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Jack Welch Speaks

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The world tries to keep up when JACK WELCH SPEAKS:

"Jack Welch has long been one of my heroes. When you read this book you will understand why." -Warren Buffett Chairman, Berkshire Hathaway.

"Jack Welch is a management genius who attacks life as he does business-with unconventional flair, a restless intellect, and no tolerance for phonies. And I'd say that even if he weren't my boss!" -Tom Brokaw Anchor and Managing Editor, NBC

"Jack Welch describes himself as 'just a man in a room.' Janet Lowe takes us into this room by letting the man speak for himself. Through his own words, it becomes clear why he is listened to and emulated all over the world. Big man, big room." -Sam Nunn Former U.S. Senator; Partner, King and Spalding.

"All too often, the journalistic adulation heaped upon business leaders is misplaced or vastly overstated. In the case of Welch, he's even better than his press." -Larry Bossidy Chairman and CEO, Allied Signal Inc.

"Jack Welch Speaks shows business at its most fascinating. It gives the reader a valuable insight into the mind and personal philosophy of one of America's keenest, most effective business leaders." -Ely Callaway Founder and Chairman, Callaway Golf.

"The gold standard against which other CEOs are measured." -BusinessWeek.

"The most acclaimed SOB of the last decade is the most acclaimed CEO of this one." -Industry Week.

He is one of the most praised, perhaps the most feared, and certainly one of the most confounding and controversial bosses in America-a complex, intensely private man, revered as the manager's manager. As Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of General Electric, Jack Welch has been at the forefront of the reconstruction of American industry. From the moment he assumed his position 16 years ago, Welch sought dramatic and swift change. He quickly realized the demands of the new, global, high-tech environment, and met the challenge with decisive action and, in the opinion of many, ruthless determination. He broadened corporate America's vocabulary with words that still strike terror in the hearts of many an employee: restructuring, downsizing, rightsizing. In the process, Jack Welch turned an aging, albeit highly respected and historic, business icon into what is considered by many today to be the best managed company in the world and, above all, one of the most profitable.

Now, Janet Lowe, author of the bestselling Warren Buffett Speaks, presents in Welch's own words the insights, vision, passions, and persuasions of a legendary leader. Here's just a sample of what you'll find inside:
* "We're going to demand from you earnings growth every year. . . . Those are the rules of the road. . . . You take charge of your destiny. If you don't, we will."
* "As I went to bigger pieces of GE, I found bigger bureaucracies, layers and all that stuff and it wasn't friendly. Business was very serious-turf-boxes. Business isn't that. Business is ideas and fun and excitement and celebrations, all those things."
* "When you're running an institution, you're always scared at first. You're afraid you might break it."
* "If someone tells me 'I'm working 90 hours a week,' I say, 'You're doing something terribly wrong.' I go skiing on the weekend, I go out with my buddies on Friday and party. You've got to do the same or you've got a bad deal."
* "Speed is everything. It is the indispensable ingredient in competitiveness. Speed keeps business and people young. It's addictive, and it's a profoundly American taste we need to cultivate."

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

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About the author

Janet Lowe

44 books35 followers
Janet Celesta Lowe is an American author, university lecturer and business writer.

Janet Lowe's career as a writer has included everything from freelance feature writer to technical writer, poet, reporter, editor, media spokesperson and author of many books.

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5 stars
32 (24%)
4 stars
31 (24%)
3 stars
52 (40%)
2 stars
12 (9%)
1 star
2 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 5, 2019
- be a leader, not a manager.
- we’re going to win on our ideas, not by whips and chains.
- decimal points are for bureaucrats.
- What our system has is freedom - it allows young engineers to move up fast. If we put bureaucracy and rigidness into our system, we play into our competitors’ hands.
- if we are to get the reflexes and speed we need, we’ve got to simplify and delegate more - simply, trust more.
- we have to get faster if we are to win in a world where nothing is predictable except the increasingly rapid pace of change.
- Finding the right managers and motivating them is Welch’s single greatest task.
- you’re either the best at what you do or you don’t do it for very long.
- reach employees by simplifying the message.
- If they don’t go out and care about their people, the people won’t do things for them. You have to constantly show that you care.
- I’ve been in this job 14 years and been wrong about a lot of things. But one prediction I’ve made at least 14 times has always come true: that things are going to get tougher, the shake outs more brutal and the pace of change more rapid.
- we are betting everything on our people - empowering them, giving them resources and getting out of their way.
- The biggest challenge is to be fair. No one trains you to be a judge.
- Von Moltke believed strategy was not a lengthy action plan, but rather the evolution of a central idea through continually changing circumstances.
- Tell people the truth, because they know the truth anyway.
- If I’d gone to MIT I would have been down the bottom of the pile and never got my head out. By going to a small school I was fortunate enough to get a lot of self-confidence.
- punishing failure assured that no one dares l.
82 reviews
February 17, 2021
A most unusual CEO and that is why books are written about Jack Welch. Author Janet Lowe begins with a brief background of Jack in growing up, attending school, active in sports, and then off to college. I was impressed how Janet would describe events taking place and then in italics CEO Jack would speak.
In his 20 years at the top of one of worlds largest organizations you could clearly witness even Jack changed in his Leadership style over 2 decades. Often argued he was too tough, or spoke from the cuff, or allowed to many decisions at lower levels. However, the success of the organization under his watch is "proof in the pudding".
For you business readers, you may want a pen in hand to make notes throughout this book as I did. Don't hold back from writing, underlining, highlighting, directly in the book. No one else will read it. Or will they?
Profile Image for JP.
1,163 reviews39 followers
May 18, 2013
Jack Welch is portrayed as driven but balanced, open to change yet relentless on a chosen track. His views: keeping it simple, being number 1 or 2, communicating honestly, viewing the employer-employee partnership as a mutual effort to achieve a goal, boundarylessness, acting small but using the power of size, business should be exciting, what's to the right of the decimal is for beauracrats, it's about leadership rather than magagement.
40 reviews1 follower
August 17, 2007
Jack Welch is no doubt a smart & strong leader. It was interesting to learn about his rise to CEO. Still hard to separate between his skill & success and the corruption & pollution of GE. "Tell people the truth. People always know the truth anyway."
Profile Image for Joel.
10 reviews1 follower
May 9, 2012
So far completed almost half of the book and am surprised by his approach towards the company,people and the decisions he made. I recommend every one to read for developing leadership qualities rather i can say to give birth to new role (as leader) in everyone.
Profile Image for Daniel Oon Yong Lin.
80 reviews10 followers
April 22, 2013
If you have read Winning by Welch I highly recommend you to read this by the author. The author complied the essence of Jack over his many years in GE. From his humble beginnings all the way to his leadership as chair in GE. 5/5
Profile Image for Siddharth.
73 reviews37 followers
May 5, 2016
The book provides the insight into the life and management style of one of the top CEOs of the 1980s and 1990s. Given how GE as a company has evolved under his leadership is fascinating to read. A good read for someone who wants to read about nuances of leadership.
Profile Image for Chris Davis.
Author 109 books8 followers
September 25, 2016
Not what I was expecting. It was an author writing about Jack Welch using quotes and stories without any actual interviews or words from Jack Welch himself. Disappointing. Didn't even finish it.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews

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