At the 11th annual EDUCAUSE conference in Denver Nov. 4, more than 1,000 attendees listened to the advice of best-selling author and business expert Jim Collins, who used his decades of business-world research to show how colleges and their information technology departments can improve from mediocre to world leaders. Collins, author of "Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap ... And Others Don't," said campus officials and IT administrators should avoid corporate approaches to success. He also said they should focus on hiring the right people and anticipating future challenges.