Allturf – From Good to Great
John Alpaugh, President of Allturf Ltd., one of Massey Capital’s Portfolio companies, has been implementing concepts from the book Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… And Others Don’t by Jim Collins into the leadership style at Allturf.
Good to Great demonstrates how a company can go from mediocrity to excellence. The book analyzes 1,435 companies over a 40-year period and identifies the key differences of 11 companies that are identified as being great. Good to Great is an international bestseller that has been translated into 35 languages and is the number 1 bestseller online under the strategic business planning category.
According to Collins, there are seven characteristics that make a company great:
- Level 5 Leadership – every great company has a “Level 5” leader which are leaders who possess a unique combination of will and humility.
- First Who, Then What – great companies have quality, disciplined team members throughout their ranks, not just at the top.
- Confront the Brutal Facts – great companies are always honest and confront uncomfortable truths.
- Hedgehog Concept – great companies stick to what they are good at and avoid distraction.
- Culture of Discipline – great companies maintain a culture of discipline.
- Technology Accelerators – great companies invest in new technology only if it helps their hedgehog concept.
- The Flywheel – cumulative effects rather than dramatic singular wins help make a company great.
John first read the book in 2003 and recently chose to implement the concepts from Jim Collins’ book over others for two main reasons. Firstly, the book is based on strong research methodology. Good to Great is “Just so logical. Define good, define great and pair up companies in the same industry who were both good, then look at the one that became great and see what they did differently” says Alpaugh.
Secondly, John has seen firsthand the impact of some of the concepts as he was fortunate to work under a true Level 5 leader and see the success he was able to produce.
At Massey Capital, we have a “green industry” portfolio of quality companies with unparalleled reputation within their industries. John believes that Allturf can use the Good to Great concepts to take Allturf to the top level with the support of Massey Capital.
“We have an opportunity to be a great entity in our boutique industry. Further, I believe that the team at Allturf will enjoy the journey much more if we include them in the process. The Good to Great framework will help accomplish this with our team.”
About Allturf
Allturf Ltd. specializes in the distribution of turf maintenance products (fungicides, herbicides, seed, nutrition, fertilizers, etc.) and related accessories primarily to the golf turf industry. Allturf predominantly services golf courses across Ontario, including the majority of the most renowned courses in the province.
