Jim Collins is the author of Good to Great. He is a Colorado native, born in Aurora in 1958, who throughout the course of his career has become a globally renowned leader in the business and social sectors; his books have sold over 10 million copies. He holds both undergraduate and graduate degrees from Stanford University, in addition to honorary doctorates from the University of Colorado and Claremont Graduate University. He is also a faculty member at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, where he received the Distinguished Teaching Award, and a self-proclaimed “teacher at heart,” serving as consultant and mentor to industry leaders across a variety of sectors.

These credentials lend credibility to Collins’s arguments in Good to Great—a book he decided to write due to his own curiosity regarding the unanswered questions in his previous book, Built to Last. Eager to learn how companies became great in the first place, Collins assembled a vast research team that spent over 15,000 hours compiling the data that eventually led to Good to Great. In making his arguments, Collins relies heavily on quantifiable data and speaks with an authoritative voice. However, he also shows interest in the more “human” side of his research, inviting readers to find ways of using it in everyday life.