Everybody
knows Jack Welch, the man who set the bench mark in the corporate and the management
world. The person who turned GE into the biggest and one of the most admired companies
in the world …. what were his ways, beliefs and thought process. What made
him the success . How he became THE GOLD STANDARDS against which the other CEOs
were measured. No matter in what ever fields we are whether management, technical,
IT, Sales, Production, admin….. in fact whether professional or personal
his ideas, views , principles are still valid and applicable
Keep changing- facing reality
His biggest belief was change is unavoidable , natural and necessary. The environment
is dynamic – New competitors, new technology , new products, new fashions,
new fads…... Standing still might be the safest but then ships will only
stay in harbours.
Everyone has to examine his agenda every day. You have
to face the realty each morning. Some strategy , decision taken 24 hours ago might
not be valid owing to the latest development today so do not be afraid to confront
the reality
Re-examine your agenda
every day…
According
to Jack the business is all about determining and facing the reality everyday
about the situation, products and people… and then acting decisively based
on the reality.
Stop
managing , start leading
Old
management functions of monitoring, control and supervise have lead to new functions
which a manager is expected to do; managers in current times need to inspire,
motivate and instill self confidence in employees so they the employees do things
which are considered impossible.
According to Jack, “ By reaching
for the seemingly impossible, you often do the impossible.
The
successful leaders energize, excite and control people. They are great team players.
A Team having an above average employee who is a good team player will any day
perform better than the same team having brilliant employees but not a good team
player.
Follow
up -be consistent
The
only way to make people believe you and follow you is to keep repeating your message
consistently , keep hammering it till it is driven into the person’s mind.
Be number 1 and number 2 in your field otherwise you will get wiped off.
This applies to organization, products , brands and people. It applies both in
the personal and the professional world. But being no. 1 and no. 2; do not define
your market so narrowly. You can’t be no. 1 or no 2 of your block, colony,
company, college ..etc.. and get people’s respect.
Other good principals
of Jack was be ready to take the quantum leaps; do not believe in incremental
growth. Plus or minus 5 % is not sustainable. Talk in quantum numbers . Dream
big, reach for the stars and you will at least end up grabbing a bit of the sky.
Stretch yourself
There
is no fun in growing by decimal points. You should believe in the infinite capacity
to challenge and achieve. The motivation to stretch does not come from outside
it is internal; it is in your attitude. It is the state of the mind. For this
you need to think out of the box.. You need to be more imaginative, creative and
more thoughtful in what you are doing.
Another non traditional approach
of Jack was not to focus on numbers but focus on values. Numbers are the outcome
, the product of visions. According to him the values like customer satisfaction,
employee satisfaction etc will automatically bring the numbers. These numbers
could be topline, botttomline, market share …
Have a learning
culture
Never
stop learning and never believe that you , your people know the best. Be open
to ideas your way may not be the best way. There is no shame in copying the best
practice from others including your friends, rivals, competitors……,
across industries, products, regions , functions, levels and regions….
The famous six sigma quality initiative of Jack Welch was copied from Motorola
but it has reaped huge benefits to GE. Share your best practice and in return
learn about the others best practice.
Make
a boundaryless organization
It
is in line with saying that the world is flat . There should not be any barriers.
Everything is inter related. So you need to be informal, quick, the essence is
speed, the world is becoming extremely competitive. There is no time for bureaucracy,
formalities, traditions. The opportunity will pass and somebody else quicker will
walk away with the prize. So there should be no boundary or barrier between the
employees , subordinates, customers, between functions , between management layers,
levels, industries……
Simplicity is another of his mantra
.
According to Jack
simple message travels faster, better understood and breaks the clutter and confusion
which leads to faster decision making and you gain speed. To do this you need
to have the self confidence. Self confident people are open to ideas, take initiatives,
and take calculated risks.
Speed,
simplicity and self confidence are the key to success.
Service
is the future-
The
economy is moving towards service. Jack recognized it almost a decade ago before
it became a trend. Manufacturing has moved to the low cost industry . It is a
service which is the engine of growth . It holds true in India where it is service
where all action is. They are the largest employers showing double digit growth
. From IT to telecom to financial services to outsourcing it is all about service.
If you need to grow and grow really fast join the service industry.