Winning

"Do you have the courage to "call it like it is"? So many businesses, and managers struggle with this concept. Often, it seems so much easier to simply gloss over the real issue, managers want to be "liked", have friends and staff that look up to them as leaders they like and that means often not saying what needs to be said, or doing what is difficult. Jack Welch gives it to the reader "like it is", and implores managers to use candor to get the change required to move businesses forward.

Jack doesn't just push managers to use fear to motivate though, in fact, he rightfully points out the concept of 20/70/10. Every business will have 20% at the top, 70% in the middle and 10% at the bottom. GREAT leaders work with the middle 70%, get under their skin and motivate them to love the challenge of coming to work everyday, exhausting their positive output to push staff to be their BEST everyday, and to love doing it. But the bottom 10%, those who would rather text-message and surf the internet than actually work? What to do with them? If you have a candid organization, where dealing with true issues dominates the conversations, these bottom feeders know JUST WHERE THEY STAND, and they either get their act together, or the manager does them a favor by letting them go. It's not mean it's not nice, it's about winning, If you want to out-perform, you need the best players. Such a simple, hardened truth so many manager lose track of - yet Jack reminds us it is the core of performance.

I highly recommend this book for all managers and leaders."
~ Written on 2008-07-12

"This item arrived quickly and in good condition. Jack Welch is a great leader, but some of his ability and ideas about leading cannot be conveyed on the written page."
~ Written on 2008-06-16

"This is a pleasant to read book that unfortunately has (almost) nothing to do with corporate reality. A better title for it would have been "Winning in Utopia". Admittedly, I don't have 40 years experience but I changed tack a couple of times yet never found a corporation where Jack's word come even close to describing how it works. Reasoning in "game theory" terms makes me think the vast majority of companies are very, very unlike what Jack describes. Jack himself inadvertently gives this away when recounting the story of the Q&A session with about 5000 HR professionals. In Utopia, the Chief HR sits right next the CEO, but when asked about their companies, only a few out of 5000 Real World Chief HR officers rise their hands acknowledging to having such a privileged position. I am most willing to admit that GE is an exception (that's probably part of why it's one of the most valuable companies in the world).

In the Real World, "candor" gets you stabbed and killed. Because most aspiring leaders know that, nobody takes the risk. Perfoming solidly might earn you "chits" but you can easily squander a year of solid performance by candidly speaking out one truth that proves inconvenient to your boss. On the other hand, sucking up to your boss consistently earns you large amounts of chits with less risk. Bosses are human too, they can't help but be pleased when flattered. In big organizations from the real world, middle managers feel like small cogs, the interests of their immediate boss are much closer to them than those of the distant and fuzzy concept of "Acme, Corp.", the company they are working for and which pays their salaries. Moreover, bosses have bosses too, so promoting "energetic, energizing, edge, execute, passionate" people would involve needless risks. Much better to promote their chums, guys that "get it", made in their image, loyal as they themselves are loyal to their own bosses. When you think of it, this is a proven system, it was called "feudalism" and thrived for several centuries. In our modern world it's the system that makes the various mobs (Cosa Nostra, Camorra, N'drangheta, etc.) compete so successfully. Admittedly, it doesn't work so well when there's fierce competition, but then you can still call on the politicians to protect your industry, which is what happens most of the time ...

So, read this book but for your own sake, make sure you are working for an Utopian company before trying to apply any of Jack's recommendations, or else you're a dead man and you won't be able to sue Jack for it ... "
~ Written on 2008-06-04

"This book can be largely digested by most people out there. You don't need an MBA to pick up on the points that Jack makes. His abrupt, simple-but-thoughtful and clear advice is refreshing and relevant. Very thought provoking and motivating."
~ Written on 2008-05-16

"This is exceptional business advice from a legendary executive. The content is straight forward and sensible, yet profound. Welch takes what can be hard-to-grasp concepts and translates them to layman's terms. It's sound advice for business professionals on all levels, from the manager running a department to the small business owner to the executive running a Fortune 500 company. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to all managers, whether they're looking to improve themselves, their team or their company, or looking to take the next step in their career.

-James Moreno
San Fernando (Los Angeles), CA"
~ Written on 2008-04-30