Built to Last

Incredible book by James Collins. He searched for similarities between companies which are more than 200 years old. He found some striking similarities, among which cult-like cultures, home-grown management and especially ‘Try a Lot of Stuff and Keep What Works’. The last refers mainly to experimenting. In a stable situation companies can concentrate on optimizing: cut everything that doesn’t add value to your organization. However in a constantly changing world you should constantly be experimenting. This is true for products as well as processes as well as communication. While many companies wait for impressive cases from the Uniteds States, the really successful companies are constantly experimenting themselves and thus keep getting the First Mover Advantage. Every entrepreneur should read this book!