Jim Collins’s journey to becoming one of the world’s most respected business thinkers began far from the boardroom. Raised in Colorado and once a nationally ranked rock climber, he learned early the discipline, preparation, and focus needed to reach ambitious goals. After earning his bachelor’s degree in mathematical sciences from Stanford and an MBA from Stanford GSB, Jim worked at McKinsey & Company and Hewlett-Packard. He later returned to the GSB as a faculty member, earning the Distinguished Teaching Award. In 1995, driven by what he calls “a relentless curiosity,” he established a management laboratory in Boulder — located in his former elementary school — to explore what enables organizations to thrive over time.
That lab became the launchpad for a series of best-selling books, including Built to Last, Good to Great, and Great by Choice, which together have sold more than 10 million copies. Jim’s research, grounded in side-by-side comparisons of great companies and their struggling counterparts, has yielded widely used concepts — like Level 5 Leadership and the Flywheel Effect — that have influenced leaders across industries. While much of his work centers on corporations, he has also applied these ideas to the social sectors, advising leaders in education, healthcare, and government on strengthening institutions to meet long-term challenges. Classmate Charles “Buck” Schott, MBA ’83, recalls, “I was struck by how Jim’s slimmed-down version of Good to Great for the social sectors has been seen as transformative.”
These days, Jim calls himself a Socratic advisor, working with everyone from CEOs to military generals to nonprofit leaders. Named one of the “100 Greatest Living Business Minds” by Forbes in 2017, he’s focused on turning research into practical, no-nonsense advice. His goal is to help leaders face challenges head-on, adapt with confidence, and guide companies toward progress that genuinely benefits the communities they serve. “An organization is not truly great if it cannot be great for its people and the society in which it operates,” he writes.
