CEO Blog - Time Leadership

Jack Welch

I am listening to Jack Welsh at World Business Forum. He certainly has opinions.

I am not a big Jack Welch advocate. I see him as harsh on people. I view his black and white opinions as well...too black and white. This said, he has a lot we can learn from.

He actually does twitter and does his own tweets.

I like Jack's view that HR is a critical function. He really emphasizes hiring the best people. He is famous for his "fire the bottom 10%". It is known by some as Rank and Yank. His assumption is that you can know which are the best.

When asked the question about this. He does acknowledge that people are not in the "category" forever.

Jack says "those guys that say getting rid of the bottom 10% demoralizes people have been in the classroom too long"

I like that he is in favor of trade and likes entrepreneurs. Welch said "We have to grow the pie. We have to celebrate entrepreneurs. "

I like his views on innovation (we need more of it and it is a key driver).

Some Quotes by Jack Welch

"Be candid with everyone. "

"Change before you have to. "

"Control your own destiny or someone else will. "

"Face reality as it is, not as it was or as you wish it to be. "

"Giving people self-confidence is by far the most important thing that I can do. Because then they will act. "

"If you pick the right people and give them the opportunity to spread their wings and put compensation as a carrier behind it you almost don't have to manage them. "

"The Internet is the Viagra of big business. "

posted by Jim Estill @ 11:31 AM