I just finished Good to Great, the best seller from Jim Collins. It's a best seller and one of the "must read" business books. The key take aways I got from this audio book:

1. Get the right people on the bus and the wrong people off the bus. 
2. Run a disciplined company. 
3. Do what you do best, love best and will make you money (your hedgehog concept). 
4. Build with small iterations. 
5. Technology is just a way of iterating. 
6. The best leaders are humble and focused on the hedgehog, not necessarily charismatic. 

I enjoyed the book but now, looking back at this list, I'm kind of wondering why this book is so highly recommended. These are mostly common sense; this list basically boils down to "make good choices" and "slow and steady wins the race". Is it so well regarded because it's well written or simply because so many companies fail because they don't follow these rules?

I think I personally enjoyed it because it confirmed so much of what I've already seen in my career; companies I've been at founder when they become undisciplined, hire the wrong executives or lose focus.