Drawing upon a six‎-year research project at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business‎,‎ James C‎.‎ Collins and Jerry I‎.‎ Porras took eighteen truly exceptional and long‎-lasting companies and studied each in direct comparison to one of its top competitors‎.‎ They examined the companies from their very beginnings to the present day ‎-‎- as start‎-ups‎,‎ as midsize companies‎,‎ and as large corporations‎.‎ Throughout‎,‎ the authors asked‎:‎ ‎"‎What makes the truly exceptional companies different from the comparison companies and what were the common practices these enduringly great companies followed throughout their history‎?‎‎"‎ Filled with hundreds of specific examples and organized into a coherent framework of practical concepts that can be applied by managers and entrepreneurs at all levels‎,‎ Built to Last provides a master blueprint for building organizations that will prosper long into the 21st century and beyond‎.‎