Editor’s note: This article was first published in October 2013. The statement that Welch currently runs his own company, Jack Welch, LLC, was true in 2013. Jack Welch died in March 2020.
Jack Welch showed an unusual talent for leading teams and running a business during his time at General Electric. After his arrival, the company’s profits grew astronomically, until it became the largest company in the world. Fortune magazine named Jack Welch the best executive of the 20th century.
Today Welch runs his own company, Jack Welch, LLC, which advises businesses. He has also written several books, among them one of his biggest successes, Winning.
Among his leadership strategies, Welch began firing the worst-performing managers at General Electric, while rewarding the best performers with pay rises and stock options. Welch ended up with a much leaner workforce, but with greatly improved results and efficiency.
The secret of his business success lies in some of the advice he himself offers in various quotes:
“Face reality as it is, not as it used to be or as you wish it were.”
“If you don’t control your destiny, count on someone else controlling it.” (Read: How to create your own destiny)
“Quality is the best guarantee of our customers’ loyalty. It is our strongest defence against domestic and foreign competition. The quality of our product or service is the only proven path to business growth and profits. If there is no quality, sooner or later we will get the bill.”
“Change before you are forced to change, when it is already too late to change.”
“In business you have to look for a competitive advantage. If you don’t have a competitive advantage… don’t compete.”
“When the pace of change inside the company is outstripped by the pace of change outside, the end is near.”
“In the end, success in business comes down to three words: people, product and profits. If you don’t surround yourself with the right people, there’s not much you can do with the other two.”
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, try harder and be better, congratulations: you are a good leader.”
“Leaders earn trust through their candour, their transparency and their merits. You must be honest with everyone in the company. Simplicity and humility are very important. Don’t let your position, whatever it is, go to your head, or you will lose your leadership.”
“Leaders must not only make sure their followers see the mission. They must also make sure they live it intensely.”
Further reading
- 10 thoughts from Napoleon Hill
- 10 Warren Buffett quotes on business
- 50 inspiring quotes from business leaders for entrepreneurs
Featured image: Challenge Future, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.
