Jim Collins's Confront the Brutal Facts

Facts on leadership, character, and culture.

Jim Collins was on The Tim Ferriss Show podcast recently. Collins is a researcher and author of books such as Good to Great and Turning the Flywheel.  

An important lesson that works for business and more is their conversation on how “productive change begins when you confront the brutal facts”.

This fits with my mental model of why some people and organizations are more productive or successful. This concept implies that a lot of people don’t want to confront the “brutal facts”. Brutal meaning facts that hurt people’s egos or are hard to improve on. A lot of organizations can be aware that their communication has room for improvement. But fewer organizations can zero in on the problem and make the necessary changes.  

In an education setting, the brutal fact might be the way we organize classes with a number of discrete periods a day is not the most effective way for student learning. But it’s been done for years and it’s difficult to change. Unfortunately, conversations like this don’t even start in the most static institutions.

This leads to Collins’s next point that “leadership is about vision. But leadership is equally about creating a climate where the truth is heard and the brutal facts confronted.”

Organizations would be wise to create this type of atmosphere, but it takes leadership from the top. It also requires mature and secure people where you can criticize someone to their face. Not to be mean, but for genuine improvement or self-growth. For details on this type of upfront approach or culture listen to Adam Grant’s podcast with Ray Dalio of Bridgewater Associates (a hedge fund).

Another great quote: “If you have the right people on the bus, they will be self-motivated.” For those who this isn’t obvious for there is no shortcut for surrounding yourself with talented and kind people. When managers are faced with the skill versus character tradeoff character is your better bet in the long-run.

Good character is less likely to ruin your business and will provide more stability. This principle can depend on the size and type of your organization. Smaller more innovative businesses will need some people who push boundaries. But this is different than someone of low or immoral character. Similarly, in education, it’s easier to teach people skills than character.

Tying all these ideas together Collins argues this is about creating a culture. I don’t know if this is a cliche by now, but it’s still hard to create a good one. Even if leaders know they should be creating a positive culture. The larger your institution gets the more room there is for bad things to chip away at your culture.      

This brings us full circle to a culture where people are heard on the brutal facts. And hopefully, you work in a place that knows the difference between facts and fiction. In a competitive market, the best products rise to the top. In a functioning organization, the most important facts rise to the top too. And the best, high character people use these facts to bring about productive change.