Rating: 
Summary: Part textbook part biography
Review: Inspiring and informative book filled with amazing anecdotes and stories covering 40 years. Despite management theories coming an going over the years, "Straight from the Gut" provides insights and advice that transcends time and gets back to the basics .. treating people with respect, creativity, passion, rewarding talent and being a leader that leads by example. Despite Welsh's reputation as a tough guy with a quick temper the message is still refreshing and energizing. If GE could turn a huge bureaucracy into the feel of a start up then there is hope for every organization out there. My only criticism is that not enough pages were given to diversity or to the value of international assignments. It is clear that Welsh is in favor of these but the pictures in the book all seemed like the stereotypical NE County Club board meetings to me. Early in the book, Welsh admits he forget his French and German the day he sat the test .. I wonder if he regretted that in Europe in 2001 ? A recent magazine article also mentioned how his successor Immelt has never had an international assignment.
Rating: 
Summary: Jack should have reflected more
Review: I think that this book is too full of Mr. Jack Welch himself - despite a disclaimer in the foreword regarding his use of the "I" word. I think that had he written this book another year from now, the latter half of the book would have had much more meaning. Many of his statements are simply full of himself. Every one else is wrong and Jack and GE are holy cows who never did anything other than be good business leaders. There are several instances where the book simply insults the intelligence of the reader. On the positive side, there are a few good nuggets to pick up and keep in mind when one wants to be a leader of renown. IMHO, the most important contribution of Jack and GE is to have consistently made their shareholders rich and that, too, in businesses which touch our daily lives - from light bulbs to financing. Their business is not vaporware software that crashes every time you get a new version and yet you have to pay for it! Overall worth a one time read - provided you can get this book for free from your library -:)
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Summary: The story of a man and a leader
Review: For those readers looking for an insight into Jack Welch's theory on management of large enterprises, this book will be interrupted by the history of his personal relationships with his family, friends, and associates. For those readers looking for an account of Jack Welchs's life, this book will be interrupted by his business philosophy and management practices. But to the true scholar, this book will demonstrate how Jack Welch's view of business and management was only about one thing - interactions with people. And they will also see that Jack Welch's life was eternally intertwined with his professional career. Only in taking the reader through both can Jack Welch truly demonstrate who he is as a man and as a leader. This book is not one of the thousands of How To books on Management that come and go with each passing craze. Rather, it is the story of a man who believed in himself and in the abilities of others to create something unlike anything created before. While many of the paradigms have changed (a one company career for example), this book will continue to be a classic. I would encourage all managers to buy this book for their best and brightest subordinates to help motivate them to become even more than they currently are. I would encourage all people with managers to have their manager buy and read this book so that they are not buried in the bureaucracy. At worst, this book traces the history of a great leader escaping and defeating the anchor of bureaucracy. At best, it is the inspiration to become that leader.
Rating: 
Summary: Good
Review: This was interesting. I was interested how he enabled a big company like GE to grow year after year, and his methods were worth reading. I have to say that the methods he used for the company to grow and stay flexible are methods I've read in a number of other management books. So I didn't really read anything NEW. But it was worth reading to see those methods tested and see them pass the test. Welch doesn't have much subtlety in his personality, nor does he seem to be introspective at all. That makes much of this book seem like a long sequence of big bland bromides. Not much RESONATES in this book. But men of action often are not deep thinkers. That's what makes them men of action. If you liked this book, I would also recommend Richard Branson's LOSING MY VIRGINITY and David Mahoney's CONFESSIONS OF A STREET-SMART MANAGER.
Rating: 
Summary: Windy
Review: There's something a tad creepy about Jack Welch. Behind the tight smile is a man who, admittedly, is "full of himself." That's his blessing and curse. If you believe that building business empires is the sole aim of life, and it's worth sacrificing a marriage for, Welch is probably worth this saintliness being bestowed on him. But if you believe there is more to our existence than work and golf, this book is not for you. There's some business wisdom in the book, but one must slog through a lot to get it. Welch reminds me very much of the Frederic March character in The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (based on Sloan Wilson's novel). Yes, he built a great business, but realized too late that he had lost much more than he had gained. This was a common profile in the post World War II American economy. Welch fits it to a T (or a W). And while his devotion to his mother's memory and teachings is touching, Freud would have had a field day with this book. The book is not horrible by any means. But I could have done without the golf stuff. There are about half a dozen photos of Jack golfing in one place or another (including with that great American, Bill Clinton). It all comes off like a twenty-year-old's showing off (he has reproduced a score card from a golf round with Greg Norman!) than the reflections of a mature business leader. There's a touch of this throughout, such as when he divorces wife #1, and suddenly observes: "Being single and having money was like standing six feet four with a full head of hair." As Chris Farley might have said when he played the motivational speaker: "Well Lah-De-Freakin'-Dah!" I can see a whole new generation of baby MBA's lugging this book around like the Bible. If you are one, my message before you buy this book: Try the Bible instead, especially the book of Ecclesiastes. There, the Jack Welch-like king who built up all this wealth and honor for himself found, at the end of his life, that it was all meaningless, a "chasing after the wind." Windy is a good word to describe this book. In fairness, Welch's co-writer (John A. Byrne), who was responsible for the prose, does a good job. The book is quite readable. But they gave Welch what, $8 million for this? I'd rather read the reflections of a successful elementary school teacher in the inner city, or two average people who value their marriage over their career plans, or a good philosopher. Not worth $30 bucks, or even $15 with various discounts.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Management Book
Review: Arguably, Jack was the best manager of the 20th Century (Time Magazine gave him this title, although in my humble opinion Alfred P. Sloan of GM was even more important and Thomas J. Watson Jr. of IBM is also a strong competitor). Now his book gives us insights into what made GE so successful. It seems that many of the things mentioned have been tried at other companies never producing the outstanding results seen at GE. What is the main difference? Probably it is the passion that Jack and his team have imbued at GE. They really put their money and time where their mouth is. For example, of all the other companies that have "implemented" Six Sigma (yes, Ford Motor, I was thinking of you) none has come even near to the time, money and people GE has invested, and thus, to GE results. GE means business, most of the other companies are just riding the latest bandwagon... often without commitment from top management. Jack's book is not an elegant, clearly presented business case. It is much better than that: it is real people, in real places, producing real products and, arguably, creating the most successful giant corporation in the world today. I would recommend this book to any manager in any corporation.
Rating:
Summary: Worthwhile Read
Review: Before I read this book, the primary source of my knowledge about Jack Welch was reading his annual letters to shareholders of GE. And, of course, the countless newspapers articles about Mr. Welch, detailing his Six Sigma program and how he turned GE from a bloated corporation to a lean efficient operation in which employees are empowered to make changes that make a difference. Like many people, I have given thought to whether the principles Welch developed for GE could apply to my business, particularly his mantra that he only wants to be in an industry in which he has tremendous market power. So I bought the book and gave it a read. I found the book to be a very quick and easy book to read. My biggest question is whether the book accurately captures Mr. Welch's personality. I never met the man and had a general impression that he was one tough guy, primarily due to his "neutron jack" reputation when he fired thousands of GE employees. However, much to my surprise, Mr. Welch apparently does not take himself too seriously and the entire book is written in a self-effacing style with much humor. One of the reasons the book is so interesting and compelling is that Mr. Welch mixes chapters focussing on his business acumen with passages on the importance of friendship and things like golf. I also was interested to learn that Mr. Welch can admit his mistakes. I found his discussion of GE's purchase of Kidder Peabody fascinating because it stressed the importance of truly understanding corporate cultures (and how to blend them)if a merger will ever have a chance to succeed. Similarly, the chapter on GE's failed purchase of Honeywell was also very interesting. Of course, the book details many of Mr. Welch's successes, from his efforts to become CEO of GE as a young man to his purchase of RCA. Most of these efforts result from the no-nonsense, straight-from-the-gut candid management style that Mr. Welch steadily adhered to while transforming GE into one of the most disciplined profitable corporations in the world. If you like to read business management books written by successful corporate leaders, this is a can't miss.
Rating: 
Summary: BORING
Review: No insights here that have not been reported a million times before. Save your money!!!
Rating:
Summary: street smart CEO
Review: I love Jack Welch's book.It has lots of actionable ideas for those in small business,as well as those in corporate america.This is not a puff piece book. It is straight talk.A very worthwhile read for those who want to improve their business performance.
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Summary: Why read it now?
Review: To be very obvious, just read the review by Donald Wayne Mitchell. If you do that, then you might as well save your money, because he summed up just about every detail in the book. The only things he really left out are the names of each and every person he came up with (or against) that Jack details in his book. As an student/employee of GE, Jack's reign is easily visible, and an inspiration to a countless number of employees in the Company that are confident that they were lead in the right direction.
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