Jim Collins
Jim Collins is the book’s author, as well as its first-person narrator. He led the research team that developed and carried out the book’s central study on the patterns potentially driving the success of good-to-great…
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Jim Stockdale
Jim Stockdale served as an Admiral in the U.S. military during the Vietnam War. He spent eight years imprisoned in a notorious prisoner-of-war camp, during which time he bravely led his troops in withstanding torture…
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Darwin E. Smith
Darwin E. Smith was the CEO of paper company Kimberly-Clark during its good-to-great transformation. Collins uses Smith as an example of a quintessential Level 5 Leader; he is humble and modest while also making…
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Colman Mockler
Another quintessential Level 5 Leader, Colman Mockler was the CEO of Gillette during its good-to-great transformation. He was known for prioritizing his company’s success over his own financial gain and for placing trust in…
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Alan Wurtzel
Alan Wurtzel was a Level 5 Leader who took Circuit City through its good-to-great transformation. Collins particularly emphasizes that Wurtzel viewed his company’s successes as luck while also taking full responsibility for its setbacks. This…
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Get the entire Good to Great LitChart as a printable PDF.
Ken Iverson
Ken Iverson was another Level 5 Leader and the CEO of Nucor during its transition from good to great. He was known for being especially modest and humble and for leading debates in order…
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David Maxwell
David Maxwell was the Level 5 Leader who led Fannie Mae through its period of good-to-great transformation. Maxwell’s decision to focus on hiring decisions even as his company lost enormous amounts of money daily is…
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Lee Iacocca
Lee Iacocca is the book’s primary example of a leader of an unsustained comparison company who, notably, did not show traits of a Level 5 Leader. Iacocca led Chrysler through a period of remarkable…
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Minor Characters
Cork Walgreen
Charles “Cork” Walgreen was another Level 5 Leader, who led his family company Walgreens into an era of greatness. Collins focuses especially on Walgreen’s skill in selecting the right people for his leadership teams, and on his savvy decision to focus on a clear, precise Hedgehog Concept.
