Last night I finished reading “Winning” by Jack Welch, Chairman and CEO of General Electric between 1981 and 2001, transforming the industrial giant from a sleepy “Old Economy” company with a market capitalization of $4 billion to a dynamic new one worth nearly half a trillion dollars.
“Winning” describes the management wisdom that Welch built up through his four and a half decades of work at GE, focusing on actual management techniques.
The book is divided into five major sections that cover management from all sides:
Underneath It All: Here he talks about missions and cultural values, as well as candor, differentiation among employees, and inclusion of all voices in decision-making.
Your Company: Here he covers issues around one’s own company or organization: things like leadership, hiring, letting go of people, the people management in between, as well as crisis management.
Your Competition: This discusses competition, and the external factors that can influence a company’s success: strategy, budgeting, growth, mergers and acquisitions, and the implementation of Six Sigma.
Your Career: This takes it a bit more personal with a focus on individual career issues; how to find the right job, get promoted, deal with a bad boss and go about work-life balance.
Tying Up Loose Ends: Here he answers some general interesting questions that don’t fit into any of the previous categories and that he’s received in the last several years while traveling the globe addressing audiences of executives and business-school students.
“Winning” is a great management book based on the true and successful experience of one of the best managers of our time. It’s a very worthwhile addition to any management bookshelf, and I personally recommend it to everyone who is interested in the subject.
[To buy: Winning – Jack Welch]
Question, when in the world, do you find the time to finish a book with a baby around and work??? I have one in my car (for when I get stuck in traffic), one in the bathroom and one in my purse just in case I have to stand in line or wait for someone anywhere.. I find it hard to find the time to sit and read more than 10 pages a week, per book..
Well, I’m a relatively quick reader, as for the time I do most of my reading at night in bed and when in the bathroom.
Another tip is that I try to never stop in the middle of a chapter; I go on until a chapter ends before stopping.
Thanks for the suggestion MMM! I just finished reading a book and was too lazy to look for another one 🙂
I’m happy to have been of some help 🙂
I hope you enjoy the book 🙂