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Jack Welch and the 4 E's of Leadership
Book

Jack Welch and the 4 E's of Leadership

Jeffrey A. Krames
McGraw-Hill, 2005

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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

Jeffrey A. Krames’ book adds another paragraph or two to the Jack Welch entry in the annals of business history. "Neutron Jack" kept people from getting too comfortable, once explaining that it wasn’t 100,000 General Electric (GE) employees he eliminated, it was 100,000 GE positions. His radioactive personality aside, Welch had remarkable success grooming top corporate leaders. The equity value of companies run by Welch’s protégés - including GE, 3M, Home Depot and Honeywell - may well exceed some national budgets, so it is interesting to learn what qualities Welch encouraged as a mentor. Welch’s "4E’s" of leadership help explain how he generated so much value over the years for his grateful shareholders. Krames extracts leadership ideas from Welch’s track record and makes them quick and handy. Although the book is more useful than original, getAbstract finds that the articulation of the 4E’s, and the profiles of Welch’s protégés make it a solid addition to any business library.

Summary

Follow the Leader

Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric (GE), is a proponent of the "4E" model of leadership development. Great leaders share these 4E characteristics:

  • "The 4E leader has energy" - A great leader has a big motor and is always on the go, displaying limitless energy. If life had a speed limit, this leader would constantly get tickets for hyper-charged "drive." Even at warp speed, this leader embraces change.
  • "The 4E leader energizes" - A great leader not only has energy, he or she can transmit energy to others. These leaders "spark others" to action, inspire people to respond to their "vision" and share the credit if that’s what it takes to get going.
  • "The 4E leader has edge" - As a "strong competitor," the leader tests the margins, makes "difficult decisions" and doesn’t hesitate to hire or fire.
  • "The 4E leader executes" - A leader "delivers results" and is a "consistent performer." Activity and productivity are not synonymous - that’s one of the toughest lessons for leaders to learn. Great leaders turn energy into production.

Based on this formula, everything starts with...

About the Author

Jeffrey A. Krames, a frequent guest on CNN, CNBC and Fox News Channel, is the widely published author of The Welch Way, The Jack Welch Lexicon of Leadership, The Rumsfeld Way and What the Best CEOs Know. He is also Vice President and Publisher of McGraw-Hill’s trade business book division.

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