Info Feed Weblog
Jack: Straight from the Gut (by Jack Welch)
Jack Welch used to be one of the most respected CEOs during his 20-year tenure as CEO of General Electric. His approach to management and leadership has been studied many times, and I can still remember during the early parts of my business studies, his name came up again and again. About three years ago, he published his autobiography "Jack: Straight from the Gut", and I have finally read it.
The content of the book is easily described as the chronological journey through Jack Welch's life starting with a short discussion of his upbringing and education. After his PhD, he started with General Electric and rose through the ranks until being named CEO in 1981. Here, the book really starts to glow: We learn about how Jack Welch restructured GE around the concept of being number 1 or 2 in each market, how he proactively eliminated tens of thousands of jobs to make GE more competitive, how he focussed on leadership development and learning, how he acquired and sold businesses. We learn about major initiatives like services, the boundaryless organization, six sigma, and e-business. I began to understand why GE is so famous for its leadership (imagine this: it has had only 12 CEOs in the last 112 years), and the book gives an abundance of inspirations and tools to be a better manager. Note to self: I should really go through it again and make explicit the "Jack Welch Management Tool Set" at some point.
"Jack: Straight from the Gut" is a primer on leadership and management by one of the great leaders of our time and thus highly recommended.
- Book Title: Jack: Straight from the Gut
- Book Authors: Jack Welch
- Year of Publication: 2001
- Buy the book at Amazon.com.
- My rating:
More book reviews here.