summary ofTurning the FlywheelBook by Jim Collins

first KEY POINT

Some businesses make it and others don’t

Have you ever wondered why some businesses flourish and grow in success year upon year and others simply struggle all the way and eventually fail? It’s not always about the most complicated aspects of their business plan, and it’s often that they haven’t considered the basics with enough detail or thought.Back in 2001, Amazon asked Jim Collins to discuss with them his flywheel concept which was first introduced in “Good to Great”. This was in the middle of a difficult time for Internet businesses, and Amazon wanted to ensure that they could continue to build their brand and survive what was a turbulent economy. This was a very successful approach!

The flywheel effect shows that you don’t need a lucky break, you don’t need to find a four-leafed clover or a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Instead, it comes down to planning, creating the elements required to get things started, and then building momentum. Consider all of this as a huge wheel, a flywheel.A flywheel is a circle of important aspects that build upon each other to create success. For instance, if you wanted to make breakfast, you would first preheat your stove, you would get your pan out of the cupboard, you would add oil to the pan, you would take the egg from the fridge, you would crack the egg, and you would wait for the egg to cook before serving.These are the actions to create a successful breakfast, with one action building upon the one which comes directly before it. As you reach the end of the circle, you’re back at the beginning, so you can begin the next morning’s breakfast!

Consider your business idea the same as this very simple example.