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The Tim Ferriss Show
#632: Jim Collins — A Rare Interview with a Reclusive Polymath (Repost)
Oct 31, 2022
02:26:00
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Quick takeaways
- Jim Collins focuses on having at least 50% of his time dedicated to new intellectual and creative work, and tracks his creative hours to analyze patterns in his productive days.
- Collins compares his approach to life and work with the simplex method, aiming for the local optimum rather than a specific end goal, and values both solitude and meaningful interactions with loved ones.
- Creative work for Collins includes activities that contribute to the creation of something new or durable, emphasizing the importance of flow state and spending time with loved ones.
- Collins values insightful conversations that lead to unexpected creative moments, unlocking hidden insights and generating new ideas through the interaction of thoughts and perspectives.
- Collins believes in the flywheel concept, driven by curiosity and big questions, generating impact, funding, and the pursuit of the next curiosity and question in a perpetual cycle.
Deep dives
Tracking Creative Work and Relationships
Jim Collins has developed a habit of tracking his creative hours throughout the day. He aims to have at least 50% of his time dedicated to new intellectual and creative work, with the remaining time divided between teaching and other tasks. He counts the number of creative hours achieved each day and ensures that over a 365-day cycle, the total exceeds 1000 hours. By sorting the spreadsheet, Collins can analyze patterns in his creative days and understand the activities that contribute to positive or negative experiences. He emphasizes the importance of both solitude and time spent with loved ones in creating fulfilling and productive days.
The Simplex Method and Optimal Navigation
Jim Collins compares his approach to life and work with the simplex method in operations research. He navigates step by step, finding the local optimum rather than aiming for a specific end goal. Collins values increasing simplicity, time spent in flow state, and meaningful interactions with loved ones. His plus two days, which are highly positive days, involve either deep solitude and hard work, such as intense writing or research, or engaging and connected interactions with close friends and family. Collins strives for a balance between the two and uses daily reflection to ensure that his creative output remains consistent.
Defining Creative Work and Productivity
For Jim Collins, creative work encompasses activities that contribute to the creation of something new, replicable, or durable. These activities can include organizing tools, scheduling interviews for research projects, or engaging in conversations that generate insightful ideas. Collins links creativity to the creation of quality output, even if it may not always be shared with the world. He believes that being in a state of flow and spending time with loved ones are equally important aspects of leading a fulfilling and productive life.
Insightful Conversations and Unexpected Creative Moments
Jim Collins values insightful conversations that can lead to unexpected creative moments. These conversations may unlock hidden insights or trigger new ideas as thoughts are shared and articulated. Collins recalls sharing observations with a genius-level founder, highlighting the challenges of being a genius with a team of helpers. This unexpected insight in the middle of a conversation exemplifies a creative moment that arises from the interaction of ideas and perspectives.
The Power of Curiosity and Big Questions
Jim Collins's flywheel starts with curiosity and big questions. He believes that everything begins with being deeply curious about a topic and having a burning desire to learn and do research on it. This leads to insights and ideas that he feels compelled to write and share with others. The impact of his work generates funding, which allows him to fund and pursue the next big curiosity and question. It is a perpetual cycle driven by curiosity and a hunger for knowledge.
The Importance of Mentorship and Peter Drucker
Jim Collins considers Peter Drucker, the renowned management thinker and writer, as one of his greatest mentors. He had the privilege of spending a day with Drucker, who deeply influenced his thinking and approach to life. Drucker asked big questions and was guided by a quest to make society more productive and humane. Collins learned from Drucker the importance of pursuing a giant question, which he describes as the essence of great social impact. Drucker's inspiration and teachings continue to guide Collins in his own journey.
The Role of Luck and People in Success
Collins believes that luck plays a role in personal and professional success. However, it is not about having more luck, but rather getting a higher return on luck. He views people, relationships, and personal decisions as key factors in achieving success. Collins recalls the story of meeting his wife and getting engaged within a few days, which he attributes to a stroke of luck and a deep connection. Similarly, taking risks, like his Thelma and Louise moment, was a calculated decision based on empirical validation and a strong belief in his research and ideas.
The Power of Making Big Decisions
Making a series of decisions that are part of the same category can be simplified by making one big decision that can be replicated many times. For example, in the case of choosing speaking engagements, rather than treating each invitation as separate decisions, one can decide based on whether it offers great potential and the opportunity to learn.
The Flywheel Principle
The podcast discusses the concept of the flywheel, which is an underlying architecture that drives continuous momentum and progress. It is not a single event or breakthrough, but a series of good decisions consistently executed over time. The flywheel is a cumulative process that builds upon itself, adding momentum and producing significant results. The podcast provides examples like Amazon, where the flywheel drives lower prices, customer visits, third-party sellers, store expansion, revenue growth, and cost reduction. The key is to identify and understand the specific flywheel that drives an organization or individual and continue to build on it over the long term.
15.
Entrepreneurship and Small Business - You Don't Have to Be at Ibm to Be in Business You Can Do Your Own
2min
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Jim Collins (jimcollins.com) is a student and teacher of what makes great companies tick and a Socratic advisor to leaders in the business and social sectors. Having invested more than a quarter-century in rigorous research, he has authored or co-authored six books that have sold in total more than 10 million copies worldwide. They include Good to Great, the #1 bestseller that examines why some companies make the leap to superior results, and its companion work Good to Great and the Social Sectors; the enduring classic Built to Last, which explores how some leaders build companies that remain visionary for generations; How the Mighty Fall, which delves into how once-great companies can self-destruct; and Great by Choice, which is about thriving in chaos—why some do and others don’t.
And now he’s updating his debut book, Beyond Entrepreneurship, for the twenty-first century. Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0: Turning Your Business into an Enduring Great Company is now available.
Please enjoy!
This interview was originally published in 2019. You can find the show notes here: https://tim.blog/2019/02/18/jim-collins/
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For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.
For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors
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Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, Margaret Atwood, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Dr. Gabor Maté, Anne Lamott, Sarah Silverman, Dr. Andrew Huberman, and many more.
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