GE honcho brings business world to life

Business case studies came alive Wednesday night when one of America's foremost chief executive officers, General Electric's Jack Welch, peppered an awestruck audience of more than 1,000 Wharton students with humor, stories and management insight drawn from his nearly 20 years' experience running the conglomerate. As part of the Zweig Executive Dinner Series sponsored by the Wharton Graduate Association, students packed Zellerbach Auditorium and offered a rousing applause to welcome the head of GE, which Fortune magazine has branded "America's Most Admired Company" for two straight years. Under Welch's leadership, GE has moved beyond its original focus on household, industrial and electronic appliances to offer an array of financial and information services, entered the telecommunications industry and bought the NBC television network. "One of the advantages of being in a multi-business company is you don't need to know much about anything," the 63-year-old Welch remarked. "I can't design refrigerators. I can't design Seinfeld. I can't design an engine. But I can pick out people, smell deals and transfer best practices," he said. In spite of his reputation for having a hard-driving, cut-throat management style, Welch said it is important for executives to think about more than just the bottom line. "The biggest thing business schools can do is teach people how to deal with people. It's about [having the] self-confidence to admit what others have done for you and the excitement about being part of a team," he said. Although Welch could not spell out his recipe for business success, he did share a few pieces of advice about his "four Es of leadership" --Ethe edge to make tough decisions, the energy to work hard, the ability to execute your plans and the skills to energize people. "Speed is critical. You've got to make the [phone] calls, make the decisions," Welch said. "Someone is doing what you are doing better than you are at doing it." Welch pointed to opportunities in the global marketplace for those aggressive enough to seek the advantage. "Don't go where BusinessWeek tells you to go, where Fortune tells you to go or where these [Wharton] professors tell you to go," Welch quipped, drawing a burst of laughter. "You've got to go to bat every time and take chances? where no one wants to be," he added, pointing out how GE has profited by rapidly acquiring companies in Mexico, Japan and Eastern Europe after those regions suffered from financial crises. And while speculation looms over the future of GE when Welch retires from the company at the end of next year, Welch has already crossed one job off his list of possible occupation. "I respectfully decline to be the next dean of the Wharton School," he deadpanned.