"Great people, not great strategies, are what made it all work." -- Jack Welch
From an engineer to the post of the company's CEO, it was a daunting task for Welch. He had once decided to quit the company as he expected a bigger pay hike. While many acclaimed his decisions to streamline operations, there were criticisms too.
Jack Welch was dubbed 'Neutron Jack' (in reference to the Neutron bomb) for wiping out the employees while leaving the buildings intact, but was named Manager of the Century by Fortune magazine.
Amid all this, Welch went ahead with his decisions. His main idea was to make GE 'a people company' where ideas reigned supreme. He put in place a 'boundary-less' system where people from all levels of the company could participate in innovation and problem solving.
Welch focused on four basic initiatives: globalization, services, six-Sigma, and e-business, according to his autobiography. He travelled around the world making deals work for GE. Welch made more than 600 acquisitions and moved into emerging markets. The services division grew from $8 billion in 1995 to $19 billion in 2001 under Welch's leadership.
Image: The GE logo on a sign outside the corporate headquarters of the General Electric Company, in Fairfield, Connecticut. | Photograph: Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images
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