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Jacked Up: The Inside Story of How Jack Welch Talked GE into Becoming the World’s Greatest Company Hardcover – December 17, 2007

by Bill Lane (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 33 ratings
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AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE GENIUS OF GE

Bill Lane was Jack Welch's speechwriter for 20 years. In the first book by a GE insider, Lane shows that the real secret to Welch's immense success as a leader was Welch's ability as a master communicator. Welch launched a communications revolution that took GE from a ponderous supertanker of a company, to what Welch called a high speed “cigarette boat” capable of radical moves and rapid learning from the best institutions in the world.

Jacked Up gives you a front row seat to Welch's twenty-year campaign to transform GE. Lane's first-hand, fly-on-the-wall account reveals some of Welch's most vivid and exciting moments, including:

  • An analyst’s presentation in Florida, where Welch’s angry remarks ignited GE’s stock growth
  • A packed GE classroom at Crotonville, N.Y., when Welch and Bob Nardelli decided to stop construction on a multimilliondollar investment based on a class presentation
  • Welch’s frank—and hilarious—explanation for financial services superstar Gary Wendt’s departure from GE
  • Meetings with his top advisors, where Welch dissed dull presenters and lavished kudos on articulate managers

    You'll learn Jack's simple, often brutally enforced guidelines for “making a great pitch”, and how Welch practiced them himself in his memorable appearances before employees, financial analysts and customers--and his zero-tolerance of BS. You'll witness laugh-out-loud-funny cameo appearances from boldface names like Southwest Airlines Herb Kelleher, Don Imus, Jack's ex-wife Jane Welch, Conan O'Brian, and “Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog”. And you'll understand exactly how every leader can master the art of communication, to teach and inspire, shock and provoke, all at the same time.

    This is Jack at his out-and-out best. This is the only book a leader or aspiring leader will ever need on effective communications.

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Previous page
  1. Print length
    300 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    McGraw-Hill
  4. Publication date
    December 17, 2007
  5. Dimensions
    6.5 x 1.25 x 9.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0071544100
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0071544108
  8. See all details
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The Amazon Book Review
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Does the world really need another book on Jack Welch? While the former GE CEO is an acknowledged superstar of the business world, he has written and been written about in so many books in this genre that regular visitors to bookstore business sections may find themselves growing weary. One thing's for sure-if you're going to write another book centered on Jack Welch, it better be good. Luckily, this volume doesn't disappoint. Written by Bill Lane, Welch's speechwriter of 20 years, this book documents GE's Welch years and offers general advice. While completely deferential to Welch-sometimes to a fault-Lane is a great observer and writer, bringing the spirit of Welch's GE tenure alive through anecdotes, conversation and explicit details that reveal what strategies worked to advance careers or end them. Italicized advice tips that summarize communications tips and strategies round out various chapters like a stream of consciousness whisper. While this book's primary appeal will still be to Jack Welch junkies, the author's insider tone and great style make an interesting read for a wider audience.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From the Back Cover

“Shockingly informative, unexpectedly funny, and a surprisingly good read about Welch’s tenure as GE’s CEO and CRO (chief rhetoric officer).” -Strategy + Business magazine

When it comes to leadership,

DO YOU KNOW JACK?

NO MORE REPORTS:

Jack got quiet for nearly a full minute, and stared down at the table with the semi-scowl that meant some kind of processing was going on. Then he said, loudly and decisively:

“No, no, no! We’re not doing this any more. No more ‘reports.’ We’re sick of reports. The only pitches that are worth anything are when you tell people what they ought to do. Otherwise it’s just a waste.”

And so it began, gradually, that GE began to move from a self-absorbed corporation to what Welch would later describe with much pride as “a real learning company.”

A SHOUT FROM THE BATHROOM:

One day Jack brought a copy of a letter he had been sent. It was written by one of our very senior business leaders “explaining” some Corporate initiative. The letter made no sense, and Jack read passages of it aloud, with inflections that emphasized the absurdities in what the man had written. Finally he stopped laughing long enough to render his final criticism.

“It’s like something he yelled out the bathroom door to his secretary while he was sitting on the can. That’s it exactly. This is a shout from the bathroom.”

THIS IS JACK: UNCENSORED, IRREPRESSIBLE, AND UNBEATABLE

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ McGraw-Hill; 1st edition (December 17, 2007)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 300 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0071544100
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0071544108
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.35 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1.25 x 9.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 33 ratings

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Bill Lane

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
33 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

K. Newcomer
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Info on Presentations
Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2011
Verified Purchase
I worked for GE for five years after Jack Welch was CEO so I heard a lot about him and read and wrote about him in my MBA Program. When I purchased the book I was not really interested in reading about GE, but I saw a quick review where Jack Welch thought the book would be interesting as Bill Lane in entertaining.

While reading I did not really learn anything about GE, but found the advice on making presentations valuable. Giving a presentation at GE and to Jack Welch may be different (or simply more intimidating) than some smaller or even larger companies, but the sound advice is the same.

Besides some good, funny stories about GE and executive training some good advice throughout:

Root cause of presentation disasters: The belief that what you think is so important is also considered to be so by the audience. All first draft presentations are too long and should be cut, along with second, third, and fourth drafts.

Never ad-lib a presentation. Never walk into a room without knowing everything about the audience.

Most failed pitches had flaws in the preparation (or lack of preparation). Be serious and exclude any parts that may get you accused of being "flippant".

Never get up and do the same pitch over and over. Never do it twice in front of the CEO or people who can influence your career. Show intellectual growth, new data, new anecdotes or new thoughts.

Get help from someone who has presented in front of this individual before. Ask someone who is opinionated to review.

I certainly found some good advice on how to present data and give formal presentations. One can make an argument the story and maybe some of the ideas are dated since this goes back a full generation. With that being said the premise is the same as today and the ideas still stick and will service anyone looking to advance or in a high level job well.
One person found this helpful
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Lawrence Berezin
5.0 out of 5 stars View from the Top
Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2008
Verified Purchase
G.E. is one of the finest corporations in the world. I enjoyed reading the author's stories about the inner workings of G.E. Communication, presentations, learning, sharing knowledge and honest, fierce debate drove this company during the Welch years.

A close friend of mine is a long term, senior executive for G.E. He dealt directly with Mr. Welch and confirmed many of the events depicted in the book.

The real take-a-ways in the book are the excellent pointers on presentations. All of us have experienced "death by PPT", so it is very enlightening to understand the importance a company, such as G.E., places on getting a presentation right. Here's what I have to tell you, here is the evidence to support what I'm telling you, here is what I learned, and here is what you should learn. All in 20 minutes. Great stuff.

The book motivated me to develope my own presentation skills. I recommend Garr Reynolds and Guy Kawasaki. Mr. Reynolds wrote a wonderful book entitled, "Presentation Zen". It caused me to completely change my approach to presenting. Guy Kawaski writes books, publishes a blog and has an excellent audio on how to present to investor groups.

I found a number of presenters at TED excellent. Creativity expert, Sir Ken Robinson made a terrific presentation at TED. He walked onto stage, stood in one place for one half hour and gave an incredible speech. Check it out. You won't be disappointed.

Reading, viewing and listening to all of these expert presenters, has motivated me to work hard to improve. When I look back at my first PPT containing enough bullets to resemble the gun fight at the O.K. corral,
I realize how far I have come. It was worth the journey.
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Lee
5.0 out of 5 stars Inside Jack Welch's GE
Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2012
Verified Purchase
I read Losing It before Jacked up by Bill Lane, it would have been better to read jacked up first. Both books are like the wizard of oz. The green curtain is pulled back revealing the amusing exposure of the rarefied Life in one of the largest company's in the US. While Bill's style of writing is entertaining and has a certain amount of humor there is something to be taken away by those in management that are required to make presentations in their company's management meetings. Jack Welch changed GE's management meetings from a auditorium of attendees texting on their Blackberries or waiting to fill their Bull Shit BINGO cards with the current buzzwords such as "home run", "proactive" , "push back", "no-brainier" "synergy". If your presentation did not Identify a problem, present a solution and data indicating how the attempted solution played out your career in GE was on a fast track to a generous separation package and out the door.
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David Margulies
2.0 out of 5 stars Not worth the money
Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2008
Verified Purchase
In addition to being racist and sexist the book makes it clear that GE was a horrible place to work. The book makes some excellent points concerning corporate presentations. But it paints a horrible picture of the GE environment. I doubt this guy will be getting Christmas cards from Jack Welch. After 20-years at the company the author obviously didn't really absorb much beyond how to put together an interesting PowerPoint presentation. The author seems to find no irony in the fact that he was shown the door as soon as Welch left town.
3 people found this helpful
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Dr. No
5.0 out of 5 stars including his great strengths and some flaws
Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2015
Verified Purchase
Lane writes a honest story about one of the legends of corporate leadership. It's engaging - and interesting to see the man close up, including his great strengths and some flaws.
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W. D. Barnum
4.0 out of 5 stars Good advice from a pro
Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2008
Verified Purchase
If you are looking for good advice on the do's and don'ts of making in-house business presentations - this is the book for you. By telling various GE stories it makes the points and brings them home. In doing so, it shines a light on the real "corporate culture" at GE during the 80's and 90's - not a happy place to work if you were not an egocentric workaholic - and white and male. That is just the way it was (is?)- the author does not apologize for it, just reports it - which is fair - although politically incorrect. If you get upset by that - then you are missing the point. Which the author makes, by quoting Maria Bartiromo on how she overcame all the prejudices on Wall Street "I work very, very, very hard."

Use this as a text book on presentations and as a history lesson as to the state of a large company during a period of transition and transformation.

Well worth the money.
3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Nzk
2.0 out of 5 stars The vanity at works
Reviewed in Germany on October 15, 2021
Verified Purchase
I wish the author followed his own advice and asked himself a question about “the use” of so many of his anecdotes for his reading audience. I came across this book as it was mentioned by Vicente Falconi in the context of 3G Capital. I only give 2 stars for the helpful insight that Jack Welch invested epic amount of time into his written comms and public speaking.
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