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If you judge books by their covers, Jack Welch's Winning certainly grabs your attention. Testimonials on the back come from none other than Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Rudy Giuliani, and Tom Brokaw, and other praise comes from Fortune, Business Week, and Financial Times. As the legendary retired CEO of General Electric, Welch has won many friends and admirers in high places. In this latest book, he strives to show why. Winning describes the management wisdom that Welch built up through four and a half decades of work at GE, as he transformed the industrial giant from a sleepy "Old Economy" company with a market capitalization of $4 billion to a dynamic new one worth nearly half a trillion dollars.
Welch's first book, Jack: Straight from the Gut, was structured more as a conventional CEO memoir, with stories of early career adventures, deals won and lost, boardroom encounters, and Welch's process and philosophy that helped propel his success as a manager. In Winning, Welch focuses on his actual management techniques. He starts with an overview of cultural values such as candor, differentiation among employees, and inclusion of all voices in decision-making. In the second section he covers issues around one's own company or organization: the importance of hiring, firing, the people management in between, and a few other juicy topics like crisis management. From there, Welch moves into a discussion of competition, and the external factors that can influence a company's success: strategy, budgeting, and mergers and acquisitions. Welch takes a more personal turn later with a focus on individual career issues--how to find the right job, get promoted, and deal with a bad boss--and then a final section on what he calls "Tying Up Loose Ends." Those interested in the human side of great leaders will find this last section especially appealing. In it, Welch answers the most interesting questions that he's received in the last several years while traveling the globe addressing audiences of executives and business-school students. Perhaps the funniest question in this section comes at the very end, posed originally by a businessman in Frankfurt, who queried Welch on whether he thought he'd go to heaven (we won't give away the ending).
While different from the steadier stream of war stories and real-life examples of Welch's first book, Winning is a very worthwhile addition to any management bookshelf. It's not often that a CEO described as the century's best retires, and then chooses to expound on such a wide range of management topics. Also, aside from the commentary on always-relevant issues like employee performance reviews and quality control, Welch suffuses this book with his pugnacious spirit. The Massachusetts native who fought his way to the top of the world's most valuable company was in many ways the embodiment of "Winning," and this spirit alone will provide readers an enjoyable read. --Peter Han
Book Description
Jack Welch knows how to win. During his forty-year career at General Electric, he led the company to year-after-year success around the globe, in multiple markets, against brutal competition. His honest, be-the-best style of management became the gold standard in business, with his relentless focus on people, teamwork, and profits.
Since Welch retired in 2001 as chairman and chief executive officer of GE, he has traveled the world, speaking to more than 250,000 people and answering their questions on dozens of wide-ranging topics.
Inspired by his audiences and their hunger for straightforward guidance, Welch has written both a philosophical and pragmatic book, which is destined to become the bible of business for generations to come. It clearly lays out the answers to the most difficult questions people face both on and off the job.
Welch's objective is to speak to people at every level of an organization, in companies large and small. His audience is everyone from line workers to MBAs, from project managers to senior executives. His goal is to help everyone who has a passion for success.
Welch begins Winning with an introductory section called "Underneath It All," which describes his business philosophy. He explores the importance of values, candor, differentiation, and voice and dignity for all.
The core of Winning is devoted to the real "stuff" of work. This main part of the book is split into three sections. The first looks inside the company, from leadership to picking winners to making change happen. The second section looks outside, at the competition, with chapters on strategy, mergers, and Six Sigma, to name just three. The next section of the book is about managing your career—from finding the right job to achieving work-life balance.
Welch's optimistic, no excuses, get-it-done mind-set is riveting. Packed with personal anecdotes and written in Jack's distinctive no b.s. voice, Winning offers deep insights, original thinking, and solutions to nuts-and-bolts problems that will change the way people think about work.
Download Description
"
Jack Welch knows how to win. During his forty-year career at General Electric, he led the company to year-after-year success around the globe, in multiple markets, against brutal competition. His honest, be-the-best style of management became the gold standard in business, with his relentless focus on people, teamwork, and profits.
Since Welch retired in 2001 as chairman and chief executive officer of GE, he has traveled the world, speaking to more than 250,000 people and answering their questions on dozens of wide-ranging topics.
Inspired by his audiences and their hunger for straightforward guidance, Welch has written both a philosophical and pragmatic book, which is destined to become the bible of business for generations to come. It clearly lays out the answers to the most difficult questions people face both on and off the job.
Welch's objective is to speak to people at every level of an organization, in companies large and small. His audience is everyone from line workers to MBAs, from project managers to senior executives. His goal is to help everyone who has a passion for success.
Welch begins
Winning with an introductory section called ""Underneath It All,"" which describes his business philosophy. He explores the importance of values, candor, differentiation, and voice and dignity for all.
The core of
Winning is devoted to the real ""stuff"" of work. This main part of the book is split into three sections. The first looks inside the company, from leadership to picking winners to making change happen. The second section looks outside, at the competition, with chapters on strategy, mergers, and Six Sigma, to name just three. The next section of the book is about managing your career -- from finding the right job to achieving work-life balance.
Welch's optimistic, no excuses, get-it-done mind-set is riveting. Packed with personal anecdotes and written in Jack's distinctive no b.s. voice,
Winning offers deep insights, original thinking, and solutions to nuts-and-bolts problems that will change the way people think about work.
"
Customer Reviews:
Winning = Winner.......2007-10-17
Not only do I think every person with any form of staff management in their job makeup should read this book... I also think anyone who works with anyone else (yes I mean you & him & all of them) should read the chapter on candor. Brilliant stuff.
Kirsty Dunphey, author: Retired at 27, If I can do it anyone can
Disappointed in the end.......2007-10-10
Excellent book until I finished the work-life balance chapter... Please correct me if I am wrong, but what I read was, it is okay to lie to your people or trick them into coming to work for you... and that everyone knows company literature is not based on real culture, facts and beliefs...
Winning Recipe.......2007-09-16
Jack Welch gives a comprehensive guide to winning in business. He provides practical advice on a broad array of topics to include: Leadership, people management, change management, setting strategy, crisis management, and budgeting. He gets personal too, giving tips on how to find the right job and how to find the proper work life balance.
Jack's approach to budgeting is enlightening. He advocates setting targets, but compensating based on performance against last year and against the competition. This ensures energy is not wasted on efforts to come up with magic numbers and playing the common budgeting games. Rather, the focus is on finding opportunities for growth and eliminating obstacles. Wouldn't it be nice if your company followed a similar process?
There is much to learn in this one.
Nick McCormick - Author, Lead Well and Prosper: 15 Successful Strategies for Becoming a Good Manager
Guru to the MBAs, false prophet to the working grunt.......2007-09-16
He has his bits of general good advise, but nothing really wildly new except his enthusiam in regurgitating it. However, many of his philosophies seem like simplitic generalizations from the executive 30,000ft level. It's easy to come off like a fearless leader, full of direction, when it's other 'human resources' below you're squeezing like lemons for the needed juice of 'change', 'cost reductions', etc. He doesn't get into details of actually getting it done too much, which is typical of these high-power executive types. Doesn't sound like somebody who's really acquainted with the bloody, dirty nuts-and-bolts details of the low-level grunt world. His piece on dealing with Communist China is exemplary of this: why, we'll just re-invent ourselves perpetually to always be ahead of them... right! His point of view is that of Julius Cesar high up in his emperor's stand, whereas life looks a lot different if you're one of the gladiators or christians down in the sand waiting for his thumb signal!
Winning.......2007-09-15
This is the best business book on the shelf. Organizations should make this required reading for all managers and employees.
Book Description
“We need a new theory of management. The assumptions built into business today are not accurate.”-Peter Drucker
For sixteen months before his death, Elizabeth Haas Edersheim was given unprecedented access to Peter Drucker, widely regarded as the father of modern management. At Drucker's request, Edersheim, a respected management thinker in her own right, spoke with him about the development of modern business throughout his life-and how it continues to grow and change at an ever-increasing rate.
The Definitive Drucker captures his visionary management concepts, applies them to the key business risks and opportunities of the coming decades, and imparts Drucker's views on current business practices, economic changes, and trends-many of which he first predicted decades ago. It also sheds light onto issues such as why so many leaders fail, the fragility of our economic systems, and the new role of the CEO. Drucker's insights are divided into five main themes that the modern organization needs to, as Drucker would say, “create tomorrow” by
- Connecting with customers
- Innovating without abandoning what works
- Developing lasting partnerships
- Creating and retaining knowledge workers
- Establishing disciplined decision making
Drucker's penetrating questions, posed to those seeking his advice, helped business, corporate, and political leaders throughout the 20th century to see their work in a new perspective, and create phenomenal innovation. Edersheim's extensive interviews with some of these luminaries, including Warren Bennis, Ram Charan, Bill Gates, George Gallup, Jr. and A.G. Lafley offer compelling commentary on Drucker's vast influence.
Delivering keen analysis and revealing insights into business, The Definitive Drucker is a celebration of this extraordinary man and his life's work, as well as a unique opportunity to learn from Drucker's final business lessons how to strategize, compete, and triumph in any market.
Customer Reviews:
A story of the interview process.......2007-09-22
I enjoyed this book. The author shared her experience of going to Peter Drucker's home over a period of time to interview him and recounts having to contend with Peter's wife and the 2 hour limitations on his time thru her. The book presents his theories of business management and real life examples how companies employed them and where certain com[anies did not employ them.
Very good reading.......2007-08-09
I enjoy reading this book. It's a very useful abstract about the most important Drucker management ideas. I strongly recommend it.
Drucker as For-Profit Management Expert and Consultant for Large Companies with Newer Examples .......2007-05-28
I had the good fortune to spend one to three days a year with Peter Drucker from 1992-1999: He consulted with Carol Coles and me in developing research and consulting services for lowering the cost of capital, launching the 400 Year Project to accelerate global progress by 20 times during 2015 through 2035, and in writing about what the next generations of leadership best practices would be like. You can get a glimpse of that connection in Jack Beatty's book, The World According to Peter Drucker. I also will be writing more about Peter's ideas on and contributions to these subjects in the forthcoming book, Adventures of an Optimist.
I once asked Peter how he would guard his intellectual legacy after his death. He confidently replied that he had a very good plan and that all would be well. Having seen that this book was published after his death under the title, The Definitive Drucker, I'm not so sure he was right about protecting his intellectual legacy.
For the record, this book is not the definitive book on Peter Drucker. Why?
1. The book is almost totally devoted to his ideas about for-profit management as pursued by very large companies.
2. There is virtually no mention of his ideas about society in general.
3. His work on how to be effective executive is incompletely shared.
4. Dr. Haas Edersheim deliberately ignores the roots of Drucker's concepts as described in Adventures of a Bystander, which I believe is essential context for appreciating his observations.
5. The manner by which his nonprofit consulting experiences helped him formulate his for-profit ideas is ignored.
6. Almost all of my favorite anecdotes based on what Peter said to me about the companies described in this book are left out. Here's an example of the insights those anecdotes provide: Can anyone appreciate Drucker's tendency to revise his opinions to claim that he was the first to notice something without knowing that he insisted that I take most of my Dell examples out of The Irresistible Growth Enterprise because he was concerned that Dell wouldn't continue to prosper after 1999?
7. The full scope of his thoughts about for-profit management is ignored. For instance, his many questions and ideas about capital markets are mostly missing . . . except as they arise in the DLJ example of how he encouraged the founders to go public in the 1970s.
There is one excellent element about this book that makes it well worth reading: If you renamed this book, The Definitive Drucker as Consultant, you wouldn't be far off the mark. His consulting practice was mostly invisible to those who weren't his clients, but his approach is one that most consultants could learn much from. I was very impressed by the way that Dr. Haas Edersheim's interviews and writings captured the essence of Peter Drucker in a one-on-one situation. Although some of the earlier books about Peter addressed this topic, none did so as thoroughly and as well as this book.
Most business leaders today have read relatively little of Peter Drucker's writings. But most have read some of the so-called original management theories that are little more than a rephrasing of Peter's original designs while not acknowledging Peter's work at all. Where Peter always tried to pick the best example for a point he had to make, most business authors seem to be only able to write about recent examples that they have experienced. And many business book readers prefer it that way. Dr. Haas Edersheim's book fits that mold very well. She develops themes from some of Peter's long-time, large-company clients (like GM and GE), adds some of her own clients, and finds a few other examples that seem to fit what Peter has to say. For those who want to see some of Peter's work dressed up with more recent examples, this book is probably the best resource.
Even though English was a learned language for Peter, he wrote English like a talented, native-speaking novelist. Where Peter is quoted in the book, the beautiful language shines. Dr. Haas Edersheim, by comparison, writes like an academic/consultant and the experience is not always pleasant. She likes to force ideas into her metaphors (something Peter would never do), display lots of grids (something Peter couldn't imagine anyone wanting to do), and ramble on endlessly about things that could be stated quite simply (something Peter would use his ruthless self-editing to avoid).
Interestingly, Peter always told me that the impact of his books was quite minor compared to the effect of his essays in The Wall Street Journal and other mass media. Why? Lots of people read well-constructed essays in the mass media and few read more than a few pages in any business book. He also doubted if very much in the Harvard Business Review was really read and understood. I was shocked to see how little this book relied on his essays. Hopefully, someone will realize that those essays are the essential kernel of his influence and write about them in the future.
Dr. Haas Edersheim obviously is drawn to strategic questions and Peter, of course, founded the field of strategy for organizations. If that's your interest, you'll find this book to be quite solid.
Great Drucker as always, differently written........2007-05-23
I love two opposite characters of Guru of Management, Tom Peters and Drucker, both are absolute dream management gurus. Personally I am more inclined to Tom. But I started to read and re read Drucker as my management readings get more "mature".
This book is not written by Drucker, but made out of months of interviews with Drucker and other people. This book is ABOUT Drucker and his thinking as interpreted by Elizabenth.
It is easy to follow, alive and well narrated, and will be more interesting and insightful if you know who is who the writer interviewed and talked to.
The insights articulated is deep and profound, even that it often repeat what has been said in previour Drucker's books. If you have any interest in Drucker (that will be a lot of "you" there) this book will delight. I think this is the "Management Biography" that Drucker wanted to be remembered.
Needs Restructuring and Updating.......2007-05-22
A silent revolution has taken place in business since the early 1990's - instant information flow, an exploding geographic reach of companies and customers, basic demographic assumptions have been upended (aging population), and walls defining "inside" and "outside" the corporation have fallen. All important insights. However, Drucker goes on to assert that the latest transformation is from an industrial society to a knowledge society - completely missing the revolutionary focus on dramatically lowering costs by outsourcing jobs to China and India, INCLUDING knowledge jobs!
Drucker then goes on to conclude that "companies aren't selling products; they're selling experience" such as dining out. Again, Drucker is right on, but misses the fact that the effect of outsourcing is to steadily move Americans DOWN the Maslow hierarchy of wants, where experiental wants are much less predominant.
Reading further, one sees that Drucker misses this key point a third time, claiming that "the U.S. economic engine is facing the gravest threat of the past 100 years: the need for corporations to be strategic collaborators rather than unilateral superstars." Reality - American corporations and its citizens are much more threatened by Asian powerhouses and illegal immigrants who remit billions to Mexico.
Drucker is rightly credited with emphasizing a focus on customers, as well as identifying those who are NOT targeted customers. However, as Clayton Christensen has demonstrated, even a focus on customers can be overdone and wreak havoc on a corporation. Nonetheless, Drucker's "If you weren't in this business today, would you invest the resources to enter it?" remains another stellar contribution.
Clearly Drucker has contributed much to management thought; however, one must be careful to not just read Drucker - the Toyota Production System, Hammer (re-engineering), Jack Welch, Clayton Christensen, Lou Gerstner, and others are also very important. "The Definitive Drucker" would also significantly benefit by restructuring it into a format more easily followed and assimilated.
Average customer rating:
- For non-readers
- A Bit Short
- 29 secrets is better than nothing
- I wonder . . .
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29 Leadership Secrets From Jack Welch
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Similar Items:
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Winning
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Jack: Straight from the Gut
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Jack Welch & The G.E. Way: Management Insights and Leadership Secrets of the Legendary CEO
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Jack Welch and The 4 E's of Leadership
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Jack Welch on Leadership
ASIN: 0071409378 |
Book Description
The first concise book of essential Welch-isms, abridged from the bestselling Get Better or Get Beaten
Jack Welch built a career out of fighting waste. 29 Leadership Secrets from Jack Welch follows in Welch's footsteps, boiling the legendary CEO's leadership successes down to 29 strategies that made GE the world's most competitive companyand Welch the world's most successful and admired CEO.
This all-in-one Welch reference updates material from Robert Slater's bestselling Get Better or Get Beaten, and is today's ultimate fast-paced, no-nonsense handbook on the ways of Jack Welch. It taps into the heart of Welch's courage, innovation, and leadership success by examining simple leadership secrets that include:
- Managing less is managing better
- Make quality the job of every employee
- Have global brains and vision
Download Description
The first concise book of essential Welch-isms, abridged from the bestselling Get Better or Get Beaten Jack Welch built a career out of fighting waste. 29 Leadership Secrets from Jack Welch follows in Welch's footsteps, boiling the legendary CEO's leadership successes down to 29 strategies that made GE the world's most competitive companyand Welch the world's most successful and admired CEO. This all-in-one Welch reference updates material from Robert Slater's bestselling Get Better or Get Beaten, and is today's ultimate fast-paced, no-nonsense handbook on the ways of Jack Welch. It taps into the heart of Welch's courage, innovation, and leadership success by examining simple leadership secrets that include: Managing less is managing better Make quality the job of every employee Have global brains and vision
Customer Reviews:
For non-readers.......2006-06-23
Do you really think cliches are the "secrets of success?" This is a book to give to someone whom you know won't actually read it.
A Bit Short.......2005-12-15
This book reminds me of the best seller "Who Moved My Cheese". They are both written in oversized font and are about 100 pages long and both cover simple messages.
If the books were in a regular font they would be 30 pages??
Please do not get me wrong. But it is just a feeling one gets that they have been had, sold a bill of goods which is just a summary with comments for $10.
Somebody has written down a list of XX number of principle ideas or management techniques, and then expanded each idea to fill the 100 (30 real) pages.
It would be almost as effective to just make a list of them on one or two pages.
The upshot of all this is do not buy this book, but by Jack's book "Straight from the Gut", or buy Slater's book: "Jack Welch & The G.E. Way".
I prefer Jack's own book, and to me it beats many more sophisticated business books hands down. Business is not black and white.
Almost every day there is one crisis or problem or another, and Jack's story puts it all together plus conveys the energy and excitement that he brought to the job. Something is lost in the list approach.
29 secrets is better than nothing.......2005-04-26
Jack Welch is a fabulously successful manager, but most small entrepreneurs are not. They are just getting by on a day to day basis with little planning and are subject to bankrupcy with every crisis. They don't have an MBA, and they don't have time to study the principles that would give them more time. This book is a quick, easy read, it re-aligns their thinking, and gets them on track to success. You can't give your struggling business acquaintances a better gift.
I wonder . . ........2003-02-08
There are many books about Jack Welch and all of them show and teach the corporate strategies and tactics this legendary manager implemented while at GE. Most of those titles portrait Welch as the successful business person everybody would like to be. However, I would like to warn the reader that the professional success of famous CEOs cost them their families. It's hard to believe how Welch was able to manage thousands of relations with millions of people at GE, while on the other side he failed on a relation with only one person: his wife. By the way, how many wives has he had??? Is that success??? In which planet???
Now about the book . . . it's a good title but only read it if you have never before read a title about Jack Welch or GE; if you had, it's more about the same old stuff, and I would recommend your spending your money in a smarter way.
Amazon.com's Best of 2001
It's hard to think of a CEO that commands as much respect as Jack Welch. Under his leadership, General Electric reinvented itself several times over by integrating new and innovative practices into its many lines of business. In Jack: Straight from the Gut, Welch, with the help of Business Week journalist John Byrne, recounts his career and the style of management that helped to make GE one of the most successful companies of the last century. Beginning with Welch's childhood in Salem, Massachusetts, the book quickly progresses from his first job in GE's plastics division to his ambitious rise up the GE corporate ladder, which culminated in 1981. What comes across most in this autobiography is Welch's passion for business as well as his remarkable directness and intolerance of what he calls "superficial congeniality"--a dislike that would help earn him the nickname "Neutron Jack." In spite of its 496 pages, Jack: Straight from the Gut is a quick read that any student or manager would do well to consider. Highly recommended. --Harry C. Edwards
Book Description
It's hard to think of a CEO that commands as much respect as Jack Welch. Under his leadership, General Electric reinvented itself several times over by integrating new and innovative practices into its many lines of business. In Jack: Straight from the Gut, Welch, with the help of Business Week journalist John Byrne, recounts his career and the style of management that helped to make GE one of the most successful companies of the last century. Beginning with Welch's childhood in Salem, Massachusetts, the book quickly progresses from his first job in GE's plastics division to his ambitious rise up the GE corporate ladder, which culminated in 1981. What comes across most in this autobiography is Welch's passion for business as well as his remarkable directness and intolerance of what he calls "superficial congeniality"--a dislike that would help earn him the nickname "Neutron Jack." In spite of its 496 pages, Jack: Straight from the Gut is a quick read that any student or manager would do well to consider. Highly recommended. --Harry C. Edwards
Download Description
I gave kicks followed by hugs. That's the basic philosophy of how Jack ran the vast and extraordinarily profitable General Electric company for more than two decades. During his tenure, GE was recognized annually as the best company in the world by Fortune magazine. And in JACK: Straight from the Gut, Welch reveals how his unusual management techniques propelled GE to become one of the most successful corporations of all time. Welch got the job done by constantly pushing his employees to be Number One. That mission statement, along with a keen attention to detail, allowed Welch to refine his management workforce each year so that only the best employees keep progressing. Others were asked to leave. "Yes, I was tough," says Welch, "but for those who produced, the rewards were extraordinary." In this candid business memoir, Welch runs through the entire ascent of his amazing career, including a retelling of all of his own career miscues, and reveals how he still managed to get to the top.
Customer Reviews:
I loved this book.......2007-05-11
I could not put it down, and I recommend it to many people. I read it in paperback, but am buying a hardcover copy. This book is a keeper.
Jack's own story - POWERFULLY WRITTEN!!!.......2007-02-28
As corporate biographies go, this one is absolutely terrific. Jack Welch is considered by many to be the finest corporate CEO of his generation. Keep in mind that the same words have been said about each of the last three CEO's of General Electric. Chuck Knight who ran Emerson Electric at age 37, and then produced 27 consecutive years of earnings growth going from $1 billion to $15 billion in sales during that period would also be in the running. Knight's book "Performance without Compromise" is superb and well worth reading.
You do want to read Welch's book because it can act as a template for how to run a vast organization. This book should be required reading at Harvard Business School,or any MBA Program for that matter. What comes through the book, and Welch may not even realize it is that he didn't have to become successful. He didn't have to make it. There's a huge amount of luck involved in who comes through the funnel to be CEO of any cutting edge corporation. There's as much politics involved as skill, maybe more.
Welch talks about the two years immediately preceding becoming Chairman as among the most miserable in his life. There were players in GE that did not want him to make it. This was also true throughout Welch's career with the giant GE. He talks about a human resources man named Johnson standing in his way for years, early on in his career (p77). It wasn't until several years later that another man succeeded Johnson that Welch was able to move up again.
You also get the intimate details of how the new Chairman of General Electric is selected, which is an absolutely compelling section to read. Apparently there are usually 3 men in the running for the slot. Each of them is usually a Vice-Chairman of the Board at the time the race starts. They each know they are in the race for the top slot, and each has their own backers. What's interesting is how the backers try to kill off the other horses in the race. Once again there's a lot of politics involved.
What I never realized, and Jack is a neighbor in my town is that whoever wins, the other players always wind up leaving General Electric fairly quickly. When you think about it, this seems reasonable. However to management professors, they would tell you what a loss of great, well-trained talent to let out the door. GE's feelings are that the people that don't make Chairman could be bitter, (they are), and therefore it is better they leave to pursue other endeavors.
You might have read Larry Bossidy's great bestseller on business called "Execution, The Discipline of Getting Things Done". Before doing an absolutely fantastic job for Allied Signal which was absorbed into Honeywell, Bossidy was a Vice Chairman of GE, and in the running to become GE Chairman. As you know, there can only be one Chairman, and when Bossidy was passed over, he went on to great fame at Honeywell.
More recently, Jeff Immelt became Chairman of GE when Welch retired. One of the horses in that race which Immelt won was Robert Nardelli, who when passed over, was furious with Welch and went on to take $400 million in income from Home Depot before being dismissed by the Board of Directors at the end of 2005. Apparently, the famous GE template for doing business doesn't necessarily transfer into every business. Home Depot being an example of the failure of the GE system.
Outstanding Explanation of Corporate Transformation
Peter Drucker the renowned management guru of the 20th century always wrote about the corporation as a living, breathing organism - very much alive. It requires constant nourishment to keep it from dying a slow death. GE is no different than any other corporation in this realm. What Welch would tell you, which is what he says in lectures, is that each successive GE Chairman must transform the corporation in his own image. This takes a couple of years upon assuming the position, to pull off.
Welch did it with his immediate predecessor Reg Jones, and Welch says that his successor Immelt is doing it as we speak. Divisions are sold off, and new companies are bought. Certain strategies, which were emphasized by one Chairman, are discarded and relegated to the ash heap by the next. This is what a corporation in the constant process of renewal has to do, and Welch spends considerable time going though each of the major business segments of GE, and how he transformed them.
He also went through several marriages, which tells you about the price of corporate success. What isn't clear because Chairman Welch chooses not to make clear is whether the personal costs for his business success were worth it. What is the cost of a failed marriage, and all the time and energy invested in it.
When Welch divorced his second wife here in Fairfield County he offered the lady a million dollar settlement at a time when he was worth some $900 million. This is after she made a 20-year investment in time to the legendary CEO. The question becomes one of what kind of logic was he using in the decision making process in this instance. This is especially true for someone of his vast intellect, and legal resources. The storm of embarrassment, and furor that ensued was totally expected, public, and preventable.
It is also amazing to consider that this man was able to create a 1 handicap at golf for himself while running General Electric. The amount of effort and time that is necessary to achieve such a ranking is considerable, and yet Welch pulled it off. This is a very special man.
There was one business segment that General Electric completely failed at, and the Chairman is remarkably candid in discussing it. This was General Electric's acquisition, and subsequent divestiture of Kidder Peabody the Wall Street investment banking firm. Welch saw great value in the acquisition, and indeed there was.
The failure was in the understanding of RISK. To a businessman, risk is risk. It doesn't matter what kind of risk it happens to be. It is always quantifiable, and controllable - SURE. This certainly is not true in the case of a Wall Street firm, but as Welch puts it, GE had to learn that lesson by LIVING IT. General Electric approaches risk the way bankers approach risk. It is reasonable, and logical.
In the case of a Wall Street firm, that is not how risk works. This is why with very rare exceptions, no bank or insurance company or industrial concern for that matter is able to acquire, and successfully run a Wall Street brokerage firm. Prudential Insurance certainly failed with Bache, which subsequently was divested. Ross Perot lost a hundred million (over a billion dollars in today's purchasing power) trying to save Francis DuPont and Company in the early 1970's.
Now there was GE's attempt to integrate Kidder Peabody into the GE template for doing business. Welch wound up pulling what little hair he had out of his head. As he puts it, your assets ride up the elevator in the morning, and ride down at night, namely the employees in a brokerage firm.
What's more if you have a good year, they get bonuses so lavish you would never pay that much in an industrial concern. What's even worse, if you have a bad year, they still want bonuses to keep them from walking out the door, and working somewhere else. The GE experiment in Wall Street lasted about a year, and then Kidder Peabody was jettisoned.
GE Capital was Another Story
GE Capital under Jack Welch became the crown jewel of GE, and also Welch's major legacy to the corporation. These guys are among the smartest people on the planet. Everybody complains about what a lousy business the airplane business is. GE Capital doesn't complain. They probably make more money leasing planes, and other aviation related goods, than the entire airline industry put together makes. This is no joke, that's how smart these guys are.
They lend money to companies that potentially are going bankrupt, yet the indentures they draft allow GE to come away whole, even if there's a bankruptcy. GE Capital is the ultimate money machine. Just to give you an idea, in my 35 years of money management, the most profitable business I have ever seen is modular office units for construction sites.
Have you ever gone onto a construction site, you will always see these trailer like rectangular facilities where the foreman, architects, and assorted other individuals might be working when they are not out on the construction site. These facilities cost a thousand or two to make, and they get rented out for 400, 500, 600 a month. The enclosures pay for themselves in a couple of months, and then its pure gravy for years.
Years ago, GE Capital figured out the business, and now dominates it for themselves. These fellows are on top of every major profitable business on the planet. There was a used car leasing deal in Asia that was fabulously profitable, and available. GE Capital found that one too, bought it right up, and dominates the industry today. This division is so big and so profitable, that one could argue that GE is no longer a manufacturing concern. They are a capital employment firm, and GE Capital is the driving force of the corporation. As the years go by, this is becoming more and more true.
Read this book. You will love it. It is written in Jack's voice, although he has a ghostwriter working with him named John Byrne. Anything this man has to say is worthwhile. It's almost 450 pages of pure business joy waiting to be discovered, and explored. I recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in business and how to manage the modern industrial corporation.
Richard Stoyeck
A great book by a great business leader.......2006-12-20
Jack Welch is of course a business genius and has written many books. This is the only one that recounts what he did at GE to make it a successful company. I think it is the most interesting of all of his books and by far the most fun to read. No matter what type of business you own or are interested in there is something in here for everyone. You get a great sense of what running a conglomerate looks like. Highly recommend.
Jack, Straight from the Gut.......2006-11-25
Jack Welch boils down his philosophy and GE's success to a few key principles. For this the book does an outstanding job, and provides the reader with some best-practice guidelines for his or her own company. It's a much more interesting read than many management books, yet stills happens to continually reinforce GE's and Jack Welch's key concepts.
Some of the other reviews seem to reflect opinions of readers that simply don't get it. While there is some fluff in the book you will get a lot out of it if you stay focused on the few key messages. These you can take to your own company or job and have a very positive impact.
A Must Read For Managers.......2006-11-11
If you are a manager or aspiring to be one, go ahead and read this one. Need not follow all what jack is telling you in the book but i am sure you would want to follow some of them. Who else is a better person to tell those other than Jack who has gone through all of that. Another great read is his Winning.
Average customer rating:
- A Good Book But I Prefer Jack's Own
- Disappointing
- Author Paid By The Word
- Absurd
- Obsolete
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Jack Welch & The G.E. Way: Management Insights and Leadership Secrets of the Legendary CEO
Robert Slater
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Similar Items:
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Winning
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29 Leadership Secrets From Jack Welch
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Jack Welch and The 4 E's of Leadership
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The GE Way Fieldbook: Jack Welch's Battle Plan for Corporate Revolution
ASIN: 0070581045 |
Amazon.com
A recent Fortune poll cited General Electric Company as America's most admired company. Much of the credit went to Jack Welch, GE's chief executive for the past 17 years. During his tenure, GE's revenues and profits have grown enormously. Its share price has soared, making GE the world's most valuable company. And the key to GE's success, according to Jack Welch and the GE Way, is Welch's fanatical devotion to a personal philosophy of leadership. Author Robert Slater has made a growth industry of his own out of Welch, penning two previous books on him, The New GE in 1992 and Get Better or Get Beaten! two years later. The same territory was plowed in 1993 by Noel M. Tichy and Stratford Sherman in Control Your Destiny or Someone Else Will.
In this book, Slater draws extensively on Welch's own words to deliver his now familiar message: keep it simple; face reality; embrace change; fight bureaucracy. Bromides these may be, but Slater's account of Welch's fierce efforts to lead a global, multifarious organization of 270,000 people does inspire admiration, even if it does not enable emulation. The book provides fresh insights into GE's shift toward service businesses, as with its takeover and transformation of NBC. Most timely are Welch's closing thoughts on trends in the global economy. Jack Welch and the GE Way is a must for the legions of "Welch-heads" out there and for anyone else interested in this brilliant leader's perspective on the future of business. --Barry Mitzman
Book Description
Behind the scenes with the legendary CEO
Jack Welch’s innovative leadership strategies revived a lagging GE, transforming it into a powerhouse with a staggering $300 billion-plus market capitalization. In writing Jack Welch and the GE Way, author Robert Slater was given unprecedented access to Welch and other prominent GE insiders. What emerged is a brilliant portrait that tells you what makes Jack Welch tick. Learn how to work the Welch magic on your own company as you find out how he dismantled the boundaries between management layers, between engineers and marketers, between GE and its customers to streamline the process of getting products and services to market.
Get details on Welch’s far-reaching Six Sigma quality initiative, and discover how its principles and standards can save billions of dollars...how and why he has made GE a truly global company (and why you must think global as well)...and all the other Welch "midas touch" strategies you can put to work in your organization, at every level!
Download Description
Jack Welch is indisputably the most effective CEO in America today and has been for the past two decades. Robert Slater concentrates on Welch's present-day business strategies and his vision for the future in Jack Welch and the G.E. Way.
Customer Reviews:
A Good Book But I Prefer Jack's Own.......2005-12-24
I bought this book before reading Jack's "Straight from the Gut". When I read this book I thought it was 5 stars and I re-read this book at least once looking for clues to help my own business. Then I read Jack's book and realized his was better. In any case this covers all the basic aspects of Jack's methods including the educational meetings at the GE "university", cleaning house, picking winning companies, eliminating small market share companies, and promoting top performers and eliminating underperformers. It shows how he is hands on.
Good if you want to read two books on Jack Welch.
Disappointing.......2005-06-07
When I read a book I expect to learn something I don't already know or at least revisit something I already know from a new perspective or explain it in a uniquely articulate way. This book fails on all three measures. Walsh shares no secret insights -- he only discusses his introduction of a number of standard business practices to GE. This include 6-Sigma, downsizing, A-B-C rating of managers, etc. -- The usual mix of management science, art and business fad typical in pop management books. And even the discussions of how these management tools were implemented at GE is filled with extrainious details about the meetings at which these policies were introduced and other non-value added story telling. This only leads me to believe that it was added as filler to get the page count up to the size required for a book.
For all of Jack Welsh's insistence that his business units be 1st or 2nd in a market it is pure hypocrisy for him to be publishing this book. Your time and money is better spent reading Peter Drucker.
Author Paid By The Word.......2004-04-06
Good overview of the Jack Welch way, including a variety of innovative business ideas that brought GE forward.
However, as a book goes, it would appear the author was paid by the word. Each of the "secrets" is presented, reviewed, repeated, and presented again in a 300+ page book that would better be summarized in about 20. I kept reading after the first two chapters thinking I would learn somthing new, but honestly, save your money, read chapter one at the library, and go home with just as much insight.
To the publisher, I'd recommed an "executive summary" version for the next edition.
Absurd.......2003-10-06
I've worked as an engineer for GE under Jack Welch and I have also worked as a (civilian) naval engineer.
GE's bureaucracy makes the government look like a paradigm of efficiency. GE is probably the most politicized, bureaucratic, inefficient and bloated organization on the planet.
Jack Welch is incompetent. Read a comic book instead: You'll find more truth in one.
Obsolete.......2003-02-21
This book has some nuggets but you do have to overcome some meandering. The author jumps from format to format sometimes turning the book into a Jack Welch biography and at other times acting as if the book were a serious business analysis of GE and the changes Welch brought. It fails as a biography and the business analysis is lightweight at best. It's not clear what this book is trying to deliver but what I got out of it were a cursory understanding of the challenges that GE faced and some sense of why Jack Welch succeeded. Now that Jack Welch is retired and has an autobiography "Straight from the Gut" this book is almost obsolete.
Book Description
In Winning, their 2005 international bestseller, Jack and Suzy Welch created a rare document, both a philosophical treatise on fundamental business practices and a gritty how-to manual, all of it delivered with Jack's trademark candor and can-do optimism. It seemed as if "no other management book," in the words of legendary investor Warren E. Buffett, would "ever be needed."
Instead, Winning uncovered an insatiable thirst to talk about work. Since the book's publication, the Welches have received literally thousands of questions from college students and seasoned professionals alike, on subjects ranging from leadership and global competition to tough bosses and building teamwork. Indeed, questions about virtually every business and career challenge have poured in—some familiar, others surprising, many urgent and probing, and all of them powerfully real.
Winning: The Answers takes on the most relevant of these questions, and in doing so, its candid, hard-hitting responses expand and extend the conversation Jack and Suzy Welch began with Winning. It is a dialogue that is sure to be both compelling and immensely useful to anyone and everyone engaged in the vital work of helping an organization grow and thrive.
Customer Reviews:
Read this book. It doesn't matter whether you read Winning........2007-09-04
Whether you read Winning or not, you should check out this book. I purchased a copy of Winning and due to the fact that I had it autographed by Jack and the book is pretty long, I have never read it. I listened to the audio version and found it had some valuable insights, but a lot of filler. (I have read Jack: Straight from the Gut and was impressed enough to join GE upon graduating college.)
If you like Jack and Suzy's column in Business Week, you will like Winning: The Answers. I was able to finish this book on a 3 hour flight. The book is formatted as concise 1-3 page answers to questions readers of Jack's other works have come up with.
The questions are grouped into the main categories of:
-Global competition (China!)
-Leadership (being a better boss)
-Management Principles and Practices (running a business to win / be successful)
-Careers ("On Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of a Promotion")
The above four categories take up ~200 pages.
The remaining two categories take up only ~40 pages: Privately Held, Winning and Losing.
New and old managers should find the chapters on Leadership, Management Principles, and Career progression very useful.
Buy this........2007-02-05
This is excellent book explained in a very simple manner. Its worth keeping a copy for yourself.
Fantastic Business and Management Strategy Book!.......2007-01-11
Jack Welch's common sense approach to business and the management of people has really helped guide my career.
Good Continuation.......2007-01-10
I have the Book Winning in print and CD. After listening to it on CD, I had to get the print edition to write notes in the columns and use it as a reference along with his other book "The Four E's of Leadership". This book is a good contiuation of the conversation. If you are a student of successful leaders this book is worth the price. It gives a few more examples of real world situations.
Book Description
Proven leadership lessons from the author of the international bestseller The Welch Way
Techniques Jack Welch used to create great leaders and drive unprecedented financial performance
Jack Welch and GE used the celebrated 4e model to measure leadership potential and enhance profitability at every level of the organization. Jack Welch and the 4 E's of Leadership delivers a thought-provoking and in-depth analysis of this signature model. Pragmatic and handson, it explains how the model helped Welch to consistently spot 4e leaders--individuals with energy, the ability to inspire others, and the talent to consistently make the difficult decisions and meet financial goals.
Jack Welch and the 4 E's of Leadership reveals how the 4e model helped GE's best and brightest eliminate bureaucracy, hire and promote energetic people, find new ways to increase the organization's customer-centricity, and more. Beyond the nuts and bolts of the 4e model, however, it outlines a step-by-step blueprint anyone can follow to stock an organization with performance-ready leaders and leaders-in-training.
Examples include:
- How to recognize and encourage each of the 4e's--Energy, Energizers, Edge, and Execute
- Leadership theories of Drucker, Senge, and others, and how they support and validate Welch's 4e model
- Seven rules for successfully driving change, and leveraging it to gain long-term competitive advantage
- Leadership lessons of the 4e all-star executive team
- Valuable implementation insights on virtually every page, along with a "4e leader to-do" list
Jack Welch is universally recognized as the greatest CEO of his era. In Jack Welch and the 4 E's of Leadership, bestselling author Jeffrey A. Krames examines Welch's seminal 4e leadership model and provides a penetrating and uncompromising look at how to recognize and develop authentic leaders.
Customer Reviews:
The best Welch book yet!.......2006-09-14
I have read just about every book either written by or about Jack Welch that has been published. This is the best book over-all. Most of what is written is just a rehash of what Welch wrote about himself or the Author keeps repeating the same information with new graphics and slightly different format with each new book he writes. If you want more detail about the history of GE and of Welch, try another book. However, if you want good information about how he implemented his ideas and how you can do the same, this is the book for you.
Insightful!.......2005-10-03
Jeffrey A. Krames' book adds another paragraph or two to the Jack Welch entry in the annals of business history. "Neutron Jack" kept people from getting too comfortable, once explaining that it wasn't 100,000 General Electric (GE) employees he eliminated, it was 100,000 GE positions. His radioactive personality aside, Welch had remarkable success grooming top corporate leaders. The equity value of companies run by Welch's protégés - including GE, 3M, Home Depot and Honeywell - may well exceed some national budgets, so it is interesting to learn what qualities Welch encouraged as a mentor. Welch's "4E's" of leadership help explain how he generated so much value over the years for his grateful shareholders. Krames extracts leadership ideas from Welch's track record and makes them quick and handy. Although the book is more useful than original, we find that the articulation of the 4E's, and the profiles of Welch's protégés make it a solid addition to any business library.
A Brilliant Synthesis, Eloquently Expressed.......2005-06-01
I greatly admire Krames's previous books, notably The Welch Way: 24 Lessons From The World's Greatest CEO and What the Best CEOs Know: 7 Exceptional Leaders and Their Lessons for Transforming Any Business. He is an exceptionally clear and insightful thinker. In this volume, Krames focuses on the "4E Leadership Model," an abbreviation of "The GE Authentic Leadership Model" which Welch introduced to GE almost ten years ago. Previously, Welch had stressed Head, Heart, and Guts. Eventually, he recognized the need for a more fully developed concept which could guide and inform the development of leaders within the GE organization. It should also be noted that he hired Noel Tichy to head up a management training center for GE to which Welch then committed about 20% of his time.
Welch believed that there are essentially three different types of leaders: Type A's live the values and make the numbers, Type B's live the values but do not always make the numbers, and Type C's do not live the values but may make the numbers. To Welch, the A's were GE's "best and brightest," the B's were the ones who received the most intensive training, and (with very few exceptions) C's were strongly advised to seek new career opportunities elsewhere. Welch discusses all this in his own recently published book, Winning. Here are some brief excerpts:
"The first E is positive energy. For example, they start the day with enthusiasm and usually end it that way too, rarely seeming to tire in the middle. They don't complain about working hard; they love to work. They love to play. People with positive energy just enjoy life.
"The second E is the ability to energize others. Positive energy is the ability to get other people revved up. People who energize can inspire their team to take on the impossible -- and enjoy the hell out of doing it. In fact, people would arm wrestle for the chance to work with them.
"The third E is edge, the courage to make tough yes-or-no decisions. [Those with edge] know when to stop assessing and make a tough call, even without total information.
"The fourth E is execute -- the ability to get the job done.... It turns out you can have positive energy, energize everyone around you, make hard calls, and still not get over the finish line. Being able to execute is a special and distinct skill. It means a person knows how to put decisions into action and push them forward to completion, through resistance, chaos, or unexpected obstacles. People who can execute know that winning is about results.
What else?
"Passion! By that I mean a heartfelt, deep, and authentic excitement about work. People with passion care -- really care in their bones -- about colleagues, employees, and friends winning. They love to learn and grow, and they get a huge kick when people around them do the same. The funny thing about people with passion, though, is they usually aren't excited just about work. They tend to be passionate about everything!...they just have juice for life in their veins."
Krames does a brilliant job of organizing and presenting material in such a way that his reader can more easily understand it and, of greater importance, then put it to effective use. Krames agrees that "winning is about results" and does all he can to help his reader understand both the WHY and the HOW of "The Four E's of Leadership." He offers a self-audit in the Introduction (pages 18 and 19) followed by the first of several "4E Leader to Do" lists with which Krames concludes each of the chapters in Part I.
In Part II, he shifts his attention to "Leadership Lessons" to be learned from five of GE's "4E All-Stars": Jeff Immelt, James McNerney, Larry Bossidy, Robert Nardelli, and Vivek Paul. He devotes a separate chapter to each, again concluding all of the five chapters with an appropriate "4E Leader to Do" list. Yes, almost all of the material which Krames discusses can be found in other sources, including Welch's book and others written by Krames as well as Robert Slater's Jack Welch & The G.E. Way: Management Insights and Leadership Secrets of the Legendary CEO. What makes this book so valuable is the fact that, as indicated earlier, Krames presents the material within a framework which helps the reader not only to understand the core leadership concepts but also to understand HOW to apply them effectively within her or his own organization.
One final point: Welch and Krames would be among the first to point out that there is no one "formula" which guarantees business success. However, the one which has proven so successful at GE affirms values and suggests core concepts, strategies, and tactics which -- if properly understood and then effectively applied -- can substantially assist the achievement of such success.
Practical leadership book, great to share with others........2005-05-22
The "4 E's" by Jeffrey Krames is among those few leadership books that you can put to immediate practical use for yourself and for others. Krames has a pleasant, to-the-point writing style and the book's clear organization and layout makes the "4E's" a compelling read.
The first part of the "4E's"," a perspective on Welch's leadership model, offers practical "how to" exercises, including "to do" lists for 4E leaders and 4E leadership self-assessments. The exercises are incisive and easy to do.
The second part demonstrates Welch's impact on others with chapters on Jeff Immelt (Chairman & CEO, GE), James McNerney (Chairman & CEO, 3M), Larry Bossidy (former Chairman & CEO, Honeywell), Robert Nardelli (CEO, Home Depot), and Vivek Paul (CEO, Wipro Technologies). The comments of those leaders about Welch's influence are fascinating.
In "How to use this book in training, management workshops, and performance reviews" Krames offers valuable exercise-scenarios, complete with sample meeting agendas. The author makes an important point about books as learning tools in organization: they are easy-to-use, inexpensive, and easily distributed. Not surprisingly, "The 4E's," hardcover & bound, modestly sized (and priced), makes a very nice gift.
This is a great book to share with others.
The "softer" aspects of leadership and management are often hard to grasp, let alone discuss in group settings. The "4E's" is exceptionally clear about the essence of Welch's leadership model.
I highly recommend the "4E's," especially to those who want to share their learning with others.
Book Description
Do business like Jack Welch
When Jack Welch took the reins of General Electric in 1981, he reformulated GE in his own image -- tough, smart, competitive, and relentless. First published in 1994,
Get Better or Get Beaten became a bestseller as managers sought to understand and mimic the success ;of the man lauded by Fortune as "...perhaps the most admired CEO of his generation." Now, on the eve of his planned April retirement, the new
Get Better or Get Beaten, Second Edition shows you how to compete "Welch style" in today's techologically advanced business arena. Look to this fast-paced book for:
*Jack Welch's latest views on management and leadership
*Examples of how Welch transformed GE into an e-business
*Insights into Six Sigma and other s;uccessfulk GE quality initiatives
*More
Customer Reviews:
Highly Recommended!.......2004-03-01
The best thing about this book is that it quotes extensively and piquantly from the writings and speeches of Jack Welch. The intriguing list of "29 leadership secrets" (which could have been reduced to ten) is more selective than secret, given that Welch has been preaching them loudly from a very prominent platform for more than 20 years. However, the book will be valuable to Welch neophytes and to fans who want more Jack, or the essence of Jack. Author Robert Slater assumes a certain familiarity with GE's history and initiatives, and sometimes refers to them without explanation. Welch long ago transcended management to become sort of a leadership prophet, and his utterances are sometimes paradoxical, if not contradictory. He says nurture people, but downsize; he says cut bureaucracy, but implement a paperwork intensive Six Sigma program. We promise that somewhere in here, you'll find a managerial principle to fit almost any occasion. What more can you ask of a handbook?
More of the Same from Robert Slater.......2002-08-22
I previously read "Jack Welch and the GE Way", also by Slater and published in 1999, but I never read the original version of "Get Better or Get Beaten". This newer version of "Get Better..." contained a substantial amount of material that was already covered in more detail in "the GE Way" book. Except for some of the material covering events since 1999, I think "the GE Way" was a better choice of the two, especially if you're looking for more detail and analysis. In many ways I felt like I was just re-reading the other book. On the other hand, if you're looking for sort of the 'Cliff Notes' version and want some good insight into Six Sigma, this newer, smaller work by Slater is certainly satisfactory. There's only marginal benefit to reading both of these.
Simple, strategic and to the point.......2002-04-24
This is the first book about GE's Jack Welch I ever read. I bought it because the title is so far the most attractive amongst its keens. "Get Better or Get Beaten" is certainly the norm in today's competitive world. Remarkably, the content is of the same quality as its title. It is so well written that I finished it in 1.5 day.
In fact, the core concepts or the secrets are nothing new. Quality and Re-engineering gurus like Peter Drucker, Philip Crosby, Tom Peters etc had stressed the importance of quality, customer orientation, corporate culture, employee involvement blah blah blah for decades. It's just that Jack Welch had been so successful a real life practitioner and advocate that nobody can neglect. Think about the 6 sigma phenomenon and you know what I mean.
In case you just want to know the secrets without the elaboration, or that you cannot afford one, go to the table of content (Thanks to Amazon) and have a look. All the secrets are already there. (Sorry, Mr. Slater). However, I still think it is a good collectible for your personal library.
p.s. I had worked in an acquired subsidiary of a Fortune 20 company. I am sorry that what happened there was far from what Mr. Welch preached. The result is: The leader five years ago (when it was acquired) is now the fifth in the market.
Get Better, And Then Get Even Better.......2001-11-05
This is one of the few best books on leadership I have read in a long, long time. The others, which compliment this book are Jack Welch's book, "Jack", and Norman Thomas Remick's book on the philosophy behind all the good advice from Mr. Slater and Mr. Welch called "West Point". Read "Get Better" to get better, then read the others to get even better yet. And what's nice about it, they're all available right here on Amazon.com.
Very good !.......2001-06-20
I picked up this book in a bookstore and I did not know what to expect. I was amazed at the wisdom that this man posses when I began to read this book. He is very straightforward and very cool. All the principles are appliable to any kind of business I think. One of the best business books I ever seen, and its based on a man who practice what he preaches. BUY IT !!!
Average customer rating:
- to be as good as the best in the world
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Control Your Own Destiny or Someone Else Will
Noel Tichy
Manufacturer: Currency
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Binding: Hardcover
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| Management & Leadership
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ASIN: 0385248830
Release Date: 1992-12-19 |
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to be as good as the best in the world.......1998-01-03
If it ain't broke,don't fix it.....that seems to be the culture in many organisations. Left to themselves, people will ignore warnings of danger and scorn opportunities to change early and with minimum of pain. This book relates how the cultural phenomenon was changed in General Electric (GE), one of America's largest and highly successful blue-chip corporation. This transformation or change revolution was brought about by the never-ending energy of its CEO, Jack Welch. The book successfully highlights some of Welch's thoughts and key considerations as he went about revolutionising GE. The book contains some valuable lessons for all managers who are attempting to drive change in their respective organisations.
Book Description
"If management is an art, then surely Jack Welch has proved himself a master painter." - BusinessWeek
Boardroom legend Jack Welch is widely regarded as one of the most effective CEOs in business history. Welch’s groundbreaking programs—including Six Sigma and Work-Out—along with his numerous strategies on business leadership have helped transform GE into the global benchmark for maximized productivity and labor efficiency.
Now, The GE Way Fieldbook explains how you can implement the same programs that helped turn GE into a $100 billion juggernaut. Drawing from his unprecedented access to GE’s top-level corridors of power—including a never-before-published full-length interview with Jack Welch—veteran business author Robert Slater packs innovative strategies, easy-to-use diagnostic exercises, detailed questionnaires, and more into the most hands-on, applications-oriented book ever written on General Electric. Only in The GE Way Fieldbook will you find:
*"The Boca Raton Speeches"—Never-before-seen excerpts taken from Jack Welch’s internal speeches to GE employees
*More than 100 exercises, overheads, and exhibits from the files of Jack Welch and GE
*The most complete treatment of GE’s Six Sigma program ever published
*Step-by-step action plans that are blueprints for implementing Six Sigma and Work-Out—and creating the boundaryless organization
The fieldbook has become one of today’s most popular, effective teaching tools—but never before has one focused on the inner workings and strategies of a specific company. Let The GE Way Fieldbook give you an inside look at the stunningly successful Jack Welch era at GE, provide the techniques and tools you need to focus every worker in your organization on progress and growth, and outline a strategic roadmap for implementing GE’s business practices—and removing the boundaries to success—within your own organization.
Download Description
Strategic tools and techniques for implementing GE leader Jack Welch's innovative business practices--and removing the boundaries to success--within your own organization.
Customer Reviews:
Jack Kills the GEnie.......2005-05-06
Those who think Jack Welch is such a visionary should think again since in my opinion he cost the company billions. In the eighties I was involved in General Electric's GEnie which was the #3 online system online community with a very loyal customer base. AOL had not existed at the time. GEnie had a chance to dominate the online market because it had the knowledge and expertise at the time and a very loyal community. I remember one infamous meeting when I stood up and said basically "it's the Internet stupid." My comments went over like a lead balloon and basically the executives said ok any other questions and went on as if I had not made a statement at all. With just a few thousand dollars GEnie could have been one of the first to emphasize Internet access but GEnie was short-sighted with little or incorrect guidance from Jack Welch who supposedly was engaged in GEnie. With a very small capital infusion GEnie could have been the #1 online system. Where was Jack's six sigma? Make a long story short, GEnie never got real support from Jack just talk. The death knell for GEnie was when one infamous weekend the online resources were pulled to run some back office accounting program and thus denying online access to its GEnie customers. The customers weren't even informed why they couldn't access their email and never any apology. Where was Jack Welch? GEnie quietly faded away after that. Why haven't the hotshot investigated reporters reported this part of GE and Jack's history?
Bad ideas made simplistic.......2001-12-20
This book is quite simply, horrible. I could overlook the fact that it assumes the reader just graduated first grade, if the ideas, methods and tools were any good. Reading this book, I have to believe GE got where it did in spite of Jack Welch, not because of him. These are not the concepts that revolutionize a business. The first great idea offered? An employee suggestion program. Wow, thanks. An entire book could be written on the futility of such efforts. Employees can't change the bad systems they are trapped in. Then we get the 4 E's. This is Jack Welch's idea that all managers in the organization must posess four ingredients: energy, be an energizer, edge, execution. Anyone familiar with Myers-Briggs, or True Colors personality type methodologies will see that Welch is basically saying he's after one personality type (I'll let you guess which one). This is nuts. The strive should be for diversity in personality types, especially on a leadership team. A good mix of idea people, action people, detail people, people who care about people, etc. And on that topic - caring about people, I hope the Jack Welch way doesn't become "the way". The ideas presented here about performance appraisals and forced distributions are not only stupid they are inhumane. I would refer you to the fine book "Abolishing Performance Appraisals" by Tom Coens and Mary Jenkins for a more enlightened view on people and performance.
The stuff about six sigma is not bad, although I'm not a big believer that you can problem-solve your way to excellence. It is possible to make entirely defect-free that which you should not be making at all.
In short, skip this book. The ideas are nothing new, and in many cases wrong, and the tools and illustrations are too simplistic to be of value.
For those who need training wheels.......2001-08-25
The text of this book could be reduced to 20% its original size if the author addressed the reader as a competent, intelligent manager. Instead, it's filled with cute pictures and 'how to's' I've heard the GE Way is good; don't opt for the Fieldbook.
The Jack Welch Way is the Only Way.......2001-03-10
I have read everything that has ever been written about the golden boy of corporate america - Jack Welch. He is a genious for our times and this book is just another example of his legendary managerial style. An easy read that is filled with key information to turn any company into an industry leader and any manager into a corporate leader. This book details everything a manager will ever need to know. A MUST BUY !!!!!!
Microsoft Reader makes this title a mistake.......2001-01-09
I wish I had purchased the hardcopy. Ebooks have a long way to go! I have a laptop and a desktop but there is no way to share this between the two devices. Also, I can't tell how to back this up and restore it if my hard drive crashes. When I'm done with it, I can't give it to someone else. The bookmarking and highlighting is kind of cool, but nothing you can't do with a paper copy. I'm very unimpressed. I'm really regretting that I bought this in electronic format!
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