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Winning (精装)
by Jack Welch, Suzy Welch
| Category:
Leadership, Management, Organization, Motivation |
| Market price: ¥ 290.00
MSL price:
¥ 238.00
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| Stock:
In Stock |
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MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
From the "Manager of the Century", comes another biblical leadership manual for business leaders of all types of organizations. |
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AllReviews |
  1 2 Total 2 pages 13 items |
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Chris Meelia (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-21 00:00>
I'm not a big Welch fan. I feel he is disingenuous; pretending his success is due to management ra-ra. He can't hide from his past; "Neutron Jack" and his brutal business tactics, extensive pollution and massive layoffs.
That said, he did transform GE into the most well managed company in the world. GE was very well positioned when he took over, but to his credit, Welch has been a terrific leader for the final decade of his 20 year tenure as CEO. Enough of his success can be attributed to his pioneering management concepts and revolutionary management style.
This book is a little too self-serving for my taste. At times I wonder if Welch may throw his shoulder out from patting himself on the back so much. He did have a LOT of help along the way, very little of which he acknowledges in this book - or any other to my knowledge. He is, nonetheless a great judge of talent. Look at all the former GE'ers who have gone on to become CEO of other companies. And in spite of Jack's huge ego, which is plentifully imprinted in this book, he is probably the one person that could back up such lofty self praise. |
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Kanishka Sinha (MSL quote), India
<2006-12-21 00:00>
This is a book that is a must read for managers who are growing as leaders. I found lots in common with Louis Gerstner's book on Who Says Elephants Can't Dance? about leadership in large organizations - Jack Welch at GE and LVG at IBM.
The main points of his book are:
1. Mission statements should not be generic statements that could apply to every company. They should answer one question - How do we intend to win in this business. GE is being 'the most competitive enterprise in the world by being No 1 or No 2 in every market - fixing, selling or closing every underperforming business. Values similarly need to spec out the required behaviors. Bank One's value on customer first was expanded as follows:
a) Never let profit centre conflicts get in the way of what is right for the customer
b) Give customers a good, fair deal. Do not maximize short term profits at the expense of building those enduring relationships
c) Always look for ways to make it easier to do business with us
d) Communicate daily with your customers. If they are talking to you they can't be talking to competitors
e) Don't forget to say thank you
Welch also forcibly states that these need to be backed up or they will just become platitudes.
2. Candor brings people into the discussion, generates speed, cuts cost. But very few organizations practice candor.
3. Differentiation treatment of stars, the middle and underperformers is vital to keep the best motivated and get rid of the dead wood which is required for a healthy company.
4. Get everyone involved. People should not be scared of speaking out in front of their bosses.
5. At the leadership stage it's about developing leaders, leaders get people excited and optimistic, leaders establish trust with candor, transparency and credibility, leaders have the courage to make unpopular decisions and take gut calls, leaders probe and push with curiosity that borders on suspicion, making sure that their questions are answered with action, leaders inspire risk taking by setting an example, leaders celebrate successes.
6. When hiring look for acid tests (integrity, intelligence and maturity) and 4E 1P (positive Energy, ability to Energize others, Edge the ability to make tough decisions, Execution and Passion). For hiring leaders you need to check for authenticity, ability to see around corners, the penchant to surround themselves with people better than themselves and heavy duty resilience. When interviewing look for people who start peppering you back with questions, trust your gut, exaggerate the challenges of the job to weed out low commitment, REALLY check the referees. According to Welch you should know within two years whether you got the right guy. If you had just one question to ask you should ask why the person left the previous job.
7. People management - elevate HR, use rigorous, non bureacratic appraisals monitored for integrity with the same intensity as Sarbannes- Oxley, use money, recognition and training to motivate and retain, face straight into charged relationships with unions, stars, sliders and disrupters, treat the middle 70 like the heart and soul of the company, design a flat organization.
8. Separations - Fire for integrity violations and spread the news, when firing on performance - no surprises and minimize humiliation.
9. Change - Only when required, get rid of resisters.
10. Crisis management - Assume it's bad, assume that EVERYTHING will eventually be public knowledge, assume that you will be portrayed in the worst possible light, assume that the company will survive stronger for the wear.
11. Strategy - Come up with a smart, realistic way to gain sustainable advantage (who are the competitors large small and large, current and future, is it commodity? Growth curve? What are the drivers of profitability? Competitor SWOT - R&D, Sales force? Culture? Who are the customers and how do they buy?), put the right people in the right jobs to drive it forward, seek out internal and external best practices and implement and improve them. Strategy involves making choices.
12. Budgeting - Use budgets to stretch and inspire not to negotiate. Base appraisals on market share and growth over base, not on targets.
13. New businesses - Spend upfront and put in most passionate people in leadership roles, make a hue and cry about it, give the venture more freedom than less, fight for resources if required.
14. M&A - no such thing as a merger of equals, cultural fit is as important as strategic fit, don't give away too much in negotiations, integrate boldly and quickly, don't 'conquer' your acquisition, don't pay so much that it can never be recovered, get over your angst and resistance fast if you are an employee.
15. Six sigma - improve processes by reducing variability. Huge gains to bottom line and customer satisfaction.
16. The right job (like the people, opportunities to grow, options for the future, your own choice, interesting work content).
17. Getting promoted - Overdeliver, don't burden your boss into campaigning for you, manage your relationships with your subordinates, head major company initiatives, search out inputs and mentors, have a positive attitude and move it around, don't let setbacks break your stride.
18. Bosses - Don't be a victim. Over the long term you'll get everything if you take responsibility for it.
19. Work life balance - If you're a boss make work so engaging that people want to spend less time at home. If you're an employee overdeliver so that you can get what you want in terms of a work life. If you constantly publicly struggle with the balance you will get pigeon holed as ambivalent, entitled, uncommitted, incompetent or all of the above. You prioritize and you compromise. They are your decisions so deal with them and don't bother others about them. |
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Robert Puissant (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-21 00:00>
Don't get me wrong, Jack Welch built an unbelievable commerce engine with GE and the leaders the system he built generated by management reviews, progressive assignments and leadership development are a model for the entire business world. I just get tired of hearing about everything Jack did with little recognition of contributions others made in either building the GE enterprise or examples from other companies. I think the book could have been even better had Jack sought out more examples of other prominent leaders. As many of you know Fortune recently did an article on Welch citing that many of his tenets are now the Old Rules contrasted against the New Rules. I would suggest one couples Jack's wisdom with that of other experienced CEO's and the book I just read that does that is Sudden Impact by Susan Quandt. Authentic interviews with 14 CEO's like Jamie Dimon of JP Chase, Pat Russo of Lucent, Dick Notebaert of Qwest, Ed Zander of Motorola and many others all sharing their stories of taking over the top leadership role of their respective company. A very compelling read for any aspiring executive and/or manager who wants to better understand how the leaders of their company think, take action and analyze impact. |
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1 2 Total 2 pages 13 items |
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