WAS JACK WELCH'S RUN ALL IT WAS CRACKED UP TO BE?

摘要

When Jack Welch stepped down as CEO of General Electric Co. last September, he bequeathed many gifts to his successor, Jeff Immelt. Among them: operating companies that are No. 1 or No. 2 in their market, a deep bench of executive talent, and a stock seen as near bulletproof. All in all, an enterprise that Goldman, Sachs & Co. analyst Martin Sankey calls "a prototype of a postindustrial company." Welch was mythic, and under him GE had become so, too. After all, Welch's management practices and strategic insights have become the stuff of B-school case studies. Constant improvement through a Six Sigma quality push. The notion that an industrial manufacturer could offer low-margin products as a base for building high-margin service businesses. An unparalleled focus on training and retaining talent. The transformation of a U. S.-focused firm into a global powerhouse. These are all lasting contributions from Welch.