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What Made jack welch JACK WELCH: How Ordinary People Become Extraordinary Leaders
Surprisingly, it’s not about education or pedigree or even native smarts. Most of us are like jack welch, who started life as a lowercase guy, the son of a railroad conductor, but went on to become the most celebrated and successful executive of recent years. Sure, Jack Welch—and lots of other people like him—are smart and talented, but there are countless people even smarter and more talented who stall out on the way up. Something else is going on. What is it, and what can the rest of us learn from such people to improve our own chances of accomplishment?
Stephen Baum uncovers not only the business secrets of prominent CEOs but their inner stories as well. He ferrets out the real men and women behind the public personas, learning about life-shaping experiences they all have in common that turn out to be the foun-dation for true success in career and in life. Baum has gotten them to recall key moments that they hadn’t thought about for years, as well as the fears, emotions, and learning they’ve experienced during moments of challenge and doubt.
These seminal events are “archetypal shaping experiences”—critical and often unexpected learning moments when future leaders take advantage of challenges thrown in their
• When you take calculated personal risks without the safety net of specific instructions on how to proceed.
• When you are clueless about how to solve a knotty problem but dive in and prepare yourself to work through it.
• When you learn to swim in water over your head, make the tough choice, get good on your feet, or
are forced to take a hard look in the mirror. These character-building moments engender an inner core of toughness and confidence that is the real key to leadership in any business or endeavor—they are what made jack welch . . . JACK WELCH.
Stephen Baum provides an entirely new way of thinking about how to fulfill your dreams and aspirations. You’ll come away with the feeling that “if they can do it, so can I” . . . and that is the first step on the journey to becoming extraordinary, awakening the JACK WELCH that lives in each of us—just waiting to take us further than anyone could have predicted.
Stephen Baum uncovers not only the business secrets of prominent CEOs but their inner stories as well. He ferrets out the real men and women behind the public personas, learning about life-shaping experiences they all have in common that turn out to be the foun-dation for true success in career and in life. Baum has gotten them to recall key moments that they hadn’t thought about for years, as well as the fears, emotions, and learning they’ve experienced during moments of challenge and doubt.
These seminal events are “archetypal shaping experiences”—critical and often unexpected learning moments when future leaders take advantage of challenges thrown in their
• When you take calculated personal risks without the safety net of specific instructions on how to proceed.
• When you are clueless about how to solve a knotty problem but dive in and prepare yourself to work through it.
• When you learn to swim in water over your head, make the tough choice, get good on your feet, or
are forced to take a hard look in the mirror. These character-building moments engender an inner core of toughness and confidence that is the real key to leadership in any business or endeavor—they are what made jack welch . . . JACK WELCH.
Stephen Baum provides an entirely new way of thinking about how to fulfill your dreams and aspirations. You’ll come away with the feeling that “if they can do it, so can I” . . . and that is the first step on the journey to becoming extraordinary, awakening the JACK WELCH that lives in each of us—just waiting to take us further than anyone could have predicted.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 27, 2008
What Made jack welch Jack Welch: How Ordinary People Become Extraordinary Leaders
Stephen H. Baum with Dave Conti
Crown Business
In the Introduction, Baum explains that, at one point, the more he had gotten to know great leaders, the more he realized what he did not know. For example, "Who made these men and women who and what they are?" So he set out to find an answer to that question and later realized that what he really wanted to know was the answer to a related question: How did they develop [various traits of great leadership] in the first place?" In this book, written with Dave Conti, Baum shares everything he learned during research on and -- in some instances from interviews of -- various great leaders, such Gordon Bethune (Continental Airlines), Cathleen Black (Hearst Magazines), Jim Broadhead (Florida Power & Light), Shelly Lazarus (Ogilvy & Mather), Arthur Martinez (Sears, Roebuck & Company), and Jack Welch (GE).
How to explain the fact that so many CEOs and other C-level executives are ineffective leaders? Baum offers this explanation: "Unable to reach deep into their character and their life experiences for the strength and knowledge to lead, pretenders rely on a variety of false personas or masks to make up for their deficiencies. They use artifice to compensate for the lack of a well-developed core. [George characterizes it as one's "true north."] Their masks and their acting skills can cover up their flaws for a while, but they are eventually exposed. Whether they work in the executive suite or the mailroom, they eventually fail."
That is certainly not true of the exemplars upon which Baum focuses most of his attention. However significantly different they may be in several respects, all share "a common pattern of [shaping] life experiences" that have guided and informed, indeed nourished their development as effective leaders. Baum's analysis of the causes, effects, and significance of many of those experiences is of uneven quality. He seems to have selected more than he is willing and/or able to discuss with sufficient precision.
Stephen H. Baum with Dave Conti
Crown Business
In the Introduction, Baum explains that, at one point, the more he had gotten to know great leaders, the more he realized what he did not know. For example, "Who made these men and women who and what they are?" So he set out to find an answer to that question and later realized that what he really wanted to know was the answer to a related question: How did they develop [various traits of great leadership] in the first place?" In this book, written with Dave Conti, Baum shares everything he learned during research on and -- in some instances from interviews of -- various great leaders, such Gordon Bethune (Continental Airlines), Cathleen Black (Hearst Magazines), Jim Broadhead (Florida Power & Light), Shelly Lazarus (Ogilvy & Mather), Arthur Martinez (Sears, Roebuck & Company), and Jack Welch (GE).
How to explain the fact that so many CEOs and other C-level executives are ineffective leaders? Baum offers this explanation: "Unable to reach deep into their character and their life experiences for the strength and knowledge to lead, pretenders rely on a variety of false personas or masks to make up for their deficiencies. They use artifice to compensate for the lack of a well-developed core. [George characterizes it as one's "true north."] Their masks and their acting skills can cover up their flaws for a while, but they are eventually exposed. Whether they work in the executive suite or the mailroom, they eventually fail."
That is certainly not true of the exemplars upon which Baum focuses most of his attention. However significantly different they may be in several respects, all share "a common pattern of [shaping] life experiences" that have guided and informed, indeed nourished their development as effective leaders. Baum's analysis of the causes, effects, and significance of many of those experiences is of uneven quality. He seems to have selected more than he is willing and/or able to discuss with sufficient precision.
March 26, 2008
An easy to read book about leadership. Tells how CEOs (like Jack Welch) gained their leadership skills (and you can too!) through shaping experiences throughout their life. The author uses little or no business jargon and approaches the subject from the opposite method used by most self-help gurus (actually claims not everyone can be the head of a company! how refreshing!)
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews