Winning by Jack Welch and Suzy Welch (Harper Collins 2005)

Jack Welch's first book, "Jack: Straight from the Gut" was written soon after his retirement and was largely an apologia for his tenure as CEO of GE. This book emerges from his subsequent experience as a global keynote speaker addressing audiences which are said to have exceeded 250,000 people. It is a distillation of the key questions raised by members of his audiences and of the considered replies which he drew from his accumulated experience. "Winning" is a very different book from "Jack: Straight from the Gut" - "I" evolves into "we", as Jack Welch mutates into a philosopher of business rather than an active practitioner.

The book is addressed not only to budding or practising top managers but focusses on many of the issues which shape the career of individuals wanting to succeed in business. Winning is the core theme of the book, but it not only explores techniques for winning in business but it also analyses the role of personal relationships and values in developing leadership skills to motivate individuals and teams to win. Jack Welch treads a balanced path between much that may seem obvious and sudden insights which illuminate the obvious in new and compelling ways. Jack revisits budgets and turns them into operating plans which allow space for innovation. Much of the tone of "Winning" echoes that of a good golfing coach, which makes the book accessible. Each section has a series of "rules" which offer guidance in dealing with the issues involved. These have been distilled and tested by Jack over the years and reflect some of the earthy wisdom of Warren Buffet, the "Sage of Omaha". Fortunately

Jack Welch is rarely dogmatic, and his assessment of Six Sigma belies the impression that it was obligatory within GE.

In dealing with strictly business issues the book is sure footed, if not always innovative. It is in dealing with people issues that Jack Welch is most interesting; it seems that the main burden of the questions he had on his tours was in this area and he digs deep into his experience to find practical answers. His biggest challenge is in dealing with "work/life balance", which seems to counter the business concept of "winning". This section of the book reflects the learning imposed on Jack Welch towards the end of his career, and his realisation that allowing team members to win in their own lives builds greater strength for the team to win for the company.

It is often difficult in reading this book to reconcile the image of Jack Welch, which emerges in his divorce proceedings and subsequent reduction in his final GE settlement, with the practical modesty which infuses the answers given to the questions raised by his listeners. "Winning" is not a reflection of the power exercised by Jack Welch as a CEO, but is a coaching manual for would-be CEOs which accentuates the positive and airbrushes the negative in his record (which is not, in any case, the focus of the book).

One of the interesting sections of the book deals with strategy. Jack Welch sees strategy as - "You pick a general direction and implement like hell". The success of GE is testimony to the efficacy of this formula, but it is underpinned by a set of five slides (page 173) which guide a rigorous analysis of the market and its players. This facilitates the focus on being No1 or No2 in each market or of disengaging if unsuccessful. In fact Jack Welch lays great emphasis on innovation as the key to building market position. He cites the case of GE creating a cheap CT scanner with multiple upgrades as the strategy to outflank EMI's comprehensive but expensive pioneering unit. There are many ways of winning but innovation is one of the most effective.

Despite its folksiness and US orientation, "Winning" is a book with a compelling and consistent message. Jack Welch has talked to "tens of thousands of terrific people" who have brought their business (and often personal) concerns to him as a winning CEO, seeking new insights into the secrets of success. Jack distils four principles from his experience, which are the core of the message of his book; "the importance of a strong mission and concrete values, the absolute necessity of candor in every aspect of management, the power of differentiation, meaning a system based on meritocracy; and the value of each individual receiving voice and dignity". Behind these principles are the engines of success - a sustained will to win, a thirst for continuous learning and interpersonal leadership to deliver results. The man who wrote this book is more mature and more humane than the author of "Jack: Straight from the Gut", and his eagerness to share his experience with others seems to be genuine. His intellectual altruism is matched by his generosity in donating the profits from his book to charity.

Adrian Davies - 8th May 2005