Get Better or Get Beaten

Rating:
Summary: Very good !
Review: I picked up this book in a bookstore and I did not know what to expect. I was amazed at the wisdom that this man posses when I began to read this book. He is very straightforward and very cool. All the principles are appliable to any kind of business I think. One of the best business books I ever seen, and its based on a man who practice what he preaches. BUY IT !!!

Rating:
Summary: More of the Same from Robert Slater
Review: I previously read "Jack Welch and the GE Way", also by Slater and published in 1999, but I never read the original version of "Get Better or Get Beaten". This newer version of "Get Better..." contained a substantial amount of material that was already covered in more detail in "the GE Way" book. Except for some of the material covering events since 1999, I think "the GE Way" was a better choice of the two, especially if you're looking for more detail and analysis. In many ways I felt like I was just re-reading the other book. On the other hand, if you're looking for sort of the 'Cliff Notes' version and want some good insight into Six Sigma, this newer, smaller work by Slater is certainly satisfactory. There's only marginal benefit to reading both of these.

Rating:
Summary: More of the Same from Robert Slater
Review: I previously read "Jack Welch and the GE Way", also by Slater and published in 1999, but I never read the original version of "Get Better or Get Beaten". This newer version of "Get Better..." contained a substantial amount of material that was already covered in more detail in "the GE Way" book. Except for some of the material covering events since 1999, I think "the GE Way" was a better choice of the two, especially if you're looking for more detail and analysis. In many ways I felt like I was just re-reading the other book. On the other hand, if you're looking for sort of the 'Cliff Notes' version and want some good insight into Six Sigma, this newer, smaller work by Slater is certainly satisfactory. There's only marginal benefit to reading both of these.

Rating:
Summary: Your Choice and Welch Can Help You Make It
Review: Jack Welch would be the first to point out that none of the 29 Leadership Secrets to which the subtitle refers is really a secret. In fact, most of the material in this book has been recycled or updated from previous publications, notably from Slater's excellent Jack Welch and the GE Way and The GE Way Fieldbook, both of which I also highly recommend. Slater is an excellent judge of material and writes very well. After more than 25 years as a successful journalist, he has developed a keen sense of what key business issues are, and, how Welch's comments on those issues can be most effectively shared with the reader. Two factors set this book apart from most other business books which also share "secrets." First and obviously, Welch's well-deserved reputation as a great leader. Also, the business context in which Slater anchors each of the 29 key points. With brevity and precision, Slater addresses questions such as these:

• How to "harness the power of change"?

• What does "Face Reality!" mean? Also, what does it require?

• What is the best process for evaluating your organization with a "fresh eye"?

• What are the major perils as well as benefits of Six Sigma initiatives?

• What are some of the most effective e-business strategies?

• How can e-business "put the final nail in bureaucracy"?

Thanks to Slater, as I read the book I felt as if Welch himself were making a series of assertions directly to me. In response to each I am inclined to ask, "Exactly what does he mean by that?" An explanation then follows, based on the wealth of information about Welch which Slater and others have accumulated over the years. Slater also includes a series of lists of "Welch Rules" and then, in an Appendix, a list of "GE Values"...the same list which (reproduced on a laminated card) is carried by each GE employee.

Welch himself has been and continues to be an avid student of business. Time and again, he has gratefully acknowledged what he has learned, not only from other great business leaders but also from his associates at GE...especially from younger GE executives who share his contempt for what Jim O'Toole has characterized (in Leading Change) as "the ideology of comfort and the tyranny of custom."

If you share my great admiration of Jack Welch and also wish you could spend some time with him one-on-one, here's probably your best opportunity to do so. For me, the experience was as much a pleasure as it was a privilege.

Rating:
Summary: Get Better or Get Beaten!
Review: Robert Slater puts together a factual and wonderfully insightfull collection of Jack Welch's Leadership Secrets. A must read for anyone who wants to be an effective leader.

Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommended!
Review: The best thing about this book is that it quotes extensively and piquantly from the writings and speeches of Jack Welch. The intriguing list of "29 leadership secrets" (which could have been reduced to ten) is more selective than secret, given that Welch has been preaching them loudly from a very prominent platform for more than 20 years. However, the book will be valuable to Welch neophytes and to fans who want more Jack, or the essence of Jack. Author Robert Slater assumes a certain familiarity with GE's history and initiatives, and sometimes refers to them without explanation. Welch long ago transcended management to become sort of a leadership prophet, and his utterances are sometimes paradoxical, if not contradictory. He says nurture people, but downsize; he says cut bureaucracy, but implement a paperwork intensive Six Sigma program. We promise that somewhere in here, you'll find a managerial principle to fit almost any occasion. What more can you ask of a handbook?

Rating:
Summary: Get Better, And Then Get Even Better
Review: This is one of the few best books on leadership I have read in a long, long time. The others, which compliment this book are Jack Welch's book, "Jack", and Norman Thomas Remick's book on the philosophy behind all the good advice from Mr. Slater and Mr. Welch called "West Point". Read "Get Better" to get better, then read the others to get even better yet. And what's nice about it, they're all available right here on Amazon.com.

Rating:
Summary: Simple, strategic and to the point
Review: This is the first book about GE's Jack Welch I ever read. I bought it because the title is so far the most attractive amongst its keens. "Get Better or Get Beaten" is certainly the norm in today's competitive world. Remarkably, the content is of the same quality as its title. It is so well written that I finished it in 1.5 day.

In fact, the core concepts or the secrets are nothing new. Quality and Re-engineering gurus like Peter Drucker, Philip Crosby, Tom Peters etc had stressed the importance of quality, customer orientation, corporate culture, employee involvement blah blah blah for decades. It's just that Jack Welch had been so successful a real life practitioner and advocate that nobody can neglect. Think about the 6 sigma phenomenon and you know what I mean.

In case you just want to know the secrets without the elaboration, or that you cannot afford one, go to the table of content (Thanks to Amazon) and have a look. All the secrets are already there. (Sorry, Mr. Slater). However, I still think it is a good collectible for your personal library.

p.s. I had worked in an acquired subsidiary of a Fortune 20 company. I am sorry that what happened there was far from what Mr. Welch preached. The result is: The leader five years ago (when it was acquired) is now the fifth in the market.

Rating:
Summary: Simple, strategic and to the point
Review: This is the first GE's Jack Welch book I ever read. I bought it because the title is so far the best amongst its keens, "Get Better or Get Beaten", which is a norm in today's competitive world. Remarkably, the content is of the same quality as its title. It is so well written that I finished it in 1.5 day.

In fact, the core concepts or the secrets are nothing new. Quality and Re-engineering gurus like Peter Drucker, Philip Crosby, Tom Peters etc had stressed the importance of quality, customer orientation, corporate culture, employee involvement blah blah blah for decades. It's just that Jack Welch has been so successful a real life practitioner and advocate that nobody can neglect. Think about the 6 sigma phenomenon and you know what I mean.

In case you just want to know the secrets without the elaboration, or that you cannot afford one, go to the table of content (Thanks to Amazon) and have a look. All the secrets are already there. (Sorry, Mr. Slater). However, I still think it is a good collectible for your personal library.

p.s. I had worked in an acquired subsidiary of a Fortune 20 company. I am sorry that what happened there was far from what Mr. Welch preached. The result is: The leader five years ago (when it was acquired) is now the fifth in the market.