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Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies (Good to Great, 2) Paperback – October 26, 1994

by Jim Collins (Author), Jerry I Porras (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 2,433 ratings
See all formats and editions
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Drawing upon a six-year research project at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras took eighteen truly exceptional and long-lasting companies and studied each 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 the comparison companies and what were the common practices these enduringly great companies followed throughout their history?"

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 21st century and beyond.

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Previous page
  1. Book 2 of 6
    Good to Great
  2. Print length
    368 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Harper Business
  5. Publication date
    October 26, 1994
  6. Dimensions
    5.31 x 0.83 x 8 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0060516402
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0060516406
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jim Collins is a student and teacher of what makes great companies tick, and a Socratic advisor to leaders in the business and social sectors. Having invested more than a quarter-century in rigorous research, he has authored or coauthored six books that have sold in total more than 10 million copies worldwide. They include Good to Great, Built to Last, How the Mighty Fall, and Great by Choice.

Driven by a relentless curiosity, Jim began his research and teaching career on the faculty at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he received the Distinguished Teaching Award in 1992. In 1995, he founded a management laboratory in Boulder, Colorado.

In addition to his work in the business sector, Jim has a passion for learning and teaching in the social sectors, including education, healthcare, government, faith-based organizations, social ventures, and cause-driven nonprofits.

In 2012 and 2013, he had the honor to serve a two-year appointment as the Class of 1951 Chair for the Study of Leadership at the United States Military Academy at West Point. In 2017, Forbes selected Jim as one of the 100 Greatest Living Business Minds.

Jim has been an avid rock climber for more than forty years and has completed single-day ascents of El Capitan and Half Dome in Yosemite Valley.

Learn more about Jim and his concepts at his website, where you’ll find articles, videos, and useful tools. jimcollins.com



Jerry I. Porras is the Lane Professor of Organizational Behavior and Change, Emeritus, at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business where he served as an Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and frequent executive education teacher. He studies ways of aligning companies around their purpose and core values to produce lasting high performance.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper Business; 3rd ed. edition (October 26, 1994)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0060516402
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0060516406
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 0.83 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 2,433 ratings

About the authors

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Previous page
  1. Jim Collins

    Jim Collins

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    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Jim Collins is a student and teacher of what makes great companies tick, and a Socratic advisor to leaders in the business and social sectors. Having invested more than a quarter century in rigorous research, he has authored or coauthored a series of books that have sold in total more than 10 million copies worldwide. They include Good to Great, the #1 bestseller, which examines why some companies make the leap and others don’t; the enduring classic Built to Last, which discovers why some companies remain visionary for generations; How the Mighty Fall, which delves into how once-great companies can self-destruct; and Great by Choice, which uncovers the leadership behaviors for thriving in chaos and uncertainty. Jim has also published two monographs that extend the ideas in his primary books: Good to Great and the Social Sectors and Turning the Flywheel.

    His most recent publication is BE 2.0 (Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0), an ambitious upgrade of his very first book; it returns Jim to his original focus on small, entrepreneurial companies and honors his coauthor and mentor Bill Lazier.

    Driven by a relentless curiosity, Jim began his research and teaching career on the faculty at the Stanford 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 conducts research and engages with CEOs and senior-leadership teams.

    In addition to his work in the business sector, Jim has a passion for learning and teaching in the social sectors, including education, healthcare, government, faith-based organizations, social ventures, and cause-driven nonprofits. In 2012 and 2013, he had the honor to serve a two-year appointment as the Class of 1951 Chair for the Study of Leadership at the United States Military Academy at West Point.

    Jim holds a bachelor's degree in mathematical sciences and an MBA from Stanford University, and honorary doctoral degrees from the University of Colorado and the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University. In 2017, Forbes selected Jim as one of the 100 Greatest Living Business Minds.

    See more on the author's page
  2. Jerry I. Porras

    Jerry I. Porras

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    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
2,433 global ratings
Great book
4 Stars
Great book
Good book but I bought this at the new price and got a used book. Pretty upset about that. I bought this (and many other books) in 2019 and am only just getting to it. It sat uopenedon my bookshelf for over a year and I just opened it to find these scribbles. I am really upset about paying for a new book but having a used one.
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Top reviews from the United States

Leandro Bento Pompermaier
5.0 out of 5 stars very interesting reading
Reviewed in the United States on January 14, 2024
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"Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies" by Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras is a remarkable exploration into the principles that have sustained some of the world’s most successful organizations. The book stands out for its compelling concepts and insightful examples, demonstrating the unique qualities that have allowed visionary companies to thrive over decades. Collins and Porras dissect the common myths about corporate success and replace them with evidence-based strategies, drawing from a range of fascinating case studies. Their analysis of what makes companies endure and prosper provides valuable lessons for business leaders and entrepreneurs alike, making it a must-read for anyone interested in the dynamics of long-term business success.
One person found this helpful
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Kelley Ridings
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant read to building a sustainable visionary organization
Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2022
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Built to Last is a book of luminescent importance among books about successful companies/organizations. Based on the thorough research of Jim Collins (of Good to Great fame) and Jerry Porras, this book examines the qualities of visionary companies who had great success and staying power in their fields. They identified 18 such companies and had a comparison group of comparable companies in the same industry. The results are conclusive. Visionary companies thrive on being clock makers who build their organization to improve each year and withstand the test of time. They fervently focus on their core competencies. They consistently stay true to their core values. Yet they will change and innovate. They adopt the “genius of and” realizing they can be equally committed to seemingly contradictory purposes, yet those purposes are actually equally important. For example these companies can be committed to serving people, AND they can seek to dominate their market. They embody the yin and yang concept, complementary forces that co-exist and support one another. Visionary organizations are also committed to serving people and the greater common good, however they define it. They aren’t focused on profit as the most important purpose.

This is another Collins book that is a total game changer, along with Good to Great and How the Mighty Fall. It’s a classic read of brilliant proportions. Any business or organizational leader who seeks to build something that lasts and thrives long after our own tenures passed to someone else, needs to read this book. NOW!
4 people found this helpful
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Benjamin Rossen
4.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring, but lacking analytical rigor.
Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2005
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This is an inspiring book, and informative. It answers the "what" question convincingly. I missed answers to the "why" questions. Why, for example, are successful visionary companies characterized by their emphasis on ethical standards? There are many possible explanations: the staff of the company are inspired by the ideals and give more to their employer; the companies reap payoffs in the long term from grateful recipients of their honorable deeds; the companies acquire a good reputation which increases sales and hence profits. More interesting, is the question of the logic of ethics in the business game - not even touched by these authors.

According to Jim Collins and Jerry Porras, it does not matter what the company ideology is, as long as it is passionately believed by the management and employees. I find this a dubious claim, and not supported by the data. The ideological frameworks of the companies that were studied are not interchangeable, not for the trivial reason that the ideology of another company happens not to be the one believed by each of them. Boeing is unlikely to spend money on a program to cure river blindness in Africa. Why does Merck do this? Clearly, a pharmaceutical firm does well to invest in a reputation for medical generosity that flows from a passion for making people well? Merck is purchasing precisely the trust that pays-off in the medical market place. Trust reduces transaction costs, and in some cases is almost as good as a monopoly. Boeing, on the other hand, must buy a brand name attached to their dedication to engineering excellence. It does matter what companies are passionate about.

My company operates on the Internet. Our pledge includes the words: "The tragedy of the commons is the propensity of users to take more from the commons than they give. We undertake to contribute more to the commons than we take. Our presence shall make the Internet safer, more useful and greater fun." Why is this a suitable ideology for our company? The answer is not that this is one we happen to believe in, and feel passionate about - although we do. Rather, this ideology is strategically fitting. We enhance to our brand name, and therefore the value of our software, by adding our reputation to the web applications we write.

In one of our daughter businesses we are a broker of information from merchants to consumer (information about products that are available) and from consumer to merchant (we generate real time demand curves for a large range of commodities). We have pledged not to become a trader. Why? In ethical terms, we should not be a trader because our insider information would give rise to conflict of interest. The trust that we gain by not being a trader, and hence remaining a disinterested supplier of market information, enables us to broker Coasian agreements with reduced transaction costs between the parties on the Internet. The advantage is large. It is on the Internet commons that trust is scarce. We are able to purchase this by foregoing some potentially profitable trades, and that pays us more in the long term in our role as an information service provider.

Our ideology was designed to give us the greatest possible strategic advantage in our markets. That is not to say we do not believe in our ideals, but that the nature of our ideology is important. It does matter what we believe. It matters what you believe, and it matters that you understand that it matters.

I strongly recommend "The Modern Firm" by Roberts. Read this alongside "Built to Last". Roberts is a harder read, but he gets under the logic of corporate dynamics better than Collins and Porras. Because "Built to Last" is characterized by an ubiquitous analytical paucity, Jim Collins and Jerry Porras' interpretations of their data are not always correct. That is a pity. Their findings are exciting, inspiring even, and the book despite its limitations is a good read.
13 people found this helpful
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Kevin H
5.0 out of 5 stars even better than Good to Great
Reviewed in the United States on December 18, 2023
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Lots of practical insights on how to create companies with longevity. No easy feat and shows that a lot of the companies took huge risks as well as having the culture and tenacity to push through the hard times whilst maintaining their vision and purpose. Really enlightening.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Marco
5.0 out of 5 stars Valido
Reviewed in Italy on November 1, 2022
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Lettura piacevole e veloce con diversi spunti di riflessione sicuramente molto interessanti ed utile a tutti indipendentemente dall’inquadramento aziendale che hanno.
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amit t.
5.0 out of 5 stars Interested practical difference between companies those just servive and flourish
Reviewed in India on October 25, 2022
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Go if you really interested in research based managment
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Ken Mwine-R
5.0 out of 5 stars Recommend this to anyone looking to start a business or in business
Reviewed in Canada on August 24, 2020
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Read the damn book and write your own review 😂😂😂😂. Anyway, if you are a self employed business person, it is worth the read.
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Ivo Trindade
5.0 out of 5 stars Leitura/Estudo Imprescindível
Reviewed in Brazil on August 10, 2019
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Um dos livros fundamentais em negócios. Análise sóbria de uma pesquisa em gigantes do mundo corporativo, com lições a aplicarmos em qualquer organização. Rico aprendizado com empresas de diversos seguimentos e o que fizeram em comum para durarem gerações: 3M, Merck, P&G, Motorola, J&J, Boeing, Disney, WalMart, Nordstrom, dentre outras. Suas fundações, lições aprendidas com seus "fracassos", projetos não lucrativos e o sucesso que em alguns casos dura mais que um século.
One person found this helpful
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César Zarco
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing book
Reviewed in Mexico on June 4, 2019
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This is such an amazing book, one of the best I’ve ever read. The kindle version is a good option to read it, no matter where
2 people found this helpful
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