For bookworms fascinated with human achievement and excellence, especially in the business world, Jack Welch’s book titled: “Winning” is a book that cannot go unnoticed.   When reading a book written by a person of Jack Welch’s caliber, one cannot but have very high expectations.  After all, he transformed General Electric into the most valuable company in the world.  He was justifiably called “Manager of the century” by Fortune magazine.  Lucky for readers, Jack indeed delivered flawlessly to everything that would be expected from a world business leader talking about a subject such as winning.

The most striking thing about the book is its warmth.  As one reads through the book, the feeling is as if Jack is talking from the heart to the reader one-on-one.  His writing style speaks of the integrity, passion, and genius of the man behind the words.  His message is throughout the book is that of empowerment, effective communication, and integrity as the basic foundation for a successful CEO. 

The book title comes from the fact that in his book, Jack proposes a roadmap for companies and people in business to find the way to win, the honest way.  Jack, in his humble demeanor, writes how he “borrowed” his book from the thousands of people who have asked him a multitude of questions during his tours after leaving GE.

The book is organized into four parts, all focusing on the former CEO’s management techniques.  Starting with a conceptual section on management philosophy that describes the principles of Jack Welch’s approach to business.   This part focuses on mission and values, and their importance as a base for all business strategy and decisions.  In it, he discusses issues like candor, differentiation among employees, and inclusion of all voices in decision-making.  The second section of the book discusses the “guts” of the organization; its processes, people, and culture along with the importance of hiring and firing to the health of the organization.  The third section looks outward at the external environment surrounding the organization; mainly competition.  It discusses how to get ahead using management techniques that include the world renowned six sigma quality program.  Jack is considered one of its founders and top practitioners.  The fourth section of the book talks about career related issues.  This includes managing one’s career, finding the right job, dealing with a bad boss, and the have-it-all syndrome. 

The book was written based on questions Jack Welch received from people from all walks of life about business and leadership.  Most of the questions he got during his tour of the United States and the world after leaving General Electric.  The vast majority of questions were serious and very relevant to winning in the business world, except only one.  During one of his tours, someone asked him about whether he thinks he will go to heaven, to which he gave a very clever response.  I will not spoil it for you and give the answer here; buy the book and find out for yourself. 

The book is 370 pages long wrapped in a hardcover featuring a portrait of Jack Welch.  As expected, the book got raving reviews from business leaders like Warren Buffet and Bill Gates. Mr. Gates called it “a candid and comprehensive look at how to succeed in business for everyone from college graduates to CEO’s.”