Jim Collins - Concepts - The Flywheel Effect

THE FLYWHEEL No matter how dramatic the end result, building a great enterprise never happens in one fell swoop. There’s no single defining action, no grand program, no one killer innovation, no solitary lucky break, no miracle moment. Rather, the process resembles relentlessly pushing a giant, heavy flywheel, turn upon turn, building momentum unti

Consistency is key: The “Flywheel” concept is another valuable tool for managers. Collins describes it as the process of building momentum through consistent and disciplined actions, which over time lead to breakthrough results. For managers, this means focusing on steady, incremental improvements rather than seeking quick fixes or dramatic shifts

I’ve come to see the flywheel effect as one of the most important strategic principles to come from all of our research into why some companies become great, why some fail to become great, and why some fall from greatness. The big winners are those that take a flywheel from ten turns to a billion turns rather than crank through ten turns, start ove

Making the most of victories is what the flywheel principle is all about (see the previous chapter on The Map for a brief description of the flywheel concept). I’ve come to see the flywheel effect as one of the most important strategic principles to come from all of our research into why some companies become great, why some fail to become great, a

Using the components you’ve identified (keeping it to four to six), sketch the flywheel. Where does the flywheel start—what’s the top of the loop?