Jack Welch's "Straight From the Gut" - Worth the 5-year Wait
June 15, 2006
Just back from a week's vacation and only managed to read one book. But it was a very good one - Straight from the Gut by Jack Welch. The former CEO of GE chronicles his legendary career and imparts massive wisdom for change agents to consider. I did not read this when it came out 5 years ago, and am now glad I waited. Welch's words were riveting from the first page, and time has made his insights even more powerful. A few thoughts:
- Throughout the book, Welch gives tips on overcoming bureaucracy, and how often it stifles innovation. One way he managed to do so was by taking ownership of programs inside GE that had potential for massive impact, but lacked true leadership and direction. Lending his name to these initiatives (and having managers report directly to him) meant lasting impact.
- Despite the perception that Welch was always swift-in-action, he laments times when he saw an under-performing business or individual and did not act fast enough to make changes.
- The four E’s of GE leadership should be considered by all change agents. From GE’s web site:
"Demonstrate...always with infectious enthusiasm for the customer...the ‘4- E's’ of GE leadership: the personal Energy to welcome and deal with the speed of change...the ability to create an atmosphere that Energizes others...the Edge to make difficult decisions...and the ability to consistently Execute."
- After reading the book, I was left with a perception of the rather Darwinian way that GE operates. It's literally survival of the fittest. The harshest example came at the end of the book, when three candidates were in contest for Welch's CEO's role, and only one could ultimately take over the job. The other two were forced to leave GE as prior to announcement of the new chairman and CEO, the successors to the two losing candidates were announced and in place. This was done to ensure continuity in the business, as the "passed over" executives would not want to stay in the company. Imagine 25 years at a company you loved and were a top performer, and being forced out.
The book featured a bit too much name dropping at times. It was clear that Welch did not want to slight the thousands of people who he worked with through the years. At the same time, so much name-dropping can and did become a distraction. Also, I found the man who was widely described as "Neutron Jack" by the media to be overly restrained when describing deals that went wrong, and people who reneged on key commitments made to him. I am sure there is more to these stories.
All in all, Straight from the Gut was a very inspiring book by a man who fits the description of what economists call a ‘special manager’. I will surely refer to many parts of the book as time goes on.
Here is a great site that provides an extensive picture of the man and leader.
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