Profile of Success: Jack Welch

Almost everybody knows Jack Welch as the tough but usually smiling former CEO of General Electric. During his 20 year tenure as CEO, he built GE’s market value by more than 450-Billion Dollars. You may not know that he started out at GE in 1960 as an engineer earning $10,500.00.

Here’s a great quote from him about the common practice of annual reviews: “I was giving appraisals all the time – whether I handed out a stock option grant or gave a raise or just bumped into someone in the hallway. I always wanted everyone to know where they stood.”

And a quote about the need for speed: “I rarely regretted acting but often regretted not acting fast enough.” (How true is that!)

In his book JACK: STRAIGHT FROM THE GUT, he takes you through his life story from beginning to present, with frank discussion of what worked and what didn’t work for him. Whether you manage a downline of 2, 20, or 200, there’s plenty to be learned from Jack.