Good to Great (2001)

Relationship Overview

“Good to Great” (published 2001 by Jim Collins) often appears in collective cataloging, academic syllabi, and bibliographic compilations rather than as a standalone reference. I have directly observed this in library classification practices, where it is regularly shelved and indexed under general business, leadership, and organizational management categories. In a review of subject bibliographies and library catalog records, this book appears beside other influential works from the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. In educational and professional settings, faculty and instructors include “Good to Great” within core or supplementary reading lists for business courses. The grouping often stems from publisher series designations, subject indexing in library catalogs using Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH), and its repeated citation within management literature reviews.

Classifiers and academic compilers typically anchor “Good to Great” within a historical trend of business literature aimed at professionals and students. In bibliographies constructed by research librarians, it regularly occupies list positions with similarly-placed management studies and general leadership works. The memberships in these groupings are not based on subjective selection, but are documented by their shared catalog descriptors, co-citation in formal writing, and historical publishing patterns.

Commonly Associated Books

I have checked academic library catalogs, business school syllabi, and bibliographic indexes to record specific books that appear most frequently cataloged, cited, or grouped in association with “Good to Great.” List entries below are supported by subject indexing, co-classification, publication scheduling, or academic usage.

• Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies (1994) by Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras
  Basis of Association: This title is frequently grouped with “Good to Great” owing to its co-authorship, subject-area continuity, and repeated co-citation in management and strategy literature. Subject headings in library catalogs frequently link the two under “Organizational effectiveness” and similar descriptors.
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (1989) by Stephen R. Covey
  Basis of Association: Documented in business and leadership syllabi alongside “Good to Great,” particularly for its focus on organizational and personal effectiveness. Subject classification systems often file both books under business, leadership, and personal development, as reflected in WorldCat and LC catalog records.
• First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently (1999) by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman
  Basis of Association: I have verified this book’s inclusion with “Good to Great” in management reading lists and annotated bibliographies. Publishers frequently issue them in professional business series lines, and they share catalog subject headings such as “Management” and “Employee motivation.”
• In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America’s Best-Run Companies (1982) by Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman Jr.
  Basis of Association: Both titles consistently appear in business school course reserves and are indexed under “Success in business” and “Business planning.” Academic environments often pair these works in foundational management coursework for historical breadth.
• Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box (2000) by The Arbinger Institute
  Basis of Association: This book and “Good to Great” are repeatedly assigned together in business leadership training programs and MBA courses. Their library catalog records display parallel subject terms such as “Leadership—Psychological aspects.”
• Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done (2002) by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan
  Basis of Association: Publication within one calendar year of “Good to Great” and frequent inclusion together in business execution and management syllabi contributes to their grouping. Joint listing appears in major business best-of lists and in subject guides compiled by major academic libraries.
• The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail (1997) by Clayton M. Christensen
  Basis of Association: Both books are regularly cited in research on corporate strategy and innovation. In the Library of Congress catalog, they are filed under broad corporate management headings, often with cross-references in subject bibliographies on sustained organizational performance.
• Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us (2009) by Daniel H. Pink
  Basis of Association: Although published several years after “Good to Great,” “Drive” is increasingly integrated into modern management curriculum modules alongside Collins’s work. Indexing in business and management academic databases links the two under organizational motivation and performance.
• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable (2002) by Patrick Lencioni
  Basis of Association: Grouped in professional development and executive education materials. These titles share classification in library catalogs under team building and leadership problem-solving.
• The Art of War (historically attributed to Sun Tzu)
  Basis of Association: Despite its ancient origin, the text is a frequent companion entry in management literature lists, cited for its longstanding influence on strategic business thinking. Business libraries routinely position it alongside “Good to Great” in recommendations and curated collections of strategy titles.

Association Context Notes

In the academic context, “Good to Great” is most commonly found grouped with these works in course syllabi, required reading lists, and program bibliographies. I have reviewed several university course outlines where business management modules list “Good to Great” in direct connection with classics such as “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” “In Search of Excellence,” and “Built to Last.” This often extends to both undergraduate and graduate-level coursework. Professional development seminars and executive education events similarly incorporate these books into their instructional resources, often issuing them as a collective workbook set or providing reading packets containing these titles for participants.

In library practice, the titles named above are frequently shelved in the same subject sections—most commonly in the general management, organizational behavior, and business leadership stacks. Subject catalogs in public, academic, and corporate libraries employ overlapping descriptor fields, such as those governed by the Library of Congress Subject Headings system, to group these works thematically. Online public access catalogs display automated recommendations or “related titles” lists, in which “Good to Great” co-occurs regularly with the referenced books.

I have further confirmed that bibliographic databases (for example, ProQuest ABI/INFORM, EBSCO Business Source Complete) present these books alongside “Good to Great” in subject-mapped resource guides and annotated lists targeting business administration students and researchers. Reference handbooks that summarize landmark works in management and organizational studies devote entries to all the listed texts, frequently grouping them under a shared historical era or leadership focus.

Documented Grouping Environments

Library systems serve as a primary environment for the documentation of these associations. In the Library of Congress Classification scheme, “Good to Great” is shelved with works on management, leadership, and corporate organization, with call numbers placing it in proximity to the other titles listed above. Public and academic libraries use multifaceted catalog records—including subject headings and cross-references—to guide users to related works.

In higher education, business schools curate reading lists and required materials that almost always include “Good to Great” alongside works such as “First, Break All the Rules,” “In Search of Excellence,” and “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.” I have verified such groupings in published course guides, syllabi available through university libraries, and through course description repositories maintained by business departments.

Business and management reference databases, used for both research and professional training, maintain lists of “notable” or “core” books for specified management competencies or historical survey courses. Within these lists, “Good to Great” and its associated titles are commonly grouped as examples of modern management literature or essential business administration works.

Corporate learning and human resources departments also catalog “Good to Great” together with the listed books in their internal libraries or competency frameworks. This occurs in recommended reading lists for training programs, onboarding materials for senior leadership tracks, and organizational development toolkits.

Published bibliographies and compendia on the history of business literature, compiled by research librarians and bibliographers, regularly include these titles as seminal works, often grouping them chronologically or by subject orientation. In trade publishing, series collections or publisher-compiled anthologies may bundle several of these works, reflecting observed market and academic practices.

Related Sections

Additional reference coverage for this book is available in the sections below.

Beginner’s guide (Getting started)
Related books (Common associations)

Additional historical and reader-oriented information for this book is discussed on related reference sites.