End of an era

“Act boldly; if we wait for the perfect answer, the world will pass us”—this observation by Jack Welch (1935-2020), who built GE into the world’s largest industrial conglomerate and became known for his aggressive management style, is perhaps the business thinking that best suits these uncertain times.

- KRISHAN KALRA

The recent passing away of Jack Welch, legendary chairman and CEO of General Electric (GE) for 20 years, has expectedly drawn tributes from across the world. He has many admirers, and is remembered as ‘Manager of the 20th Century’ (as voted by Fortune in 1999), ‘Gold Standard of Greatness, the icon of industrial imagination’, and so on. Besides US President Donald Trump’s tweet, “There was no corporate leader like Neutron Jack who will never be forgotten” and others, the best accolade perhaps has come from the present CEO of GE, Lawrence Culp: “Jack was larger than life and the heart of GE for half a century. He reshaped the face of our company and the business world. He was a strong and constant influence throughout my career”. Rarely do those who succeed great leaders speak in such glowing terms of their predecessors, especially those who have left office a long time ago.

Let me quote from news site Benzinga about what happened at GE after Welch retired. “When Jack Welch turned the keys of the General Electric Co. over to JeffImmelt in 2001, GE was a well-run and greatly admired profit machine, stocked with exceptional management talent and innovative practices. Over the next 16 years, while Immelt held the top job, he completely demolished the house that Jack built.” Of course, there are legions of critics too. Perhaps, the harshest comment came from