Chapter 4

Ideal Managers and Excellent Companies

Ideal Managers

Chapters 2 and 3 have indicated numerous criteria that can be used to assess good managers. This section of chapter 4 analyzes two examples of universally recognized good managers and, subsequently, proposes a new method of rating such managers over a long-term period of their careers.

For several years the press has been publishing lists and rankings of best managers. The Financial Times’ listing of respected managers is one of the best known; it is based on surveys of a large number of executives in all kinds of companies around the world.

For a long time, Jack Welch of General Electric (GE) was selected as being the number one manager in the world. This choice was invariably ...

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