It's no wonder Jack Welch has been hailed as one the greatest managers of the past half-century. Before stepping down in September, Welch served as chairman and chief executive officer of General Electric for more than 20 years, transforming the company from a domestic conglomerate to international, "boundaryless" empire that produced everything from airplane engines and refrigerators to the NBC television network.
But what led Welch, 66, to become one of America's most admired managers was not necessarily his balance sheet performance -- although that, in itself, was impressive. (During his tenure, GE share values increased more than 3,000 percent.)
It was his hard-driving competitiveness. "Neutron Jack" once declared that GE "be No. 1 or No. 2 in any industry" and was renowned for performance evaluations stricter than any Wharton curve -- and tough-love style of management. Indeed, he'll be long remembered for his legendary ability to pick the right people, make difficult decisions and inspire self-confidence and enthusiasm in others.
Last night, Welch spoke to a jam-packed Zellerbach Auditorium audience as part of a book tour promoting his best-selling memoirs, Jack: Straight from the Gut. It was a crowd mainly filled with Philadelphia-area executives, middle managers as well as a group of Wharton Welch disciples.
But what could the average young person -- someone who may not have even entered the workforce -- learn from the man Fortune magazine once called the "Ultimate Manager?"
Turns out, quite a bit.
In an exclusive interview before the event, Welch sat down with me to share his advice about getting a job in the new New Economy, managing young people and leading change.
On getting a job during an economic downturn:
"The important thing is this is going to get better. You know that. The important thing is to pick a job that fits your skills --what you want to do. Don't worry about the extra $5,000 or $10,000, or this or that. You have a wonderful experience here at Wharton. The world is going to want you....
"You won't have 30 job offers -- you'll have three. So be sure you pick something you like. Don't compromise that because you'll wind up being unhappy and won't do a great job.... [You'll] go for a quick hit and give up what [you] really want to do. In the end, you spend most of your waking hours at work so you better do something you really like."
On what skills Jack looks for in young managers:
"Energy -- enormous energy. Could they energize other people? Are they someone who can excite others?
"It's degree of energy. It's caring more or caring less.... And it's ability to inspire versus innovate. It's all these characteristics, and it's all just degrees. And it's not perfect."
On teaching young people to lead:
"A real leader gives people a chance to reach, and stretch, and grow. It's a lot about building self-confidence in people so that they get experiences, and when they miss, they learn. And when they succeed on a tough one, they'll just go further and further....
"Most of the time, these kids' success will be determined by when they get knocked off the horse, how well they get back on the horse again. Because you're going to get knocked off."
On what senior executives can learn from young managers -- what he calls "reverse mentors":
"We took our top thousand people and asked them all to get someone young in the organization [and] learn two things [from them]: all the corridor gossip -- because you have entry level people doing this. And you learn most importantly, a new technology. The Internet is inversely proportional to age and height in the organization. That was just absolutely critical."
On his favorite NBC sit-com character:
"Without question, I loved Jerry [Seinfeld]. I wish I could have been Jerry. He was the funniest guy going. Seinfeld, to my era -- to me -- the funniest show I have ever seen in my life. And I can still watch reruns and enjoy it."
Welch's wisdom for young people was certainly inspiring. Like the legendary manager himself, his advice was frank, tough, honest and true. And like the company he once ran, his lessons were also "boundaryless." Though they certainly applied to the business world, they crossed-over into real life, too.
Eric Dash is a senior Management and American History major from Pittsburgh, Pa.
