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An incredible, stunning book that explains how so much of modern American late stage capitalism came to be through the lens of GE and Jack Welch. Super well written, well paced, and thought provoking, I learned a ton about the world I live in. Not many books have made me feel that way, but this book did. Highly recommended.
Great writing, I just hate the world that Jack Welch helped create. From Donald Trump to the 2008 banking crisis, to stock buybacks that drive greedflation. I hate it.
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Jack Welch was a white collar crook who taught other white collar crooks how to steal from everyone around them. The book was a disappointment just because I think the story has been told better and before. Go back to William Greider's 1992 "Who Will Tell The People?" for the story of how GE bought the government and avoided the law. Maybe the fact that I already knew Jack Welch was a shithead, rather than a fount of capitalist wisdom, colored my view of the book. If you want to puke you should know that his widow, Suzy Welch, now teaches a course at NYU "centered around self-awareness, authenticity and the central question about one’s true life purpose".
Jack Welch transformed a thriving American company as if it were in dire need of a turnaround. He drove a significant rise of the GE Corporation but ultimately was responsible for the actions that brought it down.
He proactively initiated massive layoffs, setting the stage for the era of widespread downsizing, outsourcing, and offshoring. Pioneering the use of dealmaking to diversify the business across various industries, he initiated a wave of consolidation that ultimately concentrated industries and reduced economic dynamism. Welch introduced an unprecedented emphasis on quarterly earnings, employing financial strategies such as earnings smoothing, stock buybacks, and more to ensure that GE's stock price maintained an upward trajectory.
With labor rising and a taste for a livable wage being tasted and tested, now feels like an important time to understand and undo the impact Jack Welch & Welchism has had on this country.
Methods to mitigate and undo the impact of Welchism:
1. Offer better pay and benefits.
2. Share profits and equity.
3. Upskill workers.
4. Put workers on boards.
5. Think long term.
6. Raise the minimum wage.
7. Raise taxes
8. Strengthen anti-trust policies.
9. Cap executive compensation.
He proactively initiated massive layoffs, setting the stage for the era of widespread downsizing, outsourcing, and offshoring. Pioneering the use of dealmaking to diversify the business across various industries, he initiated a wave of consolidation that ultimately concentrated industries and reduced economic dynamism. Welch introduced an unprecedented emphasis on quarterly earnings, employing financial strategies such as earnings smoothing, stock buybacks, and more to ensure that GE's stock price maintained an upward trajectory.
With labor rising and a taste for a livable wage being tasted and tested, now feels like an important time to understand and undo the impact Jack Welch & Welchism has had on this country.
Methods to mitigate and undo the impact of Welchism:
1. Offer better pay and benefits.
2. Share profits and equity.
3. Upskill workers.
4. Put workers on boards.
5. Think long term.
6. Raise the minimum wage.
7. Raise taxes
8. Strengthen anti-trust policies.
9. Cap executive compensation.
Things start to come off the rails in 1980 when Jack Welch becomes CEO of GE. A company with a long history of making things and supporting its e workforce shifts to a financial services company that focuses on making its CEO. and “shareholders” a ton of money. A rampage of mergers and acquisitions ensues. Welch creates a culture of Jacks that make the quarterly profit King. GE Capital drives the company into the ground and takes down America with it. And we cheer and live by the stock market to fund our growth and prosperity. Only to see it’s a house of cards promoted by con men. Anyway that seem to be the arc of the book!
More than most books I've read recently this gave a great overview of the recent business practices that have led to rising inequality and unstable businesses in the US. It's strength lies in the specific examples it gives, both of Jack Welch and of his successors (literal and intellectual) who, fueled by an absurd level of greed and an arrogant assumption that they were doing the right thing, did everything they could to financialize companies that had good business models and pursue personal and shareholder profit above the livelihoods of thousands of people.
That they rarely even considered the harm their actions would cause their workers says a lot about them.
That they rarely even considered the harm their actions would cause their workers says a lot about them.
This book scratched an itch for me. If you've wondered, "how come boomers think capitalism is so great but gens x, y, and z aren't seeing it?" This book answers that question. There was a version of capitalism that was responsible and cared about its obligations to employees and society. Welch gutted that almost single-handedly. Milton Friedman, Ronald Reagan, yada yada, the usual players. But Welch set a trend and trained acolytes. Welch's policies failed GE in his lifetime, but the damage is already done. The negative externalities are glaring, yet Bezos and Musks are still running amuck.
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
randomly picked this book up in my local library and after checking it out realized it was on the previous, infamous CEO of GE, meanwhile I start my job at GE Healthcare on Tuesday hahaha the timing of this random event is wild
amazing book if you’re interested in the crippled disillusionment of todays capitalist hellscape, honestly f Jack Welch
created a corporate America of downsizing, dealmaking, and financialization
amazing book if you’re interested in the crippled disillusionment of todays capitalist hellscape, honestly f Jack Welch
created a corporate America of downsizing, dealmaking, and financialization