Look, this is going to be a very hard challenge. I want you to think about how demanding this is going to be. If you don’t think you’re going to like… - Jim Collins

A Level 5 executive team member does not blindly acquiesce to authority and is a strong leader in her own right, so driven and talented that she builds her arena into one of the very best in the world. Yet each team member must also have the ability to meld that strength into doing whatever it takes to make the company great.

if it were a hiring decision (rather than a “should this person get off the bus?” decision), would you hire the person again? Second, if the person came to tell you that he or she is leaving to pursue an exciting new opportunity, would you feel terribly disappointed or secretly relieved?

But what about the vast majority of companies that wake up partway through life and realize that they’re good, but not great?