This book came in a goodie bag in a new job orientation class. No prizes for guessing which company that was for! Jack W. has a hard lined approach to management. The biggest takeaway from this book is Welch's philosophy: GE doesn't hire the brightest because they don't buy his bulldozer style. GE hires those who are driven, ambitious and determined to succeed with grit, tenacity and unquestioning subordination to the GE way of life.

Welch managed GE in an era where American manufacturing led the country's economic growth. Earnings grew consistently at double digits every year. The GE Jeff Immelt inherited after Welch operated at a much more challenging and complex environment. Different times call for different management styles.

Welch's management philosophy worked well in the 80s-90s. Today's GE is banking on industrial innovation (i.e. wind energy, healthcare technology) and financial services. It's a paradigm shift and the company would need to loosen up the Welch era of rigid management style to promote more nimble and responsive units within the organisation that can respond quickly to changing market dynamics and promote a culture of business innovation.

I think freshly minted MBA Brady liked this better than 10 years into his career Brady

1. The HR Director must be at least as important as the CFO

2. Mismatch between mission statement and business- Enron Auditing vs Enron Consultancy

3.The GE Work-Out!!

4.Divide every organization into the top 20, middle 70 & bottom 10 percent. Treat the stars well- heavy bonuses, fat compensation & benefits, but let them stay grounded. Motivate the middle 70 percent to improve- they are your backbone and indispensable. Work towards slowly replacing the bottom 10.

5.The best place to be boss is when the people around you are smarter than you are. Doesn't mean you can't lead them

6.Firing- no surprise (frequent open formal & informal appraisals) & no humiliation (build his self confidence and make as much of a 'soft landing' as possible

7. In face of mergers- Look for a economic and most importantly, a cultural fit. Don't be held reverse hostage

8.Work-life balance is all about trading off. People with higher reserves of 'chits' can use them for benefits.

The book is quite comprehensive and delves into each and every area of professional life. The characteristic of a good book is not to teach you an altogether new thing but to firmly reinforce what you know already. This book managed to do the same with me.

Jack is known to be the greatest CEO of the last century and he delivered the content with the same dignity. He mentioned that doing mistakes in any organization should not be fatal but should be treated as a learning experience. He is an advocate of candor and meritocracy. He also mentioned that those who talk constantly of work life balance are usually the laggards in an organization. He also mentions in the book that changes should be accepted and best practices should be found and implemented.

I learnt a lot from this book and highly recommend the book to other fellow readers.

Amazing how he just gets into a sensitive topic nobody wants to talk about and step by step reveals the usual setup, pointa out the BS and provides some down to earth guidelines that everyone can understand and implement.

To give 5 stars I would love that this gets a revised version with the aftermath of Jeff Immelts perfectly disastrous bets in multiple directions.

I bought this book for 5 crowns in a second hand shop. I thought I had a good bargain, but I must admit the book is worth much less than that. The foreword by the two clowns from Saxo bank has already alerted me that I have bought the wrong book. Their tongues were stuck very deep in the author’s rectum, for the obvious reason that he was rich and famous. I decided to give the book a chance anyway but nearly puked as I went through the introduction and chapter one. The author is obviously a money guru of some kind, a super ego maniac elitist who supposes to appeal to a crowd of mammon worshipers. I was particularly revolted by his transcending and annoying punch lines. The author’s call for integrity is a guise for the proclamation of the jungle law. No matter however, how nicely he put it; he was reciting the jungle law. If you are the strong, then you can obviously afford to exercise moral virtue. According to the author (and I quote) ‘Business is a game, and winning that game is a total blast’. I was wondering what happens if you lose? Does it mean that only the results of a successful business determine our happiness? Surely many do not succeed, but he never speaks about them in the book. The weak does not exist in his world, only the strong. ‘Only the strong survives’ and ‘The survival of the fittest’ are his hidden mottoes. Like a typical elitist he focuses on the strong and on the cardinal principles of the jungle law which are power and inequality. The rest of the world is simply obsolete. He also says and I quote ‘Never let yourself be a victim, and for goodness’ sake- have fun’ I wish to correct him here and use the word Mammon instead of the word goodness. He meant for Mammon’s sake have some fun. This pathetic author has made a change to the game ‘Simon says’, instead he plays a game called ‘Mammon says’, like any other golden calf elitist in this rotten generation. The categories for this book are: Elitism, Egoism and Mammonism. Elitism is a terrible sickness. It has a cure, but the cure has not yet been mass produced, unless you read William Blake and Jonathan Swift, since they are some of many other remedies recommended.

A candid book based on Jack Welsch's experience of turning GE into a globally loved company.
He gives lot of insight on areas like six sigma, leadership, communication, getting promoted and hiring the best employees.

Biggest take away from this book is to practice candor, be direct and honest to your peers, bosses and customers.

very good book - interesting read about one of the very big business guys of the late 20th century. some of his advice is indeed winning you ... in others so read the fact that the book is from 2005 and that Jack welch is from a very different generation. still worth reading!

This book seriously put me to sleep. I'm very disappointed. Look at that harmless looking man on the cover. After peering into those piercing eyes, and that bright yellow background, I thought that I would like to win too. Apparently winning isn't for me however. I almost finished this book, but in the end it just felt too much like work. I read to escape thinking about work.

In all seriousness, I found most of his theories and his business advice to be purely plain common sense. I realize there are a lot of ridiculously incompetent business leaders in the world that probably need to read this book, however I've already heard most of this advice during my scholastic endeavours, and I honestly also find some of his advice to be highly suspect. But it wasn't even really that so much that made me not want to finish this book. It honestly just bored me to tears.

1) Keep your HR Director on the Senior Team.

2) The top 20% usually do a great job of managing their work-life balance because they've learned to cultivate relationships, budget time, set boundaries and absorb surprises. Crisis at home seldom spills over to work. By contrast, the other 80% usually have trouble keeping things in check because they lack these skills or cannot seem to translate them from one environment to the other.

3) Avoid people/weed out people who think/talk/act like victims. A few can be redeemed, but most will struggle with this as a lifestyle and quickly become a drain on the staff. Make the hard call.

4) There's something to merit rewards, even in a church setting.

5) Read, ask questions and surround yourself with others to do the same.

6) Energy is critical. A leader must not only bring energy to every transaction, she must also catalyze/draw out energy in the people she leads.

Most important:

New job:
t1. People
t2. Opportunity
t3. Options
t4. Ownership
t5. Work content

Good signs:
t1. People: You like the people a lot -you can relate to them, and you genuinely enjoy their company.
t2. Opportunity: The job gives you the opportunity to grow as a person and a professional, and you get the feeling you will learn things there that you didn’t even know you needed to learn.
t3. Options: The job gives you a credential you can take with you, and is in a business and industry with a future.
t4. Ownership: You are taking the job yourself, or you know whom you are taking it for, and feel at peace with the bargain.
t5. Work content: The “stuff” of the job turns your crank - you love the work, it feels fun and meaningful to you, and even touches something primal in your soul.

Be concerned if:
t1. You feel like you’ll need to put on a persona at work.
t2. You’re being hired as an expert, and upon arrival, you will most likely be the smartest person in the room.
t3. The industry has peaked or has awful economics, and the company itself, for any number of reasons, will do little to expand your career options.
t4. You are taking the job for any number of other constituents, such as spouse who wants you to travel less or the sixth grade teacher who said you would never amount to anything.
t5. The job feels like a job. In taking it , you say thinks like “this is just until something better comes along” or “you can’t beat the money”.

“A new job should feel like a stretch, not a layup.”

I will be the first to admit that despite being heavily ingrained in the business world, I don't generally like books about business as I tend to believe that they are full of cliches and not applicable to every situation.

However, Jack Welch's book seems as relevant today as when it was written 15 years ago. My personal favorite chapter by far was that about work life balance. Mr. Welch was a lot like me, in that when he was moving up in the ranks, work always came first - but at what cost? Ultimately, work life balance is a function of the choices you make based on what you value the most. But he basically said, "yea, don't expect to work the standrrd 8-5 and end up in the C-Suite of a big company". I appreciate that honesty, regardless of the fact that people may not all want to hear it.

Of the business books I've read, this one is atop the list.