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Technically he's not dead, he's just been downsized to increase shareholder value.
Public figures are still human, with families...
Well, it's they themselves that should have thought of their families. It's not our fault when we say exactly what they were.
The article has a good summary of his legacy and his gracefulness: Under Mr. Welch, GE became known for consistent profit performance and a surging stock price. Much of those gains came from GE Capital, the finance arm that ballooned under Mr. Welch and would almost destroy the company during the 2008 financial crisis. GE’s profit has plunged in recent years, dragged down by hidden costs in the company’s Capital unit…
>Much of those gains came from GE Capital >GE’s profit has plunged in recent years, dragged down by hidden costs in the company’s Capital unit >he gave himself an A for his execution of its operations, and an F for his choice of successor Am I reading it right that the reason GE Capital was so successful during his time was because there were hidden costs, making it appear more profitable than it was, that didn't com…
Yes.
Jack Welch is indirectly the reason I got fired at Oracle, because some group of bean counters thought it is smart to fire people regularly based on some subjective measurement. However I am very sad he died because I subsequently got a raise and met my wife at my next company.
There is something to be said about your comment: this illustrates the value of free markets and the efficient allocation of resources; you were allocated more efficiently and you made more money and got your wife.
The article has a good summary of his legacy and his gracefulness: Under Mr. Welch, GE became known for consistent profit performance and a surging stock price. Much of those gains came from GE Capital, the finance arm that ballooned under Mr. Welch and would almost destroy the company during the 2008 financial crisis. GE’s profit has plunged in recent years, dragged down by hidden costs in the company’s Capital unit…
“he gave himself an A for his execution of its operations, and an F for his choice of successor.” That alone disqualifies him as a leader “I did everything right but others screwed it up”.
If you're going to disqualify someone as a leader, Jack Welch is not that guy.
Jack Welch is indirectly the reason I got fired at Oracle, because some group of bean counters thought it is smart to fire people regularly based on some subjective measurement. However I am very sad he died because I subsequently got a raise and met my wife at my next company.
There is something to be said about your comment: this illustrates the value of free markets and the efficient allocation of resources; you were allocated more efficiently and you made more money and got your wife.
My impression is that he was no management genius but rather fortunate in the timing of moving his company into the FIRE sector. All of that goodwill evaporated in the 09 crisis. Can someone speak to his lasting major contributions? I guess he also deserves the credit/blame for the ubiquity of Six Sigma.
Pardon my ignorance on the topic, but why would moving a business into new areas be considered lucky? I wouldn't consider Apple moving into phones as lucky. Would you?
They also were sitting on a ton of real estate (and invested capital from their pension fund), so the comparison with Apple isn't totally on point. Apple didn't get into the market because they already had a warehouse filled with phones.
Steve Ballmer revered Jack Welch's rank-and-yank management style. During the 2000s and early 2010s Microsoft's stack-rank reviews were infamous for the internal politics created. Didn't matter if you had a full team of top-tier engineers, the bottom 15% WAS going to get managed out. Savvy managers would hire low-tier performers to protect the productive ones. That's the only lens through which I have to view Mr. Wel…
Ballmer actually left a better company than Welch.
Technically he's not dead, he's just been downsized to increase shareholder value.
Public figures are still human, with families...
- "Unfortunately we decided not to pursue your application at this time"
- "We're just not interested."
- "Look, this just isn't for you."
- "No one has to teach you anything."
- "You have to be onsite in India tomorrow. Board your flight this afternoon"
- "If you are kidnapped in Nigeria, just follow orders. Here's your life insurance policy"
Convince the family to give away the burial plot for a railroad or an assembly plant. Not for free. Make them pay you for them to do all the work. Then when you take all their money, pack up and leave town, which is now an industrial waste dump burdened with debt and high inflation.
If one of them actually makes it through your nightmare, have them teach everything they know to someone from a narco state or an ethnic warzone so all that comes here, and then kick everyone to the curb.
Not like hundreds of millions of people are going to get hurt. Be sure to pull a self-imposed arbitrary education technology head fake a decade out so no one ever does it again.
Turn life not into a mutual endeavor for knowledge or even living well. Make it so people debase themselves and shirk responsibility, playing foul because winning is all that matters, to chase success governed by access to a glorified credit card with a hundred trillion dollar credit line.
I'm also reading some books and articles about the root of modern US corporate management, which went back to the second World War and the 10 Whiz Kids. Very fascinating reads.
However after the '08 financial crisis a lot of people took a different, more critique view and I think we have a lot to learn from those guys, positive and negative.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
“he gave himself an A for his execution of its operations, and an F for his choice of successor.” That alone disqualifies him as a leader “I did everything right but others screwed it up”.
What story does the evidence tell you? If you're going to disqualify someone as a leader, Jack Welch is not that guy.