Jack Welch was more than just a CEO. He was a legend. He took General Electric, one of the biggest and most successful companies in history, and made it even bigger and better. He had a vision that shaped the future of business and industry. He was a leader who inspired and challenged millions of people. But he also faced criticism, controversy and backlash for his tough decisions. This is his story.
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Jack Welch was born in 1935 in Salem, Massachusetts, as an only child. His mother encouraged him to pursue his education and his athletic talents. His father, Big Jack, worked as a train conductor. Jack Welch was really good at both hockey and golf in high school, and then went on to study chemical engineering at the University of Massachusetts. He later earned his PhD at the University of Illinois.
He joined General Electric’s Plastics division in 1960, when he was 25 years old. He quickly impressed his superiors with his innovative ideas and his drive to succeed. He climbed the corporate ladder at an astonishing pace, becoming the youngest CEO in GE’s history in 1981.
But Jack Welch was not satisfied with the status quo. He saw that GE needed to change if it wanted to stay ahead of the competition. He launched a radical overhaul of the company’s culture, structure and strategy. He called it “the case for change”.
His first move was to slash the workforce by more than 40 percent, eliminating about 170,000 jobs. This earned him the nickname he hated: Neutron Jack. He said he had no choice but to cut the fat and make GE leaner and meaner.
His second move was to implement a rigorous performance evaluation system for his employees. He divided them into three categories: the top 20 percent, who were rewarded and promoted; the middle 70 percent, who were coached and developed; and the bottom 10 percent, who were fired. He said this was necessary to create a culture of excellence and accountability.
His third move was to focus on GE’s core businesses and get rid of the rest. He set a rule that every GE business had to be either number one or number two in its market, or else it would be fixed, closed or sold. He said this was essential to make GE stronger and more competitive.
Jack Welch transformed GE from a traditional manufacturing giant into a diversified global powerhouse. He reshaped the company’s image, culture and performance. He was not afraid to break the rules and challenge the conventions.
Jack Welch had a clear vision for GE: he wanted it to be the best in everything it did. He believed that being number one or number two in the market was the only way to survive and thrive in the global economy. He based this judgment on his own experience of running different businesses within GE, some of which were leaders and some of which were followers. He saw the difference in resources, power and ease of operation.
Jack knew he had to convince his employees to embrace his vision and adapt to the changes he was making. He used various methods to communicate, motivate and inspire them. He also rewarded them for their performance and innovation.
But Jack Welch was not just a leader of people. He was also a leader of businesses. He had a keen eye for spotting opportunities and risks in the market. He was not afraid to buy or sell companies to improve GE’s competitive position and profitability.
He made 934 acquisitions during his tenure, expanding GE’s portfolio into new areas and industries. He also sold or closed businesses that he thought were unprofitable or irrelevant. He was ruthless in his decisions, but he always had a reasonbehind them.
One of his most surprising moves was to buy NBC, the television network, as part of a deal to acquire RCA. He saw the potential of NBC as a high-growth, high-cash-flow business with great people. He also saw the synergy between NBC and GE’s other businesses, such as aircraft engines and power generators.
Jack Welch was a master of strategy and execution. He transformed GE from a traditional manufacturing company into a diversified global conglomerate. He created value for his shareholders, customers and employees.
He had a vision for GE that went beyond being number one or number two in the market. He also wanted GE to be the best in quality, speed, service and innovation. He launched four major initiatives during his tenure to achieve this goal.
One of them was the Six Sigma program, the Six Sigma program was a rigorous methodology to reduce defects and errors in products and processes by using statistical tools and techniques. A rigorous methodology is a way of doing something that is very careful and exact. It follows clear and consistent steps to reach a goal. He said that Six Sigma was not just a slogan, but a way of working that involved finding a better way every day. He said that speed was crucial in a competitive world, where customers demanded the right product at the right time at the right price.
He incorporated GE’s culture and values. He was the face and the voice of the company. He was charismatic, intelligent, driven and assertive. He was also direct and honest in his opinions and feedback. He did not mince words or avoid issues. He said what he thought and expected others to do the same.
He took over GE in a time of change and challenge. The world was becoming more globalized, more competitive and more dynamic. The old ways of doing business were not working anymore. He recognized this and acted accordingly. In his first five years as CEO, GE underwent more changes than it had seen in its previous 100 years of existence.
Cutting costs and jobs was not enough for him to make GE ready for the future. He also changed how GE worked and thought. He moved GE away from labour-intensive work and focused on high-value-added manufacturing and created a culture of innovation, empowerment and fun.
Jack introduced a new management system called the workout. It was a series of meetings where employees at all levels of GE could discuss ideas and make decisions that used to be made only by managers. His vision for GE was a company with less bureaucracy, more informality, more brain power and more ideas.
The workout was based on this vision. He wanted people to enjoy their work and feel valued for their contributions at GE. He wanted people to grow and learn and take something home to their life outside the job.
One example of the workout in action was at a GE magnet plant in South Carolina. There were 400 workers at the plant, divided into 35 teams. Each team had an elected coach who represented them at the meetings. There were no unions at the plant, only teams.
The teams had to meet regularly to discuss their goals and challenges. They were making body scanners, a complex and sophisticated product. They had the autonomy and authority to deal with any issues that came up.
Their teamwork and performance improved with the workout. Working became more relaxing and motivating for them. They had the freedom to choose their own tasks and manage their own time. Their opinions mattered and they got things done. Their loyalty and pride for their company and their work increased.
Jack said that all the changes he had made to GE and its employees were not based on some abstract theory or rhetoric. They were based on results. He pointed to the productivity, the success, the speed and the innovation of GE. These were the outcomes of more and more people’s ideas, he claimed.
Jack did not care if there was a causal link between the workout and the performance of GE. The only thing that mattered to him was that GE was getting better, faster and stronger. He was not going to stop or slow down. But instead, was going to keep pushing GE forward.
He had a vision for GE that went beyond being number one or number two in the market. He also wanted GE to be a global, diversified and digital company. He pursued three more initiatives during his tenure to achieve this goal.
One of them was globalization. He expanded GE’s presence and revenues in foreign markets, reaching more than 40 percent of total revenues from abroad. He said that globalization was not just a strategy, but a necessity in a changing world.
Another one was services. He grew GE’s service businesses, such as finance and insurance, to 70 percent of GE’s revenues today. He said that services were not just a complement, but a core of GE’s value proposition.
The last one was digitization. He made every GE division embrace the web and e-commerce. He said that digitization was not just a trend, but a revolution in the way GE did business.
He earned a new nickname: e-Jack. He was always looking for new ideas and fresh thinking. He had a passion for training future leaders at GE’s Crotonville Leadership Center. He taught them to cut bureaucracy, face reality and live their dreams.
He made GE the world’s most admired company and himself the world’s most admired CEO. He had a secret: great leadership skills. He was down to earth, feisty, energetic and inspiring.
He had a huge impact on the business world. He changed the way companies were run and managed. He was admired and respected by his peers and followers. He was a role model and a mentor for many leaders.
Larry Bossidy was one of them. He worked under Jack Welchat GE, then left to run Allied Signal and Honeywell. He said that he would rank Jack as the number one businessman in the last 50 years and that Jack was far ahead of anyone else. Healso said that Jack contributed to making the US the most competitive country in the world.
Jack Welch retired in September 2001, leaving behind a legacy of success and excellence. GE was the world’s most valuable company in terms of market capitalization. But he did not measure his legacy by numbers or rankings. He measured it by culture and values.
Jack said that his legacy was that he transformed GE from an old-fashioned, rigid and hierarchical organization into an informal, flexible and meritocratic one. He created an atmosphere where everyone had a chance to reach their dreams, regardless of their race, gender or origin. Heeliminated bureaucracy and encouraged ideas from everywhere. He tried to make GE like a family business, where people mattered more than titles or rules. He made GE a place where the sky was the limit.