic visionary leaders can build visionary companies.Filled with hundreds of specific examples and organized into a coherent framework of practical concepts that can be applied by managers and entrepreneurs at all levels, Built to Last provides a master blueprint for building organizations that will prosper long into the twenty-first century and beyond.
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Author | James C. Collins, Jerry I. Porras |
| Published | 1994 |
| Pages | 368 |
| Genres | Business, Non-Fiction, Self-Help, Psychology, History |
| Average Rating | 3.98 / 5.00 |
| Total Ratings | 39,618 |
Reader Ratings & Analysis
Rating Overview
How It Compares
Frequently Asked Questions
What genre is Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies?
Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies is categorized as Business, Non-Fiction, Self-Help, Psychology. Its primary genre classification is Business.
Is Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies worth reading?
Based on 39.6K reader ratings, Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies has an average score of 3.98 out of 5.00, which is considered "Well Received."
How many pages is Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies?
Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies has 368 pages.
Who wrote Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies?
Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies was written by James C. Collins, Jerry I. Porras. It was first published in 1994.
What is the ISBN for Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies?
The ISBN-13 for Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies is 9780060566100.0.
Data sourced from community book ratings and reviews. Last updated: April 15, 2026
