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The executives who ignited the transformations from good
to great did not first figure out where to drive the bus
and then get people to take it there. No, they first
got the right people on the bus (and the wrong people
off the bus) and then figured out where to drive
it. They said, in essence, “Look, I don’t really
know where we should take this bus. But I know this much:
If we get the right people on the bus, the right people
in the right seats, and the wrong people off the bus,
then we’ll figure out how to take it someplace great.”
The good-to-great leaders understood
three simple truths. First, if you begin with “who,”
rather than “what,” you can more easily adapt
to a changing world. If people join the bus primarily
because of where it is going, what happens if you get
ten miles down the road and you need to change direction?
You’ve got a problem. But if people are on the bus
because of who else is on the bus, then it’s much
easier to change direction: “Hey, I got on this bus
because of who else is on it; if we need to change direction
to be more successful, fine with me.” Second, if
you have the right people on the bus, the problem of how
to motivate and manage people largely goes away. The right
people don’t need to be tightly managed or fired
up; they will be self-motivated by the inner drive to
produce the best results and to be part of creating something
great. Third, if you have the wrong people, it doesn’t
matter whether you discover the right direction; you still
won’t have a great company. Great vision without
great people is irrelevant.
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