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Tag: Jack Welch the finite minded leader

  • Why did GE need a $300 billion bail out in 2008?

    Though once upon a time GE was regarded as an iconic company with time its value drastically went down and eventually it came to a stage where the US government had to resort to a $300 billion bail out to revive GE during the 2008 financial crisis.

    If we do a prognosis we will find the reason due to the once iconic Jack Welch leadership style.

    Jack Welch was a perfect example of a finite minded leader who believed in quick short term oriented results.There were only two metrics he followed to judge people – Performance and Potential(Future performance) with no regards to TRUST or character.

    The culture nurtured by him at GE had people pitted against each other , where people lacked trust and were demotivated.

    In due course of time the short sighted structure built by Jack Welch collapsed since the primary emphasis was never “Will” of people but was always profits before people.

    Adopted from Simon Sinek’s book The Infinite Game

  • What caused GE’s downfall ?

    GE’s fall in market capitalization over time is not something that should surprise us.

    Jack Welch the CEO of GE loved playing the “finite game” with most emphasis given to short term performance and financial numbers.

    Gradually this finite mindset , with the metrics focused on performance , pitted the individual employees against one another.The work culture started deteriorating and in turn employees lost faith in the work culture.

    This was inevitable keeping in mind that the game of business is an “infinite one” with employees as the drivers of growth and success.

    Had it not been for the $139 bail out given to GE by the US Government in 2008 , the once iconic company would have been history by now.

    Simon Sinek in his book titled “The Infinite Game” outlines the finite mindset of Jack Welch and how it eroded the work culture of GE and hence led to the downfall of the once iconic organization , in the long run.

    Please find below the links that highlight the shortsightedness of Jack Welch as a leader that has landed GE in a quagmire.

    Source – theweek.com

    https://theweek.com/articles/761357/fall-ge

    Source – foxnews.com

    https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/general-electric-the-worst-bailout-in-the-world