Jack: Straight from the Gut
by Jack Welch, John A. Byrne
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jack Welch, John A. ByrneEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-10
ISBN: 0446690686
Number of pages: 496
Publisher: Business Plus
Book Reviews of Jack: Straight from the Gut
Book Review: 20-70-10
Summary: 4 Stars
This is the book for the readers who are interested in the history of GE from 1960 to 20001 from the Jack Welch's perspective. In anecdotal detail and with self-effacing humor, Jack Welch gives us the people who shaped his life and the big hits and the big misses that characterized his career. Welch walks the reader through the "Neutron Jack" years, when GE's employment rolls fell by more than 100,000 as part of a strategy to "fix, sell, or close" each business-and how he used the purchase of RCA to provide a foundation for the company's future earnings. The riveting story of his last year-the elaborate process of selecting a successor and the attempt to buy Honeywell-is also told in compelling detail.
Some people think that this book is valuable as a managerial guide. Although I do not share this point of view, I agree with Jack Welch's main idea: people is the most important component of an organization. First, get the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off the bus) and then figure out where to drive it. If we get the right people on the bus, the right people in the right seats, and the wrong people off the bus, then we'll figure out how to take it someplace great. Another idea by Jack Welch, shared with the readers, is to support high-growth high-margin products and to get rid of low growth low margin products.
The Jack Welch's way or treating employees is now taught in business schools as GE's "20-70-10" system. Each year, Welch would fire the bottom 10% of his managers. He earned a reputation for brutal candor in his meetings with executives. He would push his managers to perform, but he would reward those in the top 20% with bonuses and stock options. He also expanded the broadness of the stock options program at GE from just top executives to nearly one third of all employees. Welch is also known for destroying the nine-layer management hierarchy and bringing a sense of informality to the company.
If you need a really good managerial guide, not related to GE, I highly recommend the Innovation and Entrepreneurship by Peter F. Drucker. I do not recommend an abridged audio version of "Straight from The Gut", because the details of Jack Welch's tenure are not adequately covered, while the managerial advices are better covered by Drucker. Either get the full version of "Straight from The Gut" to better understand the rationale of GE's "20-70-10" system or proceed directly to Drucker.
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