Collins tells the story of Kroger and A&P, two grocery store giants that faced similar marketplace pressures as consumer expectations shifted around the middle of the 20th century. At the time, A&P was actually the more successful of the two, but Kroger’s confrontation of hard consumer data ultimately led it to greatness. A&P, on the other hand, slowly dwindled into oblivion, having missed the opportunity to become great due to its initial unwillingness to confront the brutal fact that customers wanted a new kind of store—what we now know as the superstore.

As Collins moves into the application of these findings, he argues that confronting the brutal facts depends on company culture. If the company has a culture where people can express their perspectives in an open manner, the truth will emerge. Collins lists the four necessary practices in making room for the truth: (1) lead with questions, not answers; (2) engage in dialogue and debate, not coercion; (3) conduct autopsies without blame; (4) build red flag mechanisms that turn information into information that cannot be ignored.

Collins then clarifies that good-to-great companies face adversities of many kinds, but they generally respond with an initial call to fully understand the nature of the problems they face, no matter how daunting.