Build to last: The dull life of long lived companies

I am reading this Jim Collins book at the moment. Its not a perfect book but it raises a good point. It says the company is more important than a particular idea or technology. If we get stuck to an idea then we cannot change and react to the market.

I've looked at how I come up with ideas and notice that these ideas are things that I like doing- for me its graphics. Some of us want to start something because we would feel happy in pursuing a field we like and creating something good in that area.

But this same belief also restricts us from doing something that would be profitable. Many people won't probably start a real estate firm even if that pays more, or even a mainframe coding one ? At least I need a feeling of creativity in what I do- but this same belief goes against conventional business wisdom, where you have to do whatever work comes , and adapt to survive.

I feel uncomfortable about this conclusion of the book- it makes out business to be a dull numbers game , rather than a "big idea" story like Google. Yet this may be true- and we may have to look into ourselves to see that what draws us to business are ideas that are good for the business, however dull, as compared to what pleases our personal interest.