Winning
Book

Winning

Jack Welch and Suzy Welch
HarperBusiness, 2005

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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

Jack Welch, former General Electric CEO and chairman, is a legendary corporate mentor. Fortunately for readers, this book (which he wrote with Suzy Welch, his wife) provides a top-tier mentoring session. The book is well paced with a mix of you-are-here details and stories by one of corporate America's savviest minds. Welch is honest about his mistakes and his successes. The book's only shortcoming is the chapter on family-work balance, an area where Welch admits his weaknesses. Otherwise, his corporate policy discussions score an abundance of points. getAbstract highly recommends this book to senior executives and up-and-coming managers alike.

Summary

"How Are You Going to Win?"

Winning matters because success leads to happy companies and "creative and generous" employees, as well as opportunities, jobs and tax revenue. In your mission statement, declare how you are going to win the corporate game. That will force your company to make tough choices about allocating resources. What's more, the process of setting a strategy eliminates a major corporate trap: the fatal attempt to be everything to everyone at every moment. A solid mission statement provides a clear road map. Corporate values are its nuts and bolts. Be concrete about acceptable behavior and ethical guidelines. The scandals at Enron and Arthur Andersen occurred when corporate values became divorced from mission statements.

"Underneath It All"

A lack of honesty – "candor" – is the largest "dirty secret" in corporate circles. This does not refer to underhanded dishonesty. It applies to people who aren't straightforward and who hold back valuable information. Dishonesty derails ideas, initiative and growth. It undermines employee reviews because people don't get real information about their work. Candor pays big benefits. Honesty expands feedback...

About the Authors

Jack Welch is the former chairman and CEO of GE, where he had a 40-year career. He wrote the bestseller Jack: Straight from the Gut, and now is a frequent public speaker and the head of a consulting firm. Suzy Welch is a former editor of the Harvard Business Review and has contributed to several books.

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