Winning on Jack Welch's terms means winning in business. All other prizes start from corporate success. "When companies win, people thrive and grow. There are more jobs and opportunities everywhere and for everyone," he writes with coauthor Suzy Welch, his wife and the former editor of Harvard Business Review. His high energy optimism and faith in the positive power of business fuel Winning, delivered in an as-told-to style as a follow-up to his 2001 autobiography, Jack: Straight from the Gut. The result is part pep talk, part reflection on his GE years and their travels together since his retirement, and part unblinking self-promotion. Winning is also a lively read, making it one of the few management books that instantly crossed over into the mainstream.
The chapters are grouped into four categories: underlying values and attitudes; company; competition; and career. You'll find a lot of sensible career advice to absorb and tuck away for future reference. In the chapter "That Damn Boss," Welch advises that if you are saddled with a damn boss you should ask yourself the following: Why is my boss acting like a jerk? What's the endgame for my boss? What will happen to me if I deliver results and endure my bad boss? Why do I work here anyway? "And as you start your next job, remember exactly what made the bad boss bad and how it made you feel—so that when the time comes for you to be a boss, you won't do the same."
Welch also ventures into the topic of work-life balance under the caveat that no one, including himself, would ever mistake him for an authority. He then gives an employer's perspective that is bracingly honest. A company's priority is competitiveness, according to Welch; you can earn chits to spend on work-life balance so long as you exceed performance expectations. Work-life balance looks nice in a recruiting brochure, he continues, but in reality, employees who fuss about it are likely to be pegged as slackers.
The blunt statements are refreshing, but we would have liked Winning to contain more detail and reflection. The last few years have been rough for business. Welch discusses layoffs, but only in the context of economic downturns. What about layoffs due to poor strategic decisions? How should managers give and earn loyalty when the days of spending an entire career at one company—as he did—are gone forever? What are his thoughts on lavish executive compensation and perks? On the widening gap between earners at the high and low ends of a company? How else should business be a good citizen in society besides winning over its competitors? We will look forward to his next book.—Martha Lagace