Amazon.com Review
It's hard to think of a CEO that commands as much respect as Jack Welch. Under his leadership, General Electric reinvented itself several times over by integrating new and innovative practices into its many lines of business. In Jack: Straight from the Gut, Welch, with the help of Business Week journalist John Byrne, recounts his career and the style of management that helped to make GE one of the most successful companies of the last century. Beginning with Welch's childhood in Salem, Massachusetts, the book quickly progresses from his first job in GE's plastics division to his ambitious rise up the GE corporate ladder, which culminated in 1981. What comes across most in this autobiography is Welch's passion for business as well as his remarkable directness and intolerance of what he calls "superficial congeniality"--a dislike that would help earn him the nickname "Neutron Jack." In spite of its 496 pages, Jack: Straight from the Gut is a quick read that any student or manager would do well to consider. Highly recommended. --Harry C. Edwards --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
It doesn't matter whether you love or hate Jack Welch. Who can resist hearing the man tell his story? This abridged version of his recently published autobiography, featuring Welch himself, is quite entertaining. With his slightly raspy Boston accent, Welch discusses his childhood and his career. When he proclaims something, he gives examples to illustrate his point. For instance, he says his mother was the strongest influence on his life. He then recalls the time he threw a hockey stick across the ice in disgust after losing a game, and his mother stormed into the locker room as some teammates were changing to exclaim loudly, "If you don't know how to lose, you'll never know how to win." When discussing his long career at GE, Welch is equally detailed. While some listeners unfamiliar with the corporation may find some of the discussions tedious, most will be captivated by what appears to be Welch's brutal honesty. He talks about having to lobby for promotions because he didn't "fit the GE mold," and he's open about making some poor business decisions. He's not as forthright as it appears, though. He talks about his beloved wife, Carolyn, who provided a stable home while Welch was rising in GE's ranks, but barely mentions their divorce. Still, this audiobook will be interesting listening for anyone who has followed Neutron Jack's career. Simultaneous release with Warner Books hardcover.
From Library Journal
In this fascinating personal and business memoir, Welch, recently retired CEO and board chair of the General Electric Company, reveals extensive inside details about his life and his 30-plus years with GE. During his 20 years as CEO, Welch built GE into a highly successful megacorporation, earning a reputation as one of the most admired business leaders in the world. Starting with poignant revelations of the importance of his mother in his life, he carries the listener through his early days of success in GE's Pittsfield, MA, office; his entry into the "big leagues" as CEO; the now famous "Neutron Jack" moniker from the time he reduced GE employment by over 100,000 in his strategy to "fix, sell, or close" each business; and the purchase of RCA to provide a foundation for future earnings. The stories of GE's buyout of NBC, the hard work to globalize the company, and the adoption of quality management principles help relate this powerful tale, read by Mike Barnicle and Welch, to listeners dealing with similar challenges in their own careers. The author's self-effacing personality, down-to-earth delivery, and focus on common sense all greatly add to this collection of Welch's intriguing anecdotes, which will likely be in strong demand. His thick Boston accent will occasionally catch listeners off guard and might steer some to the widely acclaimed hard copy. Highly recommended for all public libraries and university libraries supporting a business curriculum. Dale Farris, Groves, TX
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.
Review
"...a book that almost everyone still interested in business...can't afford to ignore...a very good yarn..." -- Wall Street Journal, 9/21/01
"...will be of interest to anyone who really cares about business..." -- New York Newsday,
10/8/01
"All CEOs want to emulate him...they'll come closer if they listen carefully to what he has to say." -- Warren Buffett, Chairman, Berkshire Hathaway
"An American treasure...teaches us how a leader with keen intellect, guts, and honor can impart courage to people around him..." -- Bernadine Healy, M.D., President and CEO, American Red Cross
"Jack Welch...has finally disclosed his mysteries of management..." -- Nobuyuki Idei, Chairman and CEO, Sony Corporation
"Jack's vision and courage...and, of course, his success, make him the role model of entrepreneurs and managers worldwide." -- Dr. Thomas Middelhoff, Chairman of the board, Bertelsmann AG
"Jack...took an industrial giant and turned it into an industrial colossus with a heart and a soul and a brain." -- Michael D. Eisner, Chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney Company --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Product Description
In his #1 New York Times bestseller, Jack Welch surveys his brilliant career at General Electric, reveals his personal business philosophy, and discusses his life post-retirement in a new afterword.They called him Neutron Jack. They called him the world's toughest boss. And then Fortune(r) called him "The Manager of the Century." In his 20-year career at the helm of General Electric, Jack Welch defied conventional wisdom and turned an aging behemoth of a corporation into a lean, mean engine of growth and corporate innovation. In this remarkable autobiography--a classic business book and runaway New York Times bestseller now updated with a new afterword--Jack Welch takes us on the rough-and-tumble ride that has been his remarkable life.
About Author
Jack Welch began his career with the General Electric Company in 1960, and in 1981 became the company's eighth Chairman and CEO. During his tenure, GE's market capitalization increased by $400 billion, making it the world's most valuable corporation. In 1999, Fortune named him the "manager of the century," and the Financial Times recently named him one of the three most admired business leaders in the world today. Upon retiring from GE in 2001, Mr. Welch published his internationally best-selling autobiography Jack: Straight from the Gut. He now teaches at MIT's Sloan School of Management and speaks to business leaders and students around the world.
, the book delivers a brilliant career's worth of consistently astute (and often iconoclastic) business wisdom and knowledge from the man Fortune magazine called "the manager of the century." Welch knows what he's talking about, and here offers an admirably concise primer on how to do business that's a paragon of tough common sense. From practices he employed at GE (e.g., the much-debated differentiation, which includes winnowing 10% of the workforce at regular intervals), to the personal qualities that lead to success (to Welch, candor is essential), to advice on job hunting and how to work with a bad boss, to ways to maximize the budget process (divorce it from performance rewards), Welch comments frankly and by myriad example, with a common touch that will draw readers in ("that was hardly the first time I'd gotten my clock cleaned by the press"). He explains upfront that the book arose as an attempt to codify his beliefs, in response to the many questions he's received at numerous public appearances since he retired from GE in 2001; as such the book has a somewhat lumpy feel, like an overstuffed bag of presents. But the writing, full of personality and ideas, is a model of clarity and insight, even on such dense subjects as 
