great by choice
what makes 10x companies different?
“great by choice” by jim collins analyzes companies that have performed vastly better in comparison to their competitors and tries to find common patterns of behaviour among these companies.
the key stuff they do different
fanatic discipline
this one resonates with me personally because i see it play out in my own life. it's about ruthless consistency rather than sporadic bursts of effort. my running journey illustrates this perfectly: strava's fitness score shows how i've been stuck at 36 for years, cycling through intense periods followed by inactivity. the lesson is clear - consistent, moderate effort would have yielded far better results than my pattern of sporadic intensity.
empirical creativity
innovation matters, but the best companies ground their creative decisions in data. take the story of the everest climbing team who faced a critical decision about whether to continue their summit attempt. instead of pushing forward on determination alone, they analyzed the weather data and made the difficult but correct choice to turn back - likely saving their lives in the process.
productive paranoia
according to the book, bill gates exemplified this quality during microsoft's peak years. even as the company dominated the software industry, he remained intensely focused on potential threats. his persistent concern about the internet's impact led microsoft to pivot at a crucial moment, preventing the company from becoming irrelevant as technology evolved.
these companies also share an interesting approach to innovation called "firing bullets before cannonballs." rather than making massive bets on untested ideas, they start with small experiments to validate their thinking. only after proving a concept do they commit significant resources. this is also a result of being paranoid but in a good way.
level 5 ambition
perhaps the most counterintuitive quality: the leaders of these exceptional companies rarely seemed driven by personal wealth or recognition. instead, they possessed a deeper sense of purpose that transcended individual success - a refreshing contrast to today's personality-driven business culture.
beyond business
what makes these principles particularly valuable is their applicability beyond the corporate world. my running experience isn't just a personal anecdote - it's a perfect illustration of how consistency outperforms sporadic intensity in any endeavor. whether you're building a company, developing a skill, or pursuing a personal goal, the formula remains surprisingly similar: maintain discipline, use data to guide decisions, stay vigilantly aware of risks, and connect your efforts to a larger purpose.
the real insight isn't that these companies do anything revolutionary. instead, they excel by executing fundamental principles with exceptional consistency and purpose. it's a reminder that sustainable success often comes from doing the basics extraordinarily well rather than chasing the next breakthrough innovation.