Rating: 
Summary: Insightful but somewhat conflicting
Review: As my 4 stars indicate, this is a worthwhile book to read. But something about Jack's philosophy of management has really struck me as being contrary. How can the management NOT manage through intimidation and fear when the CEO REQUIRES them to cut 10% of their staff EVERY year?Everyone who has ever been involved with corporate politics know that such conflicting objective is highly unlikely if not impossible to obtain. Wouldn't YOU fear the management and feel initmidated when you KNOW the mangement must cut or replace 10% of their staff every year? Such style of management is using intimidation and fear to bring out the results from people, pure and simple. For Jack Welch to deny this is being disingenuous and or he is "kidding himself" (which is something he preaches one should never do).
Rating: 
Summary: A "classic" which may not be "current"
Review: Jack Welch is an astounding leader, and his book reveals his style with punch and clarity. Many have written of how important this book is for CEOs and upandcomers to read. However, as a female CEO, I was disappointed. He did not reference a female professional he respected until a third into the book. Women in leadership roles are "necessary projects" for him, not something he would support of his own initiative. He glossed over the role his wife of 28 years played in allowing him to succeed. Overall, Jack is still worth reading, but I would hope that current managers do not emulate him entirely. If so, we'll move back to the era of the good ole boys playing golf all the time.
Rating: 
Summary: Jack or jerk; there's no question
Review: I received two (yes two) copies of this Jack Welch book for Christmas. Unfortunately I had already read "At Any Cost" the story of GE under Jack W's rein. One only needs to read the first 50 pages of "At Any Cost" to realize what Welch is or was. The next 300 pages merely substantiates ones inital conclusion. CEO of the century? Get real; Jack was and is a jerk!!!. Unfortunately I cannot return the copy of "Straight from the Rut" remaining. I have no intention of reading what Jack thinks of himself but for those of you insisting on Jack's version, read "At Any Cost" before heralding what Jack claims. I will hand it to Jack. He's the greatest fiction writer of all time. Why isn't zero stars available as a review score?
Rating: 
Summary: To bad it is from the GUT and not from the brain
Review: This is a 380+ page book that should have been 250. The first half is better than the last half. Jack says that there are A,B and C people - the A's being the top 20%. Jack's book gets a solid B.
Rating:
Summary: All the Jack you can handle
Review: Jack Welch is a visionary. He is the epitomy of someone who did it his way, and this book very clearly lays out how his career took off and how he bucked the system and ended up in charge of it. Although this book is a bit self-agrandizing, I did learn a lot of leadership lessons none the less. Thanks to Jack Welch for putting his story out there and doing more than just listing his accomplishments, which are many. Welch challenges anyone in management or leadership to focus on people's strengths, and not what they are weak at. This is a concept that not many companies get. Welch did get it, and GE went farther than it ever went before under his leadership. A good read, but be prepared for all the Jack you can handle.
Rating:
Summary: You don't need to be smart to be a CEO
Review: What strikes you first when you start reading this book - Jack Welch is definitely not dumb, but he is not smart either. He's IQ should somewhere between 90-100 but as his story shows you don't need to smart to be the most admired CEO in the US. Actually what you really need for success: (1) Single-mindedness and total concentration on one goal. Devote all your time and all your efforts on reaching this goal. Just don't analyze it, don't think it over and as a result - never hesitate. It's surprising how many people miss one thing - Welch's idea "be No.1 or No.2 or ..." is flawed! Later he admits himself that managers could narrow the market and become No.1. And this is not just "hmm, thanks for telling me this" - it's a fundamental methodological mistake. It simply means that the whole idea was not really thought over and was never analyzed. But thousands of people who didn't like it were fired from GE. (2) Create corporate culture. As Jack shows this actually means - meet as many people as you can and if you find someone who is like you (passionate, loud, confident, concentrated, ruthless and aggressive) make him your VP immediately (and fire the "non-culure" guy who occupied it). Then - and this is the most important thing! - give him impossible goals and if he doesn't deliver - fire him too. This way very soon you have your top management who look like your clones and your middle management tries hard to mimic. And it's a surprise how many people missed it - Welch's list of GE values is flawed. They are not values - they are personal traits of character, description of certain individuality, self-portrait of Jack himself. (3) Never have any emotional attachments to anyone - business and nothing but business. Welch describes all his so called "friends" only from the business and effectiveness point of view. The only person he feels emotional about is his mother. His words "I loved my dad" feel like an excuse. Again surprising why people missed - he ruined his family not because he was working too hard - he had all week-ends for himself (even long week-ends!) and he spent them playing golf instead of playing with kids. It comes to him as a surprise that golfing is not a good idea when you invite your girlfriend for a romantic weekend. Please, pay attention - Welch never reads books, Welch had only two weeks of business training in marketing, Welch likes to teach but hates to be taught, Welch prefers learning by trial and not by analysis. And then - read this book again if you don't agree - Welch lacks strategic thinking. With his one "strategic" in head he just makes a lot of selling and buying everything that he has a gut for. Anyway, you don't need to be smart to be a CEO.
Rating:
Summary: Great read but nothing new
Review: I actually got a little depressed by reading this book. Great advice - work hard, be yourself, and enjoy what you are doing. I know a lot of people that works hard and try to be themselves but most do not get ahead. There are some good messages for leaders or executives. I find especially interesting on the various initiatives and how to make them work or stick.
Rating: 
Summary: Hooked on the Preview
Review: As a young business student who has started two of his own companies, I was interested to read to read Jack Welch's bio after hearing a lot of buzz about it. I must say that the preview pages here at Amazon got me hooked on it right away (and his great writing and compelling narrative didn't hurt either!)
Rating:
Summary: A personal look at a brilliant business strategist.
Review: I am a former employee of GE I will verify that while I was with GE I loved every single management direction Jack Welch gave, and this book accurately depicts the culture he strove to create. Unfortunately, a few small steps down the ladder, it was not the same corporation he aspired to create. First about the book though. It is well written, flows quickly and easily, and is enjoyable to read. That being said, it always came up just a bit short of my expectations. Getting some insight into Jack's worldview, childhood, career ascent, and personal interactions was fascinating. However, every chapter is packed with information that could be expanded into a book itself. For example, when he would discuss a business decision the narrative gave the impression he just had an "epiphany of common sense" and made it happen. Jack states consistently, and it was true in my experience, that he was very detailed and analyzed data passionately. The book leaves out most of this "meat" and the data behind his decisions and therefore reads too simplistically. I was saddened to read about his family, or rather to be more blunt, not to read more about his family. He devotes all of about a page to his divorce to his wife. As another reviewer commented, maybe Jack was just practicing his own version of getting rid of the bottom 10% of his family. In any event it is clear that while his own family of origin was very important to him, it is not clear he aspired to spend the same amount of time with his own family. Sad, but a reality of the level of position he held and how he prioritized his time. This to me was always his glaring defect of character, because what he did on the job was amazing. His business ideas are brilliant, so brilliant that they seem like common sense until one realizes that they were new at the time. While truly a business "Darwinist", his views on people created the type of organization that inspired people to put their all into their work. It wasn't until I spent some time at other Companies that I realized how rare that is. .... Unfortunately, most people in leadership at GE at my level had his books, his tapes, and his shareholder slides, but did not have his wisdom, his passion, or his courage. The ideas he put into practice were brilliant in the hands of those who knew how to use them, and dangerous and dysfunctional to those who didn't. Overall the book is a worthwhile read. I highly recommend it. I would also recommend some of his other books which go into more depth about the management theories he inspired and developed. While one may argue about the lack of work and family balance he creates, his leadership is legendary, and his results were unmatched. I was proud to work for him and be a part of what he created. I have taken his ideas with me to other companies and use them today.
Rating:
Summary: Lots of fluff, little substance
Review: Your enjoyment of this book depends on your expectations going in. If you want a very "lite" read at the beach, then this book is for you. I was expecting either an in-depth look at the decision making processes that went into growing GE (a la a business school case study) or a look into the man who helped build the company (an autobiography). I was left with neither. What you will get is a glossed-over recount of "who did what in the oscilating widget department" with names of people I've never heard of and don't care about. I would have loved to have been lead through a critical self-analysis of Welch's thoughts throughout his career. If an autobiography of sorts, I would have liked to hear how he balanced his career with his personal life? My conclusion: he didn't. He focussed on the former to the detriment of the latter. But he didn't spend ANY time developing these thoughts. If a business study, how did he come to decide what he did? I couldn't tell because it wasn't there. My mind was not stimulated in reading this "magazine level" trifle.
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