Straight Shooter!
Written: Jan 21 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Well written, inspirational and full of insights on how to succeed in business.
Cons: Although an autobiography, very little outside of the years at GE are covered.
The Bottom Line: Motivational and Inspirational although bogged down with details at times. A good read for anyone regardless of their vocation.
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| armywife's Full Review: Jack Welch and John A. Byrne - Hablando Claro / Ja... |
"Hey you punk!" shouts his mother as she slams him against the locker room wall. This is how Jack Welch begins his autobiography. Not exactly the soft spoken tear jerking stroll down memory lane you thought it would be? Apparently Jack's mother is the straight shooter that he reveals himself to be in this recount of his career at GE.
Whether you work in the business world or not there is something for everyone in this refreshingly honest and well written account of 20 years as CEO of GE, a company everyone knows something about!
Jack Welch started out working for GE as a junior engineer in the 60's making a mere 10,500 a year. He was never a cookie cutter employee and always walked to the beat of his own drum. He begins this autobiography with a comical tale from his youth as a hockey player and his overbearing mother who busted into the locker room to give him a piece of her mind when he showed bad sportsmanship after the loss of a game.
From the first page you are immediately drawn into this true story of a man who never had the outward appearances of greatness but was able to realize his dream by making use of his uniqueness! He talks openly about his childhood and growing up in Boston and is often humble especially when referring to Reg, the person he succeeded as CEO and the man who gave him the opportunity to run the company.
This book goes chapter by chapter through his life at GE. We learn of the "Neutron Jack" years when he cut almost 100,000 employees in the payroll. His idea was that people should be rewarded solely on their merit and value to the company and not merely for how long they have been there. He gives the reader a great example of a meritocracy (where people who perform above and beyond are rewarded for it) and proves it can work. He also explains why he thinks moving people out of an organization sooner rather than later is better for their career. It shows how a company can actually be interested in its A-player staff and how he made GE take actions and make plans to enhance an individuals career and skills, rather than keeping them down . I was impressed when I read that Jack took responsibility for the career planning of the top 750 managers at GE all the way out to six years.
If you are looking for new business philosophies you probably won't find it here. Most of what Jack discusses has been done before. He admits himself that most of his career was common sense or "straight from the gut" as the title states. At times you get the feeling that a lot of luck even came his way as he threw out plans and ideas that ended up snowballing into terrific successes.
The first half of this book was very intriguing and easy reading. Somewhere in the middle it did begin to get quite bogged down in erroneous details. For awhile I felt that I was reading a very long shopping list or perhaps the thank you speech at an awards ceremony. Details about meetings, their times, dates and where they were held.... endless names of those who attended as if we would somehow know who these individuals were and even what they ate! We were entrenched at times at how well they played golf, how comical, entertaining or boring they all were. It seemed a strange tangent from the theme of the book.
Much of this gave you the feeling that Jack Welch was a businessman to the core and perhaps to the detriment of a personal life outside of GE. The fact that he hardly eludes to any life or person outside of the company definately gives the reader a between the lines insight into this possible truth.
It is clear that his own family of origin was very important to him from previous chapters but I would have preferred more than a cursory paragraph summing up his 28 year marriage that ended in divorce. We never hear about his children except as another laundry list of their degrees and accomplishments. It would appear that the non-stop meetings, phone calls, and travel did not leave much time for his wife. Although she raised their four hildren and participated in a 28 year marriage it seemed only significant enough to cover one page.
What we essentially learn is that Jack started out in life as a regular guy, with average intelligence but somewhere along the line he developed a true desire to improve himself. He set his mind to improve products, processes and people, as well as himself. Once he was placed in the plastics division of GE he shook things up considerably as he sought to find a way to improve the production of plastic. What stands out in the end is his dedication to the people who are dedicated to the company. He was committed to "making sure everybody counts - and everybody knows they count." He wanted every employee to have the opportunity to make a name for themselves in the company. It seems his business philosophy is no different from the slogan "We bring good things to life."
If you're looking for a book to motivate and inspire you to reach your goals then this will fit the bill. If you're looking for deep insight into Jack Welch's life outside of GE you might be dissapointed. At the end of the day this book is entertaining and the first person tone can even be a bit comical at times as Jack's arrogant personality often comes through despite his efforts to sound humble. Whether you work in a corporation as an engineer or run a family as a "domestic" engineer you'll find this book interesting and at times inspirational.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
armywife
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Location: White Sands Missile Range, NM
Reviews written: 35
Trusted by: 9 members
About Me:
Army wife, Stay at home Mom and Graduate student in Professional Counseling.
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