Jack: Straight from the Gut

Jack Welch: Business man's god, tough-talker, golden-parachutist, steely-eyed capitalist with a PhD. Yes the man has a hypertrophied frontal cortex, but he shoots straight from the gut. (Which phrase, oddly enough, makes me think of projectile vomiting.) Somewhere, because of this review's snarky tone, Jedediah Purdy is weeping. Sorry, Jed.

Although I liked this book, I also found it unsettling.
It is indisputable that Mr. Welch achieved phenomenal success as a businessman.
But throughout the book, I kept wondering "Where is his family?" "What about his faith?"
Mr. Welch and those around him apparently lived and breathed business 24/7 for most of their lives and achieved what they believe to be "success." While that life certainly doesn't appeal to me, I guess I'm glad that there are people who are willing to work that hard to create products and services that benefit me and others.
On a side note, I had to snicker when Mr. Welch kept emphatically stating his commitment to "integrity." Anyone familiar with how his second marriage ended knows that he has problems in that area.

Enthusiastic narration by [a:Mike Barnicle|3769|Mike Barnicle|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] really adds to this corporate memoir of the famous GE exec. Maybe it is this current economy, but I didn't find the tales of acquisitions and market dominance all that engrossing. I do give Welch credit for admitting to mistakes in some of this diverse, accelerated growth. I don't recall the 'Neutron Jack' moniker for his reputation of removing the people and keeping the buildings, but it must have been real as irksome to him. It made it to his obituary. It is interesting to hear how he became a Six Sigma evangelist and gives credit to this methodology driven by data and statistics to show more reduce defects and improve processes. There is a lot in the final act about his choice of a successor and the jet diplomacy that featured in that like in many of his ambitious deals. show less

Welch, Jack and Byrne, John A.. Jack: Straight from the Gut. Warner Books, New York, 2001. Read this on David Golds' recommendation. It was supposed to inspire me: Jack was an ordinary guy, rose through the ranks at GE, ran the place for 20 years, and by putting common-sense reforms in place made it the most admired company in America. What did I learn? I'm afraid not that much. On the one hand, I'm glad to see that my aversion to bureaucracy is shared by one of the most admired business leaders in America. I'm glad to see how he was able to take something like "boundaryless" and bake it in to the corporate culture. (That's something we don't have at Microsoft.) One phrase will stick with me from the book, and this is why David show more recommended it, I think: I need to "get out of the pile." I've been too lax with my career development. If I want to run Microsoft in 15 years, I need to always strive to get out of the pile. show less

Enthusiastic narration by Mike Barnicle really adds to this corporate memoir of the famous GE exec. Maybe it is this current economy, but I didn't find the tales of acquisitions and market dominance all that engrossing. I do give Welch credit for admitting to mistakes in some of this diverse, accelerated growth. I don't recall the 'Neutron Jack' moniker for his reputation of removing the people and keeping the buildings, but it must have been real as irksome to him. It made it to his obituary. It is interesting to hear how he became a Six Sigma evangelist and gives credit to this methodology driven by data and statistics to reduce defects and improve processes. There is a lot in the final act about his choice of a successor and the jet show more diplomacy that featured in that like in many of his ambitious deals.

Merged review:

Enthusiastic narration by Mike Barnicle really adds to this corporate memoir of the famous GE exec. Maybe it is this current economy, but I didn't find the tales of acquisitions and market dominance all that engrossing. I do give Welch credit for admitting to mistakes in some of this diverse, accelerated growth. I don't recall the 'Neutron Jack' moniker for his reputation of removing the people and keeping the buildings, but it must have been real as irksome to him. It made it to his obituary. It is interesting to hear how he became a Six Sigma evangelist and gives credit to this methodology driven by data and statistics to reduce defects and improve processes. There is a lot in the final act about his choice of a successor and the jet diplomacy that featured in that like in many of his ambitious deals. show less

Acquired via BookCrossing and read on holiday

Interesting business autobiography of the man who was CEO of GE for the 20 years up to 2001. A lot of interesting detail about the battles for succession at the beginning and end of his reign, and some good stuff about some innovative but slightly scary business ideas. Not much personal stuff but that's par for the course with this kind of book.

It's an easy read but I found it hard to stomach the whole self loving, vicious business culture he depicts. did he never make a mistake?