“Each turn builds upon previous work as you make a series of good decisions, supremely well executed, that compound one upon another. This is how you build greatness.” – Jim Collins – Turning the Flywheel: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great
The flywheel effect is central to Jim Collins’ research into organizational excellence, first articulated in his book Good to Great. Collins uses the metaphor of a massive, heavy flywheel that requires enormous effort to start turning, but with consistent, patient pushes in the same direction, it incrementally gains speed and momentum. Eventually, the flywheel’s own weight works for you—it spins faster with each push, each rotation building on the last. At a certain point, momentum takes over, and what was once slow-going becomes a force of near-uncontrollable acceleration.
“Each turn of the flywheel builds upon work done earlier, compounding your investment of effort.”
The logic of momentum underpins Collins’ flywheel: each action drives the next in a reinforcing loop, creating an inevitable-seeming sequence of growth and progress. The flywheel is not a single dramatic breakthrough or magic moment, but the result of persistent, disciplined effort and focus. In company transformations Collins studied, there was never a single defining action, no grand program, no solitary lucky break. Instead, it was turning the flywheel—consistent efforts, smart decisions, and well-executed plans compounding over time—that led to greatness.
This principle is nearly synonymous with what strategists call a virtuous circle (or cycle): a self-reinforcing loop where positive effects breed more positive effects, creating sustainable competitive advantages. In Collins’ version, the flywheel’s logic is customized for each organization; the key is to rigorously define what specific actions drive momentum in your context. Amazon’s flywheel, for instance, links lower prices to increased customer visits, which lead to more sellers, greater selection, and further efficiency gains.
Other Strategy Thinkers on Virtuous Cycles
The flywheel/virtuous cycle concept, while popularized by Collins, has echoes in earlier and parallel strategic thinking:
- W. Edwards Deming described improvement “cycles” (Plan-Do-Check-Act) for quality and productivity—a precursor to the idea of reinforcing loops.
- Peter Senge’s Fifth Discipline (1990) explores “reinforcing feedback loops” in systems thinking, where actions create conditions that reinforce even more powerful actions.
- Clayton Christensen discussed “resource allocation processes” and how success can generate more resources for innovation and reinvestment, fueling further competitive advantage.
- Michael Porter’s value chain analysis similarly identifies how interlinking activities can reinforce and sustain competitive advantage.
- Chris Zook describes how companies that focus on their core, and then repeat and scale what works, create feedback loops where each cycle of success builds and strengthens the business, making future growth even easier and more likely.
Despite these similarities, Jim Collins is most directly associated with the flywheel metaphor and its systematic application to corporate strategy and transformation.
The Backstory of Jim Collins
Jim Collins is an American researcher, author, consultant, and lecturer focused on business management and company sustainability and growth. Born in 1958, Collins began his career as a faculty member at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he received the Distinguished Teaching Award. He later established a management laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, to conduct research into what makes companies thrive over the long term.
Collins is best known for his books:
- Built to Last (with Jerry I. Porras), which explores what makes visionary companies endure
- Good to Great, his most influential work, where he identifies the characteristics and behavioral patterns that distinguish truly great companies from merely good ones.
- Turning the Flywheel, a monograph expanding on the flywheel concept.
His research is marked by rigorous empirical study. Collins and his teams comb through vast amounts of data, conducting years-long studies that compare companies that outperform their peers. His approach is analytical and data-driven, using matched-pair comparisons and case studies to extract patterns and frameworks.
Collins’ impact on the field of strategy and management is significant. His concepts—the flywheel effect, the hedgehog concept, Level 5 leadership—have become part of the modern management lexicon. His frameworks are valued for their clarity, broad applicability, and deep empirical grounding, making him one of the most respected thought leaders in business strategy and organizational development today.
