Jack Welch was an American business executive and CEO of General Electric for more than 20 years (1981-2001). A bit of a controversial figure in the business arena with his management style. The book "Winning" written by him lays out his ideas and concepts of how to win in the world of business. A short reference to the book from GoodReads;
A champion manager of people, Jack Welch shares the hard-earned wisdom of a storied career in what will become the ultimate business bible
With Winning, Jack Welch delivers a wide-ranging, in-depth, no-holds-barred management guidebook about the tough strategic, organizational, and personal challenges that face people at every stage of their careers. Loaded with candid personal anecdotes, hard-hitting advice, and invaluable dos and don’ts, Jack explains his theory of business, by laying out the four most important principles that form the foundation of his success.
Below I have tried to filter down the concepts put forward by one of the most successful CEOs of our time. Hope it will help readers to understand the idea and help them with their management activities as well as motivate them to read through the entire book for detailed throughput.
# How do we intend to win in the business?
MISSION > Top management accountable
VALUES > Behaviours; Written off in details
Discuss with employer/employees
Listen to smart people
To make it work
Hire or appreciate Valuer
Fire or Demote Non-Valuer
And, to increase its effectiveness do it publicly > Strengthen companies culture & teams.
# Be Candor
Frank, open, fairness & unbiased in speech or expressions.
It seems difficult but it's not, it is killer.
# Differentiaton
Based on the type of work
Business
Product line
(Sounds harsh but works; fair for everyone)
Based on the type of people
Appreciated: 20%
Training: 70%
Fire/Demote: 10%
The above 20% (Appreciated category) share great ideas which in-turns help the other 70% to grow.
# Voice & Dignity
Some people have better ideas than others. Some are smarter or more experienced or more creative. But everyone should be heard and respected.
# What Leaders do
Leaders relentlessly upgrade their teams, using every encounter as an opportunity to evaluate, coach, and build self-confidence.
Leaders make sure people not only see the vision but also live and breathe it.
Leaders get into everyone's skin, exuding positive energy and optimism.
Leaders establish trust with candor, transparency, and credit.
Leaders have the courage to make unpopular decisions and gut calls.
Leaders probe and push with a curiosity that borders on skepticism, ensuring their questions are answered with action.
Leaders inspire risk-taking and learning by setting an example.
Leaders celebrate.
# Hiring
> Acid Tests
Integrity
Intelligence (Don't confuse it with education)
Maturity (Doesn't depend on age)
> 4E 1P Framework
Positive energy (1E)
Ability to energize others (2E)
Edge - the courage to make Yes-Or-No decisions (3E)
Execute - Ability to get the job done (4E)
Passion (1P)
Create and fill 5 circles depicting the above framework by 1/2 or 1/4 or etc, depending on the insights, interviews (by several people) & guts (good feelings)
> Hiring for the Top
Authenticity (Self Confidence & Conviction, No fakeness)
Ability to see around corners (Imagine the un-imaginable)
Strong penchant to surround themselves with people better & smarter than they are
You can look dumb but debate > Crisis Management, Well prepared & Understanding.
Heavy-Duty resilience (Fail-Learn-Restart-Execute)
# Hire
Not just "Get the job done"
For high potentials who can grow with the business
The one thing: Listen closely, and get in the candidate's skin. Why has person left a job or the job he was in, tells you more about them than almost any other piece of data.
Hope you had a good read!
Reference link to book: Winning by Jack Welch