Business researcher and author Jim Collins explains his updated mental model for analyzing corporate flywheels during a conversation with host Shane Parrish.
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“And if you really study the best flywheels, they have a different role. On the right-hand side of the flywheel, the 12 o'clock to six, Is really about what you do in the world, what you do to contribute, what you do that makes people's lives better, what you do that is kind of your net ad, right, in some way. Delivering great health outcomes, whether it be, you know, the next powerful generation of chips that multiply Moore's law over time, whether it's a biotech drug that's going to be able to solve anemia. You're doing something in the world. And then as you come up the other side of the flywheel, what you find is that it's about generating fuel. It's how you convert the 12 to six. The six to 12 takes that and converts it into fuel.”
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