Good To Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … And Others Don't

The actual process used in selecting these eleven companies was rigorous:1.The company had to show a pattern ofgooil performance, punctuated by a transition point, after which it shifted to great performance."Great perfomiance" was defined as a cumulative total stock return of at least three times the general market for the period from the transition point through 15 years.2. The transitiou from good to great had to be coinpan» specific, not an inrlnstry-wiile event.3. The company had to be an established and ongoing enterprisenot a startup, It had to have been in business for at least 25 years prior to its transition, and it had to have been publicly traded with stock-return data available for at least 10 years prior to its transition.4. The transition point had to occur before 1985 to give the team enough data to assess the sustainability of the transition. 5. Whatever the year of transition, the company had to be a significuni, imgi&ing, stanrl-alone company.6.At the time of its selection, the company siill had to show an upivord ireiid.