Jim Collins, the author of the national bestseller “Good to Great” (2001) and coauthor of “Built to Last” (1997), in his latest book “How the Mighty Fall and Why Some Companies Never Give In” confronts the challenging questions such as “How do the strong and powerful corporations collapse?” and “Can the fall be discovered early enough to be prevented?” The book, first published in 2009, has by now become a hand manual for the leaders throughout the business- and socially- oriented sectors.

Collins, who holds degrees in business administration and mathematical sciences from Stanford University and honorary doctoral degrees from the University of Colorado and the Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management at Claremont Graduate University, is currently working at his management laboratory in Boulder, Colo (Vanags, 2010). Collins’ style is systematic and simple to read, his writing manner is well known for an impressively wide array of research and well-thought-out logical arguments, supported by reliable data.

In his book Collins claims that decline can not only be perceived and avoided, but also reversed. The author offers corporate leaders a well-substantiated and logically reasoned hope that it is possible to gain practical knowledge of how to hold back a fall and, if they discover themselves declining, alter the course. Business problems are basically self-caused, and the success of the fight against decline lies mainly within the leader’s own hands. Following the author’s arguments, readers find out why some companies are now considered to be dead in the water, while for others the things have turned out right, regardless of some pretty discouraging chances.

The presented research project communicates a systematized answer to the mentioned above questions, clear understanding of which can provide managers with an option to considerably decrease their chances of falling all the way to the bottom. Considering the examples of the great companies, Collins provides an analysis of their failure cases, and concludes by outlining a sequence of universal five step-wise stages of decline. The stages are: Hubris Born of Success (1); Undisciplined Pursuit of More (2); Denial of Risk and Peril (3); Grasping for Salvation (4); Capitulation to Irrelevance or Death (5) (Collins, 2009). Collins does not offer any opinion on whether the collapse of the leading companies is a good phenomenon or not. Instead, he investigates precedent failures, literally taking the very process into pieces, and provides readers with description of disturbing signs to spy out.

Regardless of how large it is, every single institution is in danger of decline. Even prominent companies are facing a constant risk of losing their balance. There is, however, always a possibility to recover. There is no such law to specify that the most influential and great organizations will unavoidably gain success, but there is, however, a certain law of nature, which indicates that the most powerful and the most wisely governed corporations have greater chances to thrive.

“How the Mighty Fall and Why Some Companies Never Give In” by Jim Collins seems to become one of those manuscripts that leaders and executives will be rereading and analyzing for years to come. Nonetheless, it is not to imply that all CEOs at all levels would be rescued from failure by simply reading this book. Those managers, who are caged by the conditions, either favorable or not, and who are focused on defeats and poor chances, can eventually get entirely knocked out of the competition. Collins encourages his readers to never lose hope, since even though the great can fall, they can as well rise over again. Everyone can collapse and, sooner or later, the majority does. Nevertheless, – and that is what Collins’ investigation, in fact, underlines, – some companies are back on their feet after the most despairing crises, while some are coming back even stronger than before.