He Didn't Hold Back Who He Was
One of the places where workers at General Electric (GE) got to know their boss and everything that he was - personally and professionally - was at the meetings he held over a long time where he appeared over 250 times to get it on with over 15,000 GE managers and executives.
Anyone that was at these meetings said that they were extraordinary in that all that Jack was came out. You would hear the stutter that he has struggled with since childhood, his strategies, theories, business teaching and personality all up close. Partakers in the meetings have said they were tremendous.
I
t was probably one of the best moves that Welch ever made. He put all of himself, vulnerabilities and all, before his fellow executives. No matter what came of it, it was considered a deeply moving experience by those that partook in them.
They knew he had come from a working-class background to make it to the top of the corporate heap; not only in America, but in the entire world. General Electric was the top of the line.
Not only were executives allowed and encouraged to dish it out, but they had to receive it as well. Welch seemed at his best here in these situations.
I think it's something that is vastly underrated in Welch's history. Letting people get a piece of you in a corporate (crowd) setting, is putting yourself in the position of being taken to task, and he was. But people that participated loved it. They were able to challenge Welch, but at the same time receive back his responses in real time, and know exactly what he was thinking when he laid down some of the goals and strategies he expected to be fulfilled.
The history of GE under his watch shows the power and impact these meetings had as he let everyone there know who he was and what he stood for with GE, and encouraged them that if they didn't like it to do something about it. If they had something better he encouraged them to kick, scream and break it if that's what they really believed. The results speak for themselves.
Other Jack Welch Resources:
How Jack Welch Runs GE
Jack Welch Defends
Jack Welch's advice to MIT Sloan students
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