Organization 21C: Someday All Organizations Will Lead This Way

Jack Welch: Master of Power

To begin the process of predicting what will change in the organizational use of power and influence in the next century, let us look at a leader who was named manager of the 20th century,^[5] someone who was able not only to get great results from a giant company, but be articulate about leadership and leave a (mostly) visible track record from which we can learn. Jack Welch transformed General Electric, already considered a well-run company when he took over in 1981 but a rather sluggish agglomeration of hundreds of businesses, growing very slowly. His predecessor, Reginald Jones, was a respected captain of industry, playing often on the national stage of business leaders. Welch had been a dark horse candidate, only ...