Good To Great And The Social Sectors: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great

A great social sector organization must have the discipline to say, “No thank you” to resources that drive it away from the middle of its three circles.

Yet the wide variation in economic structures in the social sectors increases the importance of the hedgehog principle—the inherent complexity requires deeper, more penetrating insight and rigorous clarity than in your average business entity. You begin with passion, then you refine passion with a rigorous assessment of what you can best contribute

you can build a pocket of greatness without executive power, in the middle of an organization.

driven to do the best they can because it is simply part of their DNA.

When we examined the Hedgehog Concepts of the good-to-great companies, we found they reflected deep understanding of three intersecting circles: 1) what you are deeply passionate about, 2) what you can be the best in the world at, and 3) what best drives your

themselves to mission. The right people can often attract money, but money by itself can never attract the right people. Money is a commodity; talent is not. Time and talent can often compensate for lack of money, but money cannot ever compensate for lack of the right people.

the practice of leadership is not the same as the exercise of power.

True leadership only exists if people follow when they have the freedom not to.

Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice, and discipline.