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Jack
Book

Jack

Straight from the Gut

Warner Books, 2001 plus...


Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

Part of the art of being a CEO is managing to be just interesting enough to hold people’s attention without offending any listeners or revealing too much. Of course, there is much more to it as well, like exercising authority, setting clear standards and maintaining your integrity. Jack Welch’s fairly conservative autobiography proves that the irascible Welch mastered all aspects of this difficult discipline, especially the first. Don’t expect to learn juicy details of Jack’s divorce or to get an insider’s political view of the horse race to select his successor. Nevertheless, this memoir might be the closest you ever to get to answering the question, "What made Jack Welch tick?" Despite some bland moments, getAbstract contends that anyone who wants to understand the American corporate landscape should read this book - so once again, Welch delivers.

Take-Aways

  • Former General Electric CEO Jack Welch says integrity is a leader’s most important asset - and sometimes requires brutal honesty.
  • Welch’s biggest influence was his mother.
  • Welch earned a Ph.D. and advanced his career at GE by continuing to pursue solutions even after he made mistakes.

About the Author

Jack Welch , a leading modern executive, just retired as the CEO of General Electric. After completing his doctorate at the University of Illinois, he worked for the company his entire career and began serving as CEO in 1981. John Bryne is a writer for BusinessWeek magazine.


Comment on this summary or Démarrer une discussion

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    N. N. 8 years ago
    I believe people deserve a second chance. If they really want to improve their performance, they will. If not, they'll be gone.
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    A. G. 1 decade ago
    I've used the advice on how to get rid of someone, roughly paraphrased as: 1. do it fast, 2. do it with dignity, 3. feel terrible about it. It consistently produces a better outcome than any legislative guidance, is almost always kinder to the affected individual than 6 months of "performance management", and the savings in their salary, your time and your company's morale all add up to allow you to be generous in the settlement package. It's never fun - and should never be fun - but it can be done quickly and with dignity.