Author Jim Collins likes to challenge people about leading during times of inflection. Known for his bestselling book, Good to Great, plus five other titles, Collins says that exerting leadership during these key periods is how you create something great. Collins adds that marketing is at such an inflection point, with the great swirl of cloud, mobile, social, and other opportunities all taking place at once.

At Connections 2013, Collins shared these 12 questions that he asks of people who strive to be a great leader of a great team and company.

1. Do we want to build an enduring great company and are we willing to strive for “Level 5 Leadership”?

Good to great companies have a “Level 5 Leader.” Collins says that the x-factor of not just leadership, but great leadership, is humility, combined with a fierce resolve. And great leaders channel that into something that can be more enduring than they are.

2. On what enduring values will we clock build our culture?

Level 5 leaders are clock builders, not just time tellers. “They want to build a great culture based on values, rather than a genius with a thousand helpers,” says Collins. Culture is not in support of strategy, culture is the strategy in great organizations. According to Collins, cultures are very durable and are very distinguishable. They need to be based on a set of values.

3. Do we have the right people on the bus?

Collins says it is important to verify that 95-percent of an organization's key seats are filled with the right people. According to Collins, you can have the best of everything, but if you don’t have the right people, you can’t have a great organization. A great leadership skill is to make exceptional people decisions. Collins suggests leaders ask: “Who do I want to work with?” “Who do I want to be friends?” “Who do I want to start things with?”

4. What are the brutal facts?

Collins didn't elaborate on this point at Connections, but offers additional info on his web site.

5. What do we understand so far about our "Hedgehog Concept"?

Collins says that when it comes to leadership, the real winners tend to be hedgehogs. They have one simple, basic idea, pursued to the end without every stopping. He says that companies that made the shift from good to great had a hedgehog attitude. As marketers, Collins suggests you ask how marketing ties into the Hedgehog Concept. “If your company or enterprise went away, who would miss you, and why?” asks Collins.

6. How can we accelerate clicks on our flywheel by committing to a 20-mile march?

Commit to doing “20-miles” a day, no matter what. Collins explains that those who win in chaotic environments are 20-mile marchers. They never stop. It can be a financial goal, or something creative. It won’t matter if it’s boom time or recession, that 20-mile march will guide your company. It’s about exerting self-control in a world that’s out of control.

7. Where should we place our big bets based on the principle “first fire bullets, then fire cannonballs.”

“If you breath, you are creative,” says Collins. “It’s what we are.” What is rare is being able to marry discipline to creativity, so you amplify the creativity instead of destroying it. The real differentiation is to fire very big cannonballs, he adds. You only get great results if at some point to you go big and concentrate your focus.

8. What is our 10- to 30-year "BHAG"?

Preserve the core by stimulating progress with a “Big Hairy Audacious Goal,” says Collins. When you reach one, pick the next one, or you will lose momentum.

9. What is the right 20-percent to change, so as to preserve the core and stimulate progress?

According to Collins' research, the most successful companies stick with their end goal, and change 20-percent of it along the way. The less successful companies change 80-percent of their goal.

10. How can we increase our Return on Luck (ROL)?

Are the big winners in fact lucky? Collins has spent years studying this. What he has found is that the big winners are not more lucky. What they get, he says, is a higher return on the luck that they get, both good and bad.

11. Do we show any signs of the Five Stages of Decline, and what should we do about them?

12. What should be on your stop-doing list?

The greatest leaders find a way to be useful, to be of service, to make a contribution and a distinctive impact on real flesh and blood people. “How will you change the lives of others?,” says Collins. “Life is people. Be useful.”

To learn more about Connections, watch the live webcast here.

For information on how to become a customer-focused company, read our free ebook.