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Summary: Wanna be a good manager? read the book & learn from the best
Review: I believe that business is an art and not a science and simply reading a book won't do it. Some of the readers say that he doesn't give anything surprisingly new. All the advice he gives is logical to everyone. I think this is a good example of how these "logical" qualities or factors are actually used or implemented to turn a company upside down and make a business one of the most successful businesses in the world. There are interesting stories in the book that show that. Some would say that his ideas weren't original, but dont you think that there are a few who were able to combine and use these ideas successfully. If you want to be the best, learn from the best. I do not believe that luck by itself could've resulted in a success such as Jack's. I would recommend that you read this simple book, try to imitate, hope for some luck, then wait and see. Who knows, may be you are the next Jack Welch!!
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Summary: Self Centered, but that's OK!
Review: While Jack seems to focus so much on himself, what else does an autobiography cover? And when you consider what GE did during his tenure as CEO, it only seems appropriate to listen to what HE was thinking about during that time frame. Not your normal business tome filled with management theory-just a well written perspective on a Ph.D. who became Press Enemy Number 2 (Neutron Jack) and has become the Most Admired CEO in the modern era. Get it and read it!
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Summary: Oh boy, another arrogant CEO writes a book,
Review: Anyone who has met this guy and then read this book could quickly see through the superman image. Give any number of good managers the position he had with enough great talent sucking up to you, and sure, many people could get results. Similar results, maybe not, because the guy is clearly talented, but, come on, is he really the stuff we should be putting on a pedestal. I don't think there is really anything new or surprising in this book. Save your time and money-- simply read the reviews.
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Summary: The One-Second Manager
Review: I've read this book and am bewildered why it has the status it does. But I've also wondered the same thing about Mr. Welch for some time as well, so I should've known what I was in for when I picked it up. The writing seems a bit self-serving, the name-dropping is irritating, and there seems to be a bit missing from his early biography. However, there are some engaging elements. But it's the larger picture that kept me baffled - and remains unresolved after reading this book. How has Welch come to hold the near-mythical status that he has in the corporate world? He took one of the nation's leading companies (in terms of innovative new products), gutted the research and development budget, and is proclaimed a hero. GE is now a company that buys companies that make things, rather than developing new things to make. On Wall Street, this and frequent downsizing (the surest way to bring a stock's price up) makes you a hero. But how clever do you have to be to drive a prosperous research enterprise into the ground?
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Summary: Jack Welch
Review: This is a good book, but falls well short of the hype and the massive public image of Jack Welch. It's a little dry and Welch comes across as a little sanctimonious, somewhat along the lines of Mark McCormack. However, he was clearly a major figure in American and world business, had a clear vision and strategy, and was evidently a masterful manager. So his book is well worth reading.
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Summary: Believe in your self!
Review: The best thing that you would know after reading this book is to believe in your self and to do things in "your way".You would also realise how important it is to know Golf in the corporate world.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed, but...
Review: If you've never read a business book, "Jack: Straight from the Gut" is fine. However, there is a point in which these business books all sound the same. It is warm, yet hearty look inside the life of Jack Welch, businesman par excellance. He's got the credentials, he's got the charisma, and he's got GE has his tour de force victory. He's done the impossible, and now tells us how. Lacking from "Jack: Straight from the Gut," I'm sad to say, is reality. Real business is not as simple and anecdotal as John Byrne describes. Instead, I felt as if Byrne was relaying the same ideas found in every other book: be confident, work hard, and play your cards smartly. Bad advice? On the contrary... great advice. Genuine confidence is the key cavity in most of the business world. Welch has that confidence and the goods to back it up. However, getting the reader to that point is more than telling stories. Buy "Jack: Straight from the Gut," and use it to renew your passion for professional strength. But do not consider it the tome of business acumen. I recommend "Jack: Straight from the Gut." Anthony Trendl
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Summary: Offers a great deal to think about along with his biography
Review: Jack Welch is a lightening rod for criticism and praise. For some he can do no good and for others he can do no wrong. Of course, he is just human being. Yes, he has done some extraordinary things and found a perfect environment to exploit his great strengths. However, the myths that have grown up around him, I believe, have done him more harm than good. Leaders have to embody a vision that others can follow. This requires their strengths to be exaggerated and their weaknesses to be airbrushed out. Otherwise the simple complexities and contradictions of being a mere mortal would impair the ability to lead. The very great leaders always include some foibles in their persona in order to appear human without revealing too much of the actual person. This book, I believe, does reveal more of the real Jack Welch than we as the public could really expect to know. In that way it is very generous. Of course, this isn't Proust, so the personal analysis only goes so far. For all I know, Welch may not be capable of deep introspection. Few people are. What he does give us here is very important if you are interested in business in any way. Forests have been felled writing about the initiatives undertaken at GE like "Forced Ranking" and "Leadership Training". It is wonderful to read about how and WHY those concepts were developed and in what cultural context they are used. It is easy to use a term like "Forced Ranking", use it destructively and then blame the concept. Here Mr. Welch tells us how "Forced Ranking" is used in a culture of continuous and bluntly honest appraisals along with opportunities for improvement and growth. He also explains why he thinks moving people out of an organization sooner rather than later is better for their career. I happen to agree with him on this, but it is up to the reader to decide. What is useful is to the context in which the term was developed and used. I also found it very interesting that the company has realized the gaming that can be done with the "#1 or #2 - Fix, Sell, or Close" strategy and found a way to revitalize itself by defining its businesses as only having a 10 to 15 percent market share. This ability to find ways to get the company to see itself anew is one of the great strengths Mr. Welch brought to his job as CEO. It challenged the company to strive and compete instead of basking in the glow of its long success. Yes, change can be uncomfortable. We have all had times where we would rather have continued along the path we were on rather than wrenching ourselves in new directions. But Mr. Welch is simply telling an important truth about life, not just about GE. The book is an easy and fast read, but offers a lot of food for thought. There are many humorous and self-deprecating anecdotes. But Mr. Welch's fierce competitive spirit shines through. For example, on page 207 Mr. Welch writes, "They knew I didn't hold any hard feelings if my ideas got tossed in the basket." The editor writes in a note: "The hell you didn't!" But doesn't it say something about Mr. Welch's sense of humor that the note made it into publication? Whether you end up agreeing with him or not, there is a lot to take away from this book and a great many issues to think over. The book is deceptively simple. There is a lot of depth to what is so easily described in its pages. I recommend it highly.
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Summary: Most boring book ever read
Review: Jack's book is almost a sin. He explain nothing about business. What I got out of this book is that Jack Welch was the luckiest men on earth. Also he did exactly the opposite of what he was preaching. He past his entire career promoting friend from and out of GE Plastic. He was flying helicoptere instead a 1 hrs drive. He bought company that failed because he refused to listen to his team. To be Brief the book is Jack Little Thing and was a waste of time. In my opinion this is the fall of an Icon.
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Summary: Honesty is Jacks Policy
Review: This book is straight forward 100% results oriented! A full on narrative SWOT of GE and business leadership. Very educational and entertaining.
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