“The Economist” Magazine once described Jack Welch, the ex-boss of General Electric as… ‘the man who has some claim to being the world’s most successful manager of the past quarter century’. A few quotes I have collected over recent years may give us some insights into the issues we as managers need to consider;
‘the best big company’s try to think like small ones’
‘you have to destroy your own company to survive’
“it is a badge of honour to learn something here (GE), no matter where it comes from”
‘GE’s values – meritocracy, dignity, simplicity, speed (and)
a hatred of bureaucracy – if bureaucracy gets in your way, scream at it’
“Face reality as it is, not as it was or as you wish it to be”
“Be candid with everyone”
“Don’t manage, lead”
“Change before you have to”
“If you don’t have a competitive advantage, don’t compete”
“Control your own destiny, or someone else will”
”The idea flow from the human spirit is absolutely unlimited”… ”All you have to do is tap into that well. I don’t like to use the word efficiency. It’s creativity. It’s a belief that every person counts.”
”This place (GE) runs by its great people…the biggest accomplishment I’ve had is to find great people … and they seem to thrive here.”
“boundaryless behaviour” (defined as business behaviour that tramples rank and bureaucracy to engage every mind in the company in pursuit of the best idea)
“We have to get everybody involved. If we do that, the best ideas rise to the top”
“…an organization’s ability to learn, share that learning, and then act on that learning is absolutely the biggest competitive advantage that an organization has…”
“The competition is out there; it isn’t in here (GE) and getting an organization to look out there and not in here is the major thing that a large company has to focus on”
…from The Economist “At GE, JACK WELCH HAS ESTABLISHED A CULTURE OF CONSTANT SELF-TRANSFORMATION THAT OTHERS SHOULD EMULATE”… (Sept 18-24 ‘99)
Of course Jack Welch has his detractors…
(from http://money.cnn.com/2006/07/10/magazines/fortune/rules.fortune/index.htm)
Anti Jack View Jack’s “assumed” View
Agile is best; being big can bite you. Big dogs own the street.
Find a niche, create something new. Be No. 1 or 2 in your market.
The customer is king. Shareholders rule.
Look out, not in. Be lean and mean.
Hire passionate people. Rank your players; go with the A’s.
Hire a courageous CEO. Hire a charismatic CEO.
I particularly believe in and try to live by:
“IF BUREAUCY GETS IN YOUR WAY, SCREAM AT IT”… FOR US LESSER MORTALS… I GUESS WE NEED TO LEARN HOW TO SCREAM WITH TACT!
Ric (orglearn) **Link for direct page viewers return to main career success blog to check out other posts!
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