#67 Jim Collins: Keeping the Flywheel in Motion

Here's the interesting thing about luck. Luck is asymmetric as a cause. Bad luck can kill you. But good luck cannot make you great. Hello and welcome, I'm Shane Parrish and this is The Knowledge Project, a podcast exploring the ideas, methods, and mental models that help you master the best of what other people have already figured out.

To learn more and stay up to date on new episodes, go to fs.blog slash podcast. Farnum Street also puts together a weekly newsletter that I think you'll love. It's called Brain Food, and it comes out every Sunday. Much like this podcast, it's high signal, timeless, and mind expanding. You can read what you're missing at fs.blog slash newsletter. Today I'm speaking with Jim Collins. Jim is the author or co author of books like Built to Last, Good to Great. How the Mighty Fall, Great by Choice, and Turning the Flywheel. Together, I think they've sold over 10 million copies, and you've likely heard of one, if not

All of them. This conversation is amazing and detailed. We start with an understanding of how Steve Jobs helped him teach at Stanford, and go on to explore what makes companies and people successful using the lenses of level 5 leadership, flywheel, bullets and cannonballs, the 20 mile march. compounding and so much more. We also talk about why companies fail. And Jim flips the script on me and asks me a few questions as well. And we also explore why leadership can be learned but not taught.

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