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The GE Work-Out
Book

The GE Work-Out

How to Implement GE's Revolutionary Method for Busting Bureaucracy and Attacking Organizational Problems - Fast!

Dave Ulrich, Steve Kerr and Ron Ashkenas
McGraw-Hill, 2002

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Editorial Rating

9

Recommendation

There’s no denying the effectiveness of the “Work-Out” system at General Electric (GE). This book is a straightforward and comprehensive introduction to what Work-Out means and how it helped GE achieve astonishing results under Jack Welch, who introduced it. This clear, well-organized book makes it possible for any executive or manager to apply at least some elements of the Work-Out program in any organizational context. getAbstract does caution you, however, that the Work-Out program as portrayed here demands a great deal of commitment and moral fortitude from leaders. Empowerment may be effective, but it is rarely comfortable for the powers that be. Just ask “Neutron Jack.”

Take-Aways

  • General Electric’s “Work-Out” program cut bureaucracy and solved problems quickly.
  • You can tackle any business problem with the Work-Out approach.
  • In Work-Out, departmental teams discuss problems and solutions. They present their solutions at “Town Meetings,” where supervisors can approve or kill new approaches.

About the Authors

Dave Ulrich, a University of Michigan School of Business professor, wrote Human Resource Champions, Results-Based Leadership and The HR Scorecard. Steve Kerr, chief learning officer and managing director of Goldman Sachs, is former vice president-leadership development and chief learning officer of General Electric. Ron Ashkenas is a managing partner in the Robert H. Schaffer & Associates consulting firm. He has written two other books about General Electric.

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