Book Review 2

Jack Welch was born in Salem, Massachusetts. Welch
attended Salem High School and later the University of Massachusetts
Amherst, graduating in 1957 with a Bachelor of Science degree
in chemical engineering.
Welch went on to receive his M.S. and PhD at the University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1960.
Welch joined General Electric in 1960. He worked as a
junior chemical engineer in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. He became the
vice president of GE in 1972 and vice chairman in 1979.
 he led the company to year-after-year success around the globe in
multiple markets and against brutal competition and retired in 2001 as
chairman and CEO

various reason to study this book:
1. This book evolved from thousand of questions asked to
Welch when speaking to audiences around the world.
2. This book does not contain the same old stuff of what
management should do. It is based on the true practical
view which is faced by the company and every people
related thereto.
3. It offers deep insights, original thinking, and nuts-and-bolt
advice that will change the way the people think about
work.
4. It is a philosophical and pragmatic book which is destined
to become the bible of business for generation to come,
clearly laying out the answers to the most difficult
questions people face both on and off the job.

Chapters
• This book has four parts:
1. Underneath it all-which contain
o Mission and values
o Candor
o Differentiation
o Work-outs
2. Your company-which contain
o Leadership
o Hiring
o Managing people
o Parting ways
o Change
o Crisis management

Contd……
3. Your competition-which contains
o Strategy
o Budgeting
o Organic growth
o Six sigma
4. Your career-which contains
o The right job
o Getting promotions
o Hard spots
o Balancing between work and life

Underneathit all:
Missionand values
How do you plan on winning at this business?
Answer that question, and you have your mission.
Values are the behaviours you plan to exhibit in
achieving your mission
In order to make your mission and values actually
impact your organization, you've got to reward
those who practice them and punish those who
don't. Many people were fired from GE because
they didn't fit with GE's mission and values.

Candor
In order to get ahead, you need great ideas - lots of great ideas.
The only way to foster such idea-sharing is to develop a culture of
candor, where people aren't afraid to speak their minds.
Candor is the state or quality of being frank, open, and sincere in
speech or expression.
Reward them for their candor, even if it makes themselves and
others - yes, you - look bad.

Differentation
Differentiation favors people who energetic and
extroverted and undervalues people who are shy
and introverted, even if they are talented. It may
seem cruel and Darwinian, but in the long run,
people are happier doing what they're good at. If
they're not excelling, you're ultimately doing them
a favor by moving them out of an environment
where they know they're a drag on the
organization. They'd be happier some place else.

Work-outs
 The problem: management gets ideas from only a few vocal
people. The vast majority are either scared to speak up or feel
they have no right to speak up because they haven't been asked.
A "Work-Out" is a way to get these untapped ideas flowing.
 Groups of thirty to a hundred gather, led by an outside
facilitator. The boss shows up at the beginning, explaining what
they will be doing and promising that he/she will give "an on-
the-spot yes or no to 75 % of the recommendations" and to
"resolve the remaining 25 percent within thirty days." Then, the
boss disappears in order to not stifle discussion, leaving the
meeting in the hands in the facilitator. The boss returns at the
end of the meeting to hear the recommendations and make
decisions. "...Work-Outs led to an explosion in productivity. They
brought every brain into the game

Your company:
Leadership
Welch lays out eight rules of leadership which always worked.
 Rule #1 - Relentlessly upgrade your team. In every encounter
with them, "evaluate, coach, and build self-confidence."
 Rule #2 - Instill the vision.
 Rule #3 - Spread energy and optimism.
 Rule #4 - Establish trust by being candid, transparent and
giving credit where it's due.
 Rule #5 - Make the unpopular decisions.
 Rule #6 - Probe and push. Make sure your "questions are
answered with action."
 Rule #7 - Inspire risk-taking and learning by doing both
yourself.
 Rule #8 - Celebrate!

Hiring
 First, candidates should pass three screens:
 Screen #1: Do they have integrity - telling the truth and keeping their
word.
 Screen #2: Are they intelligent - having enough curiosity and "breadth of
knowledge" to lead other smart people.
 Screen #3: Are they mature - able to handle stress and setbacks, respect
other's emotions, be confident without being arrogant and have a sense of
humour.
 Second, look for four E's and a P.
 Positive Energy - thriving on action, relishing change, making friends
easily, loving work, play and life.
 Can Energize Others - "It takes a deep knowledge of your business and
strong persuasion skills...."
 Has Edge - the ability to make tough decisions, even when all the
information isn't in.

Contd…
 Can Execute - to take the decision and make it happen, overcoming all
obstacles to complete the task.
 Passion - They're excited about their work, learning and growing, and helping
those around them win.
 On hiring a senior level leader. Four additional traits:
 Authenticity - bold and decisive, yet real and likeable - not phony, not playing a
part that's not them.
 "The ability to see around corners" - a visionary who can see the future and
anticipate what most don't expect.
 A knack for surrounding themselves with people smarter than themselves.
 "Heavy-Duty Resilience" - someone who's been knocked down and beat up
badly, but bounced back to run even harder.
 The number one question to probe in an interview:
"...why the candidate left his previous job, and the one before that."
This "tells you more about them than almost any other piece of data."

Peoplemanagement
1. Give HR
(Human
Resources)
"power and
primacy."
Who are the
best HR
types?
"Pastors and
parents in the
same
package."
2.
Rigorously
evaluate
with a
proven
system.
3.
Motivate
and retain
with
money,
recognitio
n and
training.
4. Confront
difficult
people
issues, from
trouble-
makers to
big-headed
stars, with
candor and
action.
5. Spend half
of your time
evaluating
and coaching
the middle 70
percent -
those who
are neither
disrupting
nor shining.

Partingways
Abide by two
controlling principles:
1 - Nobody should be
surprised when they
are let go. Employees
should be informed
enough about the
nature of their
business that they
understand who
might be laid off in an
economic downturn
or change in the
industry. If they
aren't performing
well, they should be
well aware of this
through regular
formal and informal
reviews. If they can't
improve, they should
know they will have to
move on.
2 - Minimize the
humiliation. Enco
urage them that
there's a better
job out there for
him, better
matched to his
temperament and
skills. Help them
move toward that
next job

Change
Change is the most critical part of
business. In the era of change either you
change or die. Practices of change are:
Every change should take initiative to a
clear purpose or goal.
To make change happen, companies
must actively hire and promote only
true believers and get-on-with-its.
Get rid of those who resist change.

Crisismanagement
 Crisis often stand out as the most painful and trying
experiences of their business lives.5 things can be assumed
about how crisis can unfold are:
 The problem is worse than it appears
 There is no secrets in the world, and everyone will
eventually find out everything.
 With big crises, don’t ever forget you have a business to run
 Almost no crisis ends without blood on the floor. There will
be change in people and processes.
 The organization will survive, ultimately stronger for what
happened.

Your competition:
Strategy
When it comes
to strategy,
ponder less and
do more, if you
want to win.
Come up with a
big “Aha” for
your business- a
smart, realistic,
fast way to gain
sustainable
competitive
advantage.
Put the right
people in the
right jobs to
drive the big aha
forwards.
Execute the best
practices for big
aha, and
continually
improve them.

Budgeting
The right budgeting process can change
how a company functions and
reinventing the ritual makes winning so
much easier, you can’t afford not to try.
The 2 dynamics of budgets are
1.negotiated settlement(minimize their
risk and maximize their bonus) and
2.phony smiles(make an acquisition,
develop new products, give the right
amount of investment)

Organicgrowthor startups
First, put
your best
people at the
helm and
give them
plenty of
resources to
make it
happen.
Second, encourage
it with much
fanfare from the
top.
Third, get off
their backs and
give them the
freedom to
make their own
decisions.

Sixsigma
Nothing compares to the
effectiveness of six sigma
when it comes to improving
a company’s operational
efficiency, raising its
productivity, and lowering
its costs.
Done right, it is
energizing and
incredibly
rewarding. It
can even be
fun.
A huge part of
making customers
sticky is meeting
or exceeding their
expectations,
which is exactly
what six sigma
helps you do.

Your career:
The rightjob
Every time I asked
successful people about
their first few jobs, the
immediate reaction is
almost always laughter.
First, get a job and
learn something
about yourself. What
do you like or dislike
about it? What are
you good at and bad
at?
Second, get another job
that's more in line with the
strengths and desires you
discovered in your last job.
Third, repeat the process
until you find yourself in a
job you love.

Getting promoted
Basically, getting
promoted takes one
do and one don’t.
Do deliver sensational
performance, far beyond
expectations, and at every
opportunity expand your job
beyond its official
boundaries.
Don’t let
setbacks break
your stride.

Hard spots
Ask yourself why he's acting like a
jerk. For example, is he a jerk to
everyone, or just to me?
Most workers overrate their job
performance and how well-liked they
are among colleagues. Look honestly
and objectively at your own attitudes
and performance for clues.
Meet privately with your boss to
ask him frankly what is wrong. If
something surfaces, commit
yourself to a plan for
improvement.
Nine out of ten times,
complaining to the boss's
boss will only hurt you.

Balancing betweenwork n life
Work-life balance is a
swap-a deal you’ve
made with yourself
about what you keep
and what you give up.
Your boss may be
concerned about your
personal life, but he's
also concerned about
the company winning
in a competitive work
environment.
Your strong
performance at work
should grant you a
hearing when you ask
for accommodations
related to your life
outside of work.
Outside of work, clarify
what you want from
life.

Conclusion
• 1. Compartmentalize your life. When
you're home, be 100% at home. When
you're at work, be 100% at work.
• 2. Once you've set your life priorities, get
comfortable saying "no" to things that
would take away from those priorities.
• 3. Don't leave yourself out of your
priorities

Name- Ritu Lakhotia
Batch-1st year PGDM
General

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