Good to Great

by

Jim Collins

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Good to Great makes teaching easy.

Ken Iverson Character Analysis

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 to refine his company’s Hedgehog Concept. Nucor also became a notably egalitarian and worker-friendly company under Iverson.

Ken Iverson Quotes in Good to Great

The Good to Great quotes below are all either spoken by Ken Iverson or refer to Ken Iverson. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
The Possibility of Transformation Theme Icon
).
Chapter 6  Quotes

Inequality still runs rampant in most business corporations. I’m referring now to the hierarchical inequality which legitimizes and institutionalizes the principle of “We” vs. “They.” … The people at the top of the corporate hierarchy grant themselves privilege after privilege, flaunt those privileges before the men and women who do the real work, then wonder why employees are unmoved by management’s invocations to cut costs and boost profitability … When I think of the millions of dollars spent by people at the top of the management hierarchy on efforts to motivate people who are continually put down by that hierarchy, I can only shake my head in wonder.

Related Characters: Ken Iverson (speaker), Jim Collins
Related Symbols: Hedgehog Concept
Page Number: 136
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Good to Great LitChart as a printable PDF.
Good to Great PDF

Ken Iverson Quotes in Good to Great

The Good to Great quotes below are all either spoken by Ken Iverson or refer to Ken Iverson. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
The Possibility of Transformation Theme Icon
).
Chapter 6  Quotes

Inequality still runs rampant in most business corporations. I’m referring now to the hierarchical inequality which legitimizes and institutionalizes the principle of “We” vs. “They.” … The people at the top of the corporate hierarchy grant themselves privilege after privilege, flaunt those privileges before the men and women who do the real work, then wonder why employees are unmoved by management’s invocations to cut costs and boost profitability … When I think of the millions of dollars spent by people at the top of the management hierarchy on efforts to motivate people who are continually put down by that hierarchy, I can only shake my head in wonder.

Related Characters: Ken Iverson (speaker), Jim Collins
Related Symbols: Hedgehog Concept
Page Number: 136
Explanation and Analysis: