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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
314 of 344 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A slightly more insightful Jack Welch shares wisdom,
By Michael Erisman (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Winning (Hardcover)
There are two ways to look at this book and at Jack's management philosophies. One can focus on Jack Welch the person, or Jack Welch the business leader. For those who choose to focus on Jack Welch as a person and how he lived his personal life, then I suggest he is not the man to follow. However, if you want some simple, powerful and proven management practices, then he is arguably one of the best ever.
I continue to be amazed at the simple clarity of his message: empower others, ask questions, tap into the potential of all of your associates, choose integrity and candor over charts, graphs, and politics, and spend more time in action instead of planning and posturing budgets. I cannot read his words, or hear him speak without feeling again as I did as a member of his team at GE. Without fail, I was inspired and honored to be at a company which really believed that bureaucracy was to be avoided, and those who could look at reality without the politics and act accordingly were highly regarded. The one aspect I did not count on was that after leaving GE due to geographical and travel demands, those simple truths which engage and inspire people to reach stretch goals would be so rare. In fact the most basic aspects of candor and open honest dialog about the business are punished in some organizations. The book itself is written in a conversational tone. It is easy to read, and feels as though you are in a dialog with him over a cup of coffee. Several key themes emerge which may be surprising to others who know him by reputation only. One, Jack holds no malice and actually celebrates those whose careers involved leaving GE for roles elsewhere. This is a rather unique view, as many organizations have a misguided loyalty requirement that actually stifles the very performance potential they seek. Second, Jack seems to be more reflective of how he missed the boat on the whole work/life balance concept. Third, his willingness to openly admit mistakes is refreshing and contrary to his criticisms by others of his ego. I found the sections on developing people, and setting business strategy to be most helpful. He understands, where few others do, that huge PowerPoint decks and consultants will not meet the need of your clients, nor will the usual political tactics help your business move forward. I recommend this book highly, it is much more real than anything he has written before, and his passion and energy jump off every page.
130 of 146 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
this time Welch nails it,
By hospitaltony "www.hospitalimpact.org" (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Winning (Hardcover)
It appears that (after a couple of misfires) Jack Welch has finally written a book to match his legend. It probably also helps that his new wife Suzy (and co-author), a former editor at HBR, knows a thing or two about writing. No matter what you think of either Welch, this book is worth the price of admission.
Put "Winning" on the top shelf next to "Good to Great" and "Built to Last." In fact, Welch's "Winning" is the perfect complement to Collins' two-some. Collins' work is dramatically research-based, Welch's is utterly life-based. In particular, I enjoyed his 8 leadership principles that balance soft skills (communicating vision, building trust, motivating others) and character attributes (making the tough call, being positive, being nurturing to the core). I also enjoyed how Welch answers his critics on the infamous 20-70-10 rule and his hiring frameworks. One strength of "Winning" is in the breadth of topics covered - both in the realm of organizational leadership as well as career development. Lots of books do one well, but Welch manages to excel in both without being superficial or glossying-over (though most other books aren't 350+ pages!). Make no mistake about it - the ideas presented are not new. For example, two of Welch's leadership principles: "exude positive energy" and "push and probe with a curiousity that borders on skepticism" sound a lot like Collin's "confront the brutal facts, yet never lose faith" principle. But it's Welch's down-to-earth writing style that helps you understand these timeless principles in a fresh way. As you're reading, you can almost picture him speaking the words in some business school auditorium or some Fortune 100 management retreat. The words are deceptively simplistic, but it's Welch's wisdom at its best - boiled down to the very essence from four decades of rough-and-tumble managerial experience. If you're still unsure, I found this excerpt in Newsweek (google "jack welch newsweek excerpt 2005") to be helpful and informative.
60 of 70 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A lot of effort by the reader for a few insights.,
By M. Strong (Milwaukee, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Winning (Hardcover)
Any time you pick up a book with a title like "Winning" you should know you are getting yourself into an exercise in self-congratulation. Glib titles like Welch's previous "Jack: Straight from the Gut" are quickly becoming the hallmark of Welch's books. For some reason I gave this one a chance, hoping it would be better than the aforementioned "Jack." No such luck.
Welch is an extremely talented leader and businessman, but only a few nuggets of his wisdom fall out of this doorstop of a book. The rest really comes across as Jack writing for Jack and his new wife (For whom he dumped his old wife after praising her effusively in the aforementioned "Jack"). There are far better books out there on managment and business. Try "Good to Great;" it's a whole different format, but you'll get a lot more ideas on making yourself and your company better.
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