Reflections from Good to Great and Beyond Great, part 12 
As mentioned last time, Good to Great brought eleven companies to the surface from their research and findings as “great.” These groups offer wonderful examples. Their models and knowledge are validated with financial performance data.
We are not trying to dissuade you from examining models and studying great examples and cases. You can pick up important insights and techniques.
Look at them for clues to behaviors and practices that can deliver better outcomes. Applying some of their lessons can be useful in our companies. Simply keep in mind that this is an attempt to “conform” to, or apply, their best practices.
Our point is that just conforming to the patterns of others might miss the true potential of your company. To stretch to greatness and beyond, we are after a true transformation. We want to embrace principles that let us emerge as something different. This can enable us to discover and unlock our maximum potential.
It is More Than Benchmarking
You are probably familiar with benchmarking. Over the past couple of decades many companies began to create formal processes to “benchmark” from other companies, even competitors. That strategy evolved.
- The goal at first was to learn techniques and processes that would enable a company to obtain similar results to the company being “benchmarked.”
- Savvy leaders saw that the goal of benchmarking should be more. What competitive use was it simply to “conform”—reach an equitable level with another company? The goal should be to learn from the others in order to leap past them. The target/goal for benchmarking was raised.
So, as we study and embrace examples of “great” companies and the models that result, our eyes should be on a loftier goal. We should use what we learn in order to stretch even beyond the levels of greatness achieved by the groups we are studying.
We won’t just copy the tactics and processes of successful companies. We will explore a deeper meaning for our actions.
More to come...
Larry Meeker
President, Advanced Team Concepts
| 
