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In Jim Collins' 2001 best seller "Good to Great", he concludes that a good company, even onemired in mediocrity in a poor industry, can become a great company. Collins did this by sortingthrough a list of 1,435 private companies, looking for those that made a good-to-greattransition. He settled on 11 and discovered common traits that challenged many of theconventional notions of corporate success.This paper seeks to answer the question, "Can a good utility become a great utility by applyingthe same Good to Great principles discovered in the private sector?" The concepts put forth inCollins' book appear on their surface to be transportable to any organization, but doing so can beparticularly daunting in a municipal agency. This paper explores how some Good to Greatconcepts apply while others do not because of the fundamental differences between private andpublic sector organizations.For example, municipalities do not seek to maximize profits, please stockholders, or dominatemarket share. With no competition and a seemingly never-ending funding source (though thefunds themselves may be limited or become limited), what will drive a municipality to greatnessis, in most cases, much different than what drives a private company. That does not, however,mean the Good to Great equation changes completely. It may simply mean the variables must beadapted to fit into a municipal setting.This paper explores the comparisons and contrasts between private companies and municipalutilities as the Good to Great concepts apply, and concludes with guidelines for transforminggood utilities into great ones. Because Good to Great defines "good" and "great" in terms ofstock market performance, terms that can not be directly applied to the public utilities sector, thispaper also concludes with what the authors believe is the definition of greatness for a utility. Includes 9 references, figure.

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Edition: Vol. - No. Published: 02/01/2007 Number of Pages: 20 File Size: 1 file , 420 KB