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What To Do When Life Doesn’t Go as Planned | Jim Collins

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Apr 11, 2026

Guest

Jim Collins

Jim Collins, bestselling author of Good to Great and a leading leadership researcher, explores why life’s biggest derailments can become turning points. He gets into inevitable cliffs, built-in endings, late life as a creative peak, multiple right paths, and why flexibility often matters more than a perfect plan.

38:48

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insights

INSIGHT

Cliffs Can Push You Into Frame

A cliff can break your current identity or reveal abilities you never knew you had.
Jim Collins uses Katharine Graham to show tragedy pushed her into leading the Washington Post, where she discovered she was built for courageous leadership.

insights

INSIGHT

There Is No Such Thing As A Cliffless Life

The search for a cliffless life is futile because major disruptions appear in nearly every long life.
Jim Collins says his team tried to find lives without major cliffs and kept discovering hidden mega-cliffs instead.

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ADVICE

Prepare Early For The Role You Will Outgrow

Prepare for inevitable identity cliffs instead of acting shocked when a defining role ends.
Jim Collins contrasts athletes and CEOs who ignore obvious endings with Alan Page, who attended law school during his NFL career and later became a justice.

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Cliffs Can Reframe a Life

05:18 • 5min

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The Myth of a Cliffless Life

10:23 • 4min

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Preparing for Built-In Endings

14:07 • 5min

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Late Life Can Be Peak Life

Love the Work, Not the Future Prize

27:21 • 2min

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You May Have Many Right Fits

29:21 • 5min

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Strategic Flexibility Beats Fixed Plans

33:53 • 3min

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A Book Can Change Its Author

36:43 • 7min

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Jazz

Toni Morrison

Jazz by Toni Morrison is a captivating novel that delves into the vibrant world of 1920s Harlem. It weaves together the lives of its characters in a tale of love, betrayal, and the impact of the past on the present. The story centers around Joe Trace, his wife Violet, and his young lover Dorcas, whose tragic fate sets off a chain of events that unravels the complexities of their lives.

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• Mentioned in 11 episodes

What to Make of a Life

Cliffs, Fog, Fire and the Self-Knowledge Imperative

Jim Collins

Inspired by relentless curiosity, Jim Collins spent a decade studying how people navigate life's cliffs—significant events that radically change trajectories—and emerge with renewed purpose. By pairing lives at these turning points, such as rock musicians post-band success, scandal-tainted figures rebuilding, suffragists after victory, and Olympic skaters seeking new roles, he reveals a framework for discovering fulfilling roles, overcoming fractures, navigating uncertainty, sustaining inner fire, and building momentum across decades. For the first time, Collins shares his personal transformation from this project, showing how a richly fulfilled life is within reach for all.

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How the Mighty Fall

Jim Collins

In 'How the Mighty Fall', Jim Collins explores the reasons behind the decline of once-great companies. Through a four-year research project, Collins identifies five stages of decline: Stage 1: Hubris Born of Success, Stage 2: Undisciplined Pursuit of More, Stage 3: Denial of Risk and Peril, Stage 4: Grasping for Salvation, and Stage 5: Capitulation to Irrelevance or Death. The book offers leaders practical advice on how to detect early signs of decline and reverse their course to avoid failure. Collins emphasizes that decline is often self-inflicted and that understanding these stages can help companies avoid or recover from decline.

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Good to Great

Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't

Jim Collins

In 'Good to Great,' Jim Collins and his research team investigate why some companies achieve long-term greatness while others do not. The book identifies key concepts such as Level 5 Leadership, the Hedgehog Concept, a Culture of Discipline, and the Flywheel Effect. These principles are derived from a comprehensive study comparing companies that made the leap to greatness with those that did not. The research highlights that greatness is not primarily a function of circumstance but rather a result of conscious choice and discipline. The book provides practical insights and case studies to help businesses and leaders understand and apply these principles to achieve sustained greatness.

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• Mentioned in 62 episodes

Beloved

Toni Morrison

Published in 1987, 'Beloved' is a work of historical fiction that delves into the aftermath of the American Civil War. The novel centers around Sethe, a Black woman who escaped from slavery in Kentucky and now lives in Ohio. However, her life is haunted by the ghost of her two-year-old daughter, whom she killed to prevent her from being taken back into slavery. The story is deeply intertwined with themes of mother-daughter relationships, the power of family and community, and the lasting impact of slavery on individuals and society. The novel introduces a mysterious figure named Beloved, who is the physical manifestation of Sethe's murdered daughter, and explores how this presence disrupts and ultimately transforms the lives of Sethe and her surviving daughter, Denver. Through a complex narrative that includes flashbacks, stream-of-consciousness monologues, and multiple voices, Morrison examines the trauma and resilience of those affected by slavery.

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Ego is the Enemy

Ryan Holiday

In *Ego Is the Enemy*, Ryan Holiday delves into the concept of ego and its detrimental effects on personal and professional success. The book is divided into three sections: Aspiration, Success, and Failure, each offering valuable lessons and perspectives. Holiday draws on a vast array of stories and examples from literature, philosophy, and history, featuring figures such as George Marshall, Jackie Robinson, Katharine Graham, Bill Belichick, and Eleanor Roosevelt. These individuals achieved great success by conquering their own egos, and their strategies and tactics are presented as models for readers. The book emphasizes the importance of staying grounded, continually learning, and embracing a mindset of growth rather than letting ego hinder development.

What if the hardest moments in your life aren’t detours but the very things that put you on the right path? In Part 2, bestselling author Jim Collins explains why the moments that derail you are often the ones that redirect you.

Jim Collins is a bestselling author and one of the leading voices on leadership and human performance, known for books like Good to Great, which has sold millions of copies worldwide. His research-driven work explores what separates the truly exceptional from the average, with a focus on how people confront the biggest questions of leadership, purpose, and life.

Jim Collins’ new book 👉 What to Make of a Life: Cliffs, Fog, Fire and the Self-Knowledge Imperative is out now! Grab a copy here

📚 Pick up a copy of Good to Great by Jim Collins at The Painted Porch | https://www.thepaintedporch.com/

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