Devoted to Managers and those that seek to improve their management skills

When he was selected as the new CEO of General Electric, Jack Welch was certainly not everyone's top pick.

Jack Welch faced one of the most difficult situations anybody entering into a CEO position could possibly face.

While not too many people remember him now, because Welch was wildly successful as the CEO of General Electric (GE) and so created his own powerful legacy which has overshadowed him, Reg Jones was the one Jack Welch replaced at the company.

Reg Jones was no slouch by any stretch of the imagination. He was not only named CEO of the Year during his tenure at General Electric, but also the Most Admired Business Leader in America.

It wasn't just hype or backslapping either, he earned the recognition. At one time he lead General Electric to 26 straight quarters of increased earnings. Just to encourage you business leaders out there, that period of time included two recessions.

hose were the shoes Jack Welch at the relatively young age of 45 stepped into. It wasn't an enviable position to be in.

What's very interesting, are the very things that proved to be the strengths of Welch, were considered a detriment to being placed in that position at that time. Like not being right for the General Electric culture, and also being considered to be too aggressive. Both of those were probably accurate. That's why Welch changed the culture and bent it to his will. The results proved he was the right man for the job at the right time.

We talked about this in a Warren Buffett post recently, where he said, "You’re neither right nor wrong because other people agree with you. You’re right because your facts are right and your reasoning is right – and that’s the only thing that makes you right. And if your facts and reasoning are right, you don’t have to worry about anybody else.”

That was Jack Welch. It doesn't matter what people think of you if you have your facts straight and your reasoning is in line with them. As Buffett said, that's the only thing that makes you right.

Even today, years after he left GE, you have these people attacking Welch for his way of doing things at General Electric, and yet he is one of the greatest CEOs that have ever lived. He took General Electric to dizzying heights from where the company was when he took over.

As he proved over and over again over the decades: he was right and his detractors were wrong. It's still true to this day.