Introduction Jack Welch is widely known for being one of the best leaders and managers of the twentieth century, having been Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of General Electric (GE) for twenty years. During his tenure as head of one of the world’s largest conglomerates, Mr. Welch implemented several well-known initiatives to propel the company to new heights. Some of his more known initiatives included the boundaryless organization, six sigma quality control, and the employee performance evaluation system known as “Rank and Yank”. A major strategic push Mr. Welch made early on in his tenure that could also help explain the success he achieved was his requirement that each GE strategic business unit (SBU) be number one or two in their respective industry or risk being divested. Over the course of his tenure as CEO of General Electric, Mr. Welch achieved several notable accomplishments for the company and himself. For example, during his tenure, Mr. Welch’s leadership helped GE’s overall value increase by 4,000% (Leung 2005). For his role in leading GE to this and other successes, Mr. Welch was named
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Whether it be his ability to act proactively, develop a great vision, or inspire others to carry out that vision, these all likely played important roles in his success. In my mind, though, what made Welch successful was his authenticity. He did not pretend to be someone or something he was not. Welch was able to take an organization that existed long before his time and turn it into an embodiment of his personality, beliefs, and values. This can be seen in both the structural changes the organization experienced during the Welch era as well as the changes seen in GE’s culture. Every one of the major initiatives discussed came from Jack Welch’s personal view of leadership and his deep-seated values, the type of characteristics that have earned him the nickname “Neutron
Whether it be his ability to act proactively, develop a great vision, or inspire others to carry out that vision, these all likely played important roles in his success. In my mind, though, what made Welch successful was his authenticity. He did not pretend to be someone or something he was not. Welch was able to take an organization that existed long before his time and turn it into an embodiment of his personality, beliefs, and values. This can be seen in both the structural changes the organization experienced during the Welch era as well as the changes seen in GE’s culture. Every one of the major initiatives discussed came from Jack Welch’s personal view of leadership and his deep-seated values, the type of characteristics that have earned him the nickname “Neutron