A review by cal337
The Man Who Broke Capitalism: How Jack Welch Gutted the Heartland and Crushed the Soul of Corporate America—and How to Undo His Legacy by David Gelles

3.0

I buy the central premise of the book, that Jack Welch and his cult following fundamentally changed capitalism in America to value shareholders and devalue employees and communities. The book does a good job of summarizing the history of GE and putting it into a wider context. However, I found the lack of financial depth a real detractor from the argument. The details of the financial shenanigans that Welch and his followers pulled that allowed them to boost share price but hurt longterm prospects was yadda-yadda-ed over. So often CEO actions were shortened to "layoffs" when in reality, GE and the other companies former GE people led also had periods of rapid hiring. Growing by acquisition only worked for GE because there was a perception that GE had internal synergies like the GE Store and excellent leadership training. Those perceptions would have been worth examining.

The oversimplification of Jack Welch's legacy almost turns him into an evil caricature. I believe much of the writing was a reaction to the endless Welch fluff pieces, overly negative as a counter-balance. However, it leaves too many statements that don't pass the sniff test. I think the "how to undo his legacy" part of the book also added nothing - it was short, empty on specifics, and ultimately a regurgitation of ideas that appear in plenty of places.