The GE Way Fieldbook: Jack Welch's Battle Plan for Corporate Revolution
Author: Robert Slater
List Price: $24.95
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ISBN: 0071354816
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Trade (23 November, 1999)
Sales Rank: 50,108
Average Customer Rating: 3.29 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 1 out of 5
Bad ideas made simplistic
This book is quite simply, horrible. I could overlook the fact that it assumes the reader just graduated first grade, if the ideas, methods and tools were any good. Reading this book, I have to believe GE got where it did in spite of Jack Welch, not because of him. These are not the concepts that revolutionize a business. The first great idea offered? An employee suggestion program. Wow, thanks. An entire book could be written on the futility of such efforts. Employees can't change the bad systems they are trapped in. Then we get the 4 E's. This is Jack Welch's idea that all managers in the organization must posess four ingredients: energy, be an energizer, edge, execution. Anyone familiar with Myers-Briggs, or True Colors personality type methodologies will see that Welch is basically saying he's after one personality type (I'll let you guess which one). This is nuts. The strive should be for diversity in personality types, especially on a leadership team. A good mix of idea people, action people, detail people, people who care about people, etc. And on that topic - caring about people, I hope the Jack Welch way doesn't become "the way". The ideas presented here about performance appraisals and forced distributions are not only stupid they are inhumane. I would refer you to the fine book "Abolishing Performance Appraisals" by Tom Coens and Mary Jenkins for a more enlightened view on people and performance. The stuff about six sigma is not bad, although I'm not a big believer that you can problem-solve your way to excellence. It is possible to make entirely defect-free that which you should not be making at all.
In short, skip this book. The ideas are nothing new, and in many cases wrong, and the tools and illustrations are too simplistic to be of value.
Rating: 1 out of 5
For those who need training wheels
The text of this book could be reduced to 20% its original size if the author addressed the reader as a competent, intelligent manager. Instead, it's filled with cute pictures and 'how to's' I've heard the GE Way is good; don't opt for the Fieldbook.
Rating: 5 out of 5
The Jack Welch Way is the Only Way
I have read everything that has ever been written about the golden boy of corporate america - Jack Welch. He is a genious for our times and this book is just another example of his legendary managerial style. An easy read that is filled with key information to turn any company into an industry leader and any manager into a corporate leader. This book details everything a manager will ever need to know. A MUST BUY !!!!!! Similar Products
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