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Welch: An American Icon Paperback – September 6, 2002

3.2 3.2 out of 5 stars 5 ratings

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A rare perspective on the personal philosophy, business savvy, and future of the chairman of the most admired company in the world Jack Welch, chairman of General Electric, is due to retire this spring. Welch has transported GE into the new economy with his management style, his forward-thinking approach to new technology, and by encouraging creativity among his employees. This book provides a look at what the innovative powerhouse executive has brought to American business and what will ultimately be his legacy. Thorough, authoritative, and absorbing, Welch: An American Icon includes interviews with CEOs at other leading companies who have worked under Welch and been trained by him, as well as interviews with other GE executives. Janet Lowe (Del Mar, CA) is an investment writer and author who has written sixteen business and biographical works, including the recent Damn Right!: Behind the Scenes with Berkshire-Hathaway Billionaire Charlie Munger (0-471-24473-2). Ms. Lowe is past editor of the San Diego Daily Transcript and Financial Editor of the San Diego Tribune. More than 200 of her business articles have appeared in such publications as Newsweek, the Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times, and the San Francisco Chronicle.
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Readable insights into one of the most admired, and exposed, corporate leaders of recent decades." (Long Range Planning, June 2004)

From the Inside Flap

Praise for Welch: An American Icon

Welch: An American Icon is a thoroughly researched addition to your business library. No matter how much you have read about Welch, you will certainly learn something new by reading this book.
-George Eckes, Management Consultant and author of The Six Sigma Revolution: How General Electric and Others Turned Process into Profits

Janet Lowe has written a fascinating and rewarding book . . . Welch is more than an icon. Lowe has identified Welch's dynamic, rhythmic, and forward-looking, yet sometimes turbulent legacy, for many generations to come. That legacy sets forth basic principles, structures, and constructs for a twenty-first-century multinational industrial corporation that operates globally to facilitate the rate of change in zero time for shared and equitable prosperity at home and abroad.
-Dr. George Kozmetsky
Executive Associate for Economic Affairs
The University of Texas System

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wiley; 1st edition (September 6, 2002)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 308 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 047125522X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0471255222
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.2 3.2 out of 5 stars 5 ratings

About the author

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Janet Lowe
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Janet Lowe's career as a writer has included everything from freelance feature writer to technical writer, poet, reporter, editor, media spokesperson and author of 18 books and audiotapes.

The "Speaks" series -- small, carefully researched biographies of American leaders including Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Jack Welch, Ted Turner, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan and the founders of Google -- are her best-known books. Among her full-length biographies is Damn Right: The Story of Berkshire Hathaway Billionaire Charlie Munger.

Lowe is a leading authority on the value investing theory. Her books on that subject include Benjamin Graham on Value Investing, Value Investing Made Easy and others.

Her books have been reviewed by USAToday, Newsweek, Barron's, and dozens of other national publications. She has been a guest on Jim Lehrer's News Hour, the PBS Nightly Business Report, CNN, CNBC and many national and local televisions shows.

Lowe's freelance articles have appeared in more than 100 publications including Newsweek, the Christian Science Monitor, the Los Angeles Times, Dallas Morning News, the San Jose Mercury News, San Diego Union-Tribune, Modern Maturity, Planning Magazine and others.

A popular public speaker, Janet has addressed investment seminars in the U.S., Canada and Great Britain. She has appeared before audiences at the University of Nebraska and University of Nevada at Las Vegas business schools. She has been a guest speaker at the New York City Financial Analyst's Society and has been asked to speak to private companies such as Brandes Investment Partners in Del Mar, California.

Lowe grew up in California and Nevada, attended Las Vegas High School and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Economics from the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. She earned her Master's Degree in Mass Communications from San Diego State University. She completed a Wharton Business School fellowship and has a lifetime teaching certificate in California.

Janet has been a San Diego YMCA Woman of Achievement. She is past president of both the San Diego County Press Club and Society of Professional Journalists. She was named San Diego Press Club's Journalist of the Year in 2000 and again in 2007.

Customer reviews

3.2 out of 5 stars
3.2 out of 5
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Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2013
The story was more of a report of what GE did and not how Mr. Welch did it. I was looking for more behind the scenes tactics and ways he pulled off the deals and buy outs. the beginning was good about his younger days and going to College, but Welch himself faded as the story of GE's balance sheet went on.
Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2001
There is no doubt that Jack Welch is among the most influential Americans in the last 20 years. His business ideas, corporate philosophies and ability to make decisions on such a broad business scale is unmatched in recent American business history. Even his most vocal critics, who attack him on a variety of issues including corporate greed, and his profit at all costs mentality, are ironically attacking core American business values over the last 25 years, and Jack Welch is simply the best at carrying out that philosophy.
The book itself was a bit disappointing. It reads like a series of one-page articles from Fortune or Forbes magazine, taking sweeping views of topics and interjecting some quotes and context here and there from Welch, and others in the industry. In fact, a quick glance at the index shows much of the material used in writing this book came from those sources. There are far too few revelations into his character, and why he does what he does. I guess we will have to wait for his memoirs for the real insights.
A couple sections were fascinating though, including the chapters "Dark side of the legacy" and "Welch's place in history". In the "Dark side" chapter the author goes into some detail about some of GE's mistakes, including the Kidder Peabody fraud issues and some of GE's poor track record with environmental pollution. Welch's reactions to such issues can be summarized by his comments regarding mistakes: "I hope you understand that business is a series of trial and error. Its not great science. Mistakes are made. Its just moving the ball forward, and nobody has any great formula". This type of attitude epitomizes his ability to always look for the forward motion and opportunity in every situation. A great business strategy to be sure, but one that is used equally often when the results of the mistakes harm the lives of people, as is outlined in the chapter. The chapter regarding his place in history is a great summary of his style and accomplishments, and how those are viewed by others within the context of American history.
The book closes with some fascinating information in the appendix. Most people have no idea just how large and diverse GE is. There are 13 pages in the appendix describing in one to two sentance bullets the number of companies in GE. Amazing, especially when one considers that a great many of these would be Fortune 500 companies on their own.
Overall, this is a good book, and provides a good overview of Jack Welch's impact on GE, his successes and failures, and is honest enough to highlight some of the negative repercussion's that a "profit first" mentality can have on society. There are many books on GE and Jack Welch, I would recommend this one first, followed by a more specific look at the particular business strategy platforms he instilled and executed. "Get Better or Get Beaten" is one example of a book describing the business strategies he was successful in implementing at GE.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2001
Any book that has that many footnotes can't be good. The reader does not care if the author is completely accurate in their information, we just want to get to know the character of the book - what makes him tick, how he thinks, what are his habits, etc. In fact some of the best biographies I have read take liberties with the information to embelish the story and make it interesting. Just read some of Irving Stone's great biographies, Agony and the Ecstacy for example, to see what I mean. The author has plenty of footnotes, but no insightful information. She jumps from one topic to another, without ever giving the reader a good feel for any of the topics she covers. She would have been better off to cut the things she discussed in half and developed each idea more fully. Don't bother reading this book. Wait for Jack's own book. Hopefully we will get to know him better then.
PS: At least is was better than Robert Slaters fauning accounts of GE and Welch.
3 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2001
I was very disappointed in this book .I thought it was a biography of the man but instead it was a synopsis of business management only. Who cares about the daily life of the corporate CEO? I wanted to know the man. What were his parents like, what kind of a childhood did he have? How about some pictures of Jack the kid? Who was his wife of twenty eight years, what are her opinions of Jack, as a man and a father? How about his children, do they have insights into their fathers feelings? What experiences in his life molded him into what he became? These and many other questions were not answered. How can anyone write a biography with no personal facts or anecdotes? Try it again Janet, the third time never fails.
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