Good to Great Policing: Vocabulary Review

Overview and Origins of the "Good to Great" Research

• Jim Collins’ book Good to Great (2001) serves as the foundational text for this project. Collins and a research team of $20$ people spent $15,000$ hours (equivalent to $10.5$ people-years) investigating why some companies make the leap from "merely good" to "great."

• Research Criteria for Greatness:

  • Companies must have experienced $15$ years of performance at or below the general stock market.

  • This must be followed by a transition point.

  • Following the transition, the company must have achieved cumulative returns at least three times the market for the next $15$ years ($3 \times \text{market value}$).

  • The study filtered out companies that succeeded solely due to industry-wide booms to identify independent performance.

• The "Great" Companies Identified: Abbott, Circuit City, Fannie Mae, Gillette, Kimberly-Clark, Kroger, Nucor, Philip Morris, Pitney Bowes, Walgreens, and Wells Fargo. These 11 were paired with "comparison companies" in the same industries that failed to make the leap.

• Publication Context: This PERF report, published in June 2007, summarizes a March 29, 2005, executive session in Washington, D.C., supported by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office).

The Seven Core Principles of Jim Collins’ Research

1. Level 5 Leaders: Leaders who are self-effacing and humble yet possess an "incurable need to produce results." They look in the mirror to blame themselves for failure and out the window to give credit for success.

2. "First Who, Then What": Great leaders get the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off) before deciding where to drive it. The right people do not need to be tightly managed.

3. Confront the Brutal Facts (The Stockdale Paradox): Organizations must maintain unwavering faith that they will prevail while simultaneously confronting the most brutal facts of their current reality.

4. The Hedgehog Concept: To achieve greatness, an organization must find the intersection of three circles: what it can be the best in the world at, what it is passionate about, and what drives its economic (or resource) engine.

5. A Culture of Discipline: When an organization has disciplined people, disciplined thought, and disciplined action, it does not need a stultifying bureaucracy.

6. Technology Accelerators: Great companies never use technology as the primary cause of change, but rather as an accelerator for a concept they have already mastered.

7. The Flywheel and the Doom Loop: Transformations happen through the steady building of momentum (the Flywheel) rather than a single dramatic event. Comparison companies often fell into the "Doom Loop," characterized by chronic restructuring and chasing new fads.

Redefining Success in the Social Sector

• In the private sector, money is both an input (resource) and an output (measure of success). In the social sector (policing, education, non-profits), money is only an input.

• Defining Success in Policing: Success is defined by the quality of output, such as reducing crime rates or improving public safety.

• Metrics Discrepancy: Collins acknowledges that qualitative and quantitative indicators in the social sector (e.g., crime data, test scores) are often flawed. The key is to settle on a "consistent and intelligent method" of assessing results and tracking the trajectory with rigor.

• Commission William J. Bratton (NYPD) Example: Bratton transitioned the NYPD from assessing input variables (arrests, reports, budgets) to output variables (reducing crime). He set "audacious output goals," such as double-digit annual declines in felony crime rates.

• Artistic Example: Tom Morris of the Cleveland Orchestra aimed for "artistic excellence" rather than financial endowment, which ultimately led to the endowment tripling ($3 \times$ increase).

Case Study: Transforming Broad Acres Elementary School

• Background: Jody Leleck, former principal of Broad Acres Elementary in Montgomery County, Maryland, oversaw a failing school where 90 percent ($900\,‰$) of students lived below the poverty line.

• The Brutal Facts (2000 Data):

  • Reading Proficiency: $12\,‰$ for 3rd graders; $21\,‰$ for 5th graders.

  • Math Proficiency: $5\,‰$ for 3rd graders; $15\,‰$ for 5th graders.

• Applying the Hedgehog Concept: Leleck narrowed the school's focus exclusively to academic excellence. She eliminated non-essential activities, including assemblies and field trips, that interfered with instructional time.

• Managing the "Bus":

  • Leleck worked with Superintendent Jerry Weast and Union Head Bonnie Cullison.

  • Teachers were given a choice to commit to the new mission or move to a different setting. Approximately 60 percent ($60\,‰$) chose to stay.

  • New specialized personnel were hired, including reading and math specialists.

• Results (2004 Data):

  • Reading Proficiency: $75\,‰$ for 3rd graders ($63\,‰$ increase); $60\,‰$ for 5th graders.

  • Math Proficiency: $67\,‰$ for 3rd graders; $54\,‰$ for 5th graders.

Challenges of Level 5 Leadership in Policing

• Personality Paradox: While Collins found great business leaders to be quiet and shy, police chiefs often require "command presence" to maintain credibility during catastrophes (terrorism, officer deaths, etc.).

• Legislative vs. Executive Leadership: Non-business leaders often lack concentrated decision power. Legislative leadership relies on persuasion, shared interests, and political currency to reach the right decisions.

• Mentoring and Successors: Level 5 leaders set up their successors for success.

  • Example: Bob McNeilly (Pittsburgh) sent 8 commanders to executive development programs in his final year.

  • Example: Chuck Ramsey (Washington, D.C.) mentored Cathy Lanier, who succeeded him.

• Management Style: Level 5 police leaders should lead with questions and encourage a diversity of opinions. Chief Bill Lansdowne (San Diego) emphasizes surrounding oneself with people who will challenge the leader's views.

Personnel Management: "The Right People on the Bus"

• Hiring for Character: Many chiefs, including Charles Deane (Prince William County) and David Couper (Madison), emphasize that character and integrity are more important than specific skills. Chief Deane dismissed the son of a staff member for lying because standards are paramount.

• Removing the Wrong People: Letting low performers stay is unfair to the "right people" who must compensate for them.

  • Paul Evans (Boston) replaced almost his entire command staff despite lifelong friendships.

  • Bill Bratton (NYPD) reached down "two generations" to promote leaders like Jack Maple and John Timoney, wiping out stagnant existing layers.

• Structural Constraints: Civil service boards and unions make firing difficult. Strategies include:

  • Rearranging "seats" (restructuring) to improve interaction.

  • Jim Lewis (Green Bay) changed a seniority-only promotion system to a performance-based system.

  • Training as a Fix: Providing leadership training to existing staff if they cannot be removed. Madison Police Department’s "Leadership Promotional Academy" is a two-week ($10$-day) course required for promotion.

Confronting Brutal Facts with Data

• CompStat: A management tool pioneered in NYC under Bratton using statistical reports to hold commanders accountable at weekly meetings.

• Data Veracity: Leaders must ensure data isn’t manipulated. In the 1980s, Chicago PD faced a scandal for "killing crime" (downgrading or not reporting crimes) to make statistics look better.

• Surveys: Chief Sid Klein (Clearwater) used employee surveys to confront internal racial tensions using data rather than personal feelings.

• "Red Flag" Mechanisms: Collins suggests mechanisms that force the truth to be heard. The report mentions "short pay" in business (customers paying less for poor service) as a metaphor for early warning systems in policing.

The Hedgehog Concept and Culture of Discipline in Policing

• The Three Circles for Police:

  1. What the agency can be the best at.

  2. What the agency is passionate about.

  3. What drives the resource engine (funding, public support, specialized talent).

• Narrowing Focus: Many departments shifted from "solving crimes" to "preventing crimes."

• The Council: A formal device used by great companies to debate issues. It should have 5 to 12 members ($5-12$), meet frequently (weekly to quarterly), and exist to gain understanding rather than build consensus.

• Disciplined Action: Eliminating tasks that do not serve the mission.

  • Examples: Eliminating funeral escorts, taking "cold" crime reports via phone/online, and curtailing responses to false burglar alarms.

  • Policy Discipline: Paul Evans (Boston) and John Timoney (Miami) prohibited firing at moving vehicles, a controversial decision that dramatically reduced unnecessary shootings without lowering officer safety.

Technology and the Flywheel Effect

• Chicago’s CLEAR System: Citizen Law Enforcement Analysis and Reporting. This was an "accelerator" for Chicago’s community policing strategy (CAPS). It resulted in a $22\,‰$ reduction in violent crime and a $27\,‰$ decrease in homicides.

• Flywheel Buildup: Success is a series of good decisions over time. The average tenure of a major city chief is less than $4$ years, making the long-term flywheel difficult to maintain.

• Using Crises to Propel Change:

  • Richard Pennington (New Orleans) used widespread corruption scandals to overhaul the entire department.

  • Dean Esserman (Providence) leveraged scandals (including an illegal wiretap) to remove the entire command staff within $60$ days.

  • Robert McNeilly (Pittsburgh) used a DOJ consent decree as a catalyst for reform and an early warning system for problem officers.

• 'Fess Up and Clean Up: Ethical crises require transparency.

  • Commissioner Kathleen O’Toole (Boston) took personal responsibility for a student's death during a Red Sox celebration.

  • Ray Kelly (NYPD) made an unprecedented move by apologizing to a family after an unjustified roof shooting.

Questions & Discussion

• Question regarding unions: How can managers work with unions to implement radical change?

  • Response (Bonnie Cullison): Assume workers want to deliver excellence. Include them in planning. There was relatively little conflict at Broad Acres because teachers were included in setting the standards.

• Question regarding technology: Does technology create change?

  • Response (Barbara McDonald): No, it doesn't create change, but it is an effective accelerator. Chicago's CLEAR system failed initially when it just automated old forms; it only succeeded when it was aligned with a strategic vision (Hedgehog Concept).

• Question regarding leadership longevity: How can a chief build a flywheel if their tenure is short?

  • Response (Robert Olson): A chief must spend the first few years (1-3) establishing trust and dealing with priorities. By year 5 ($5$), they should step back and mentor the cadre of leaders they developed to sustain the momentum after they leave.