JWMI News
Check out this great article about our new online MBA that appeared in today’s
Chronicle of Higher Education.
- Jack Welch, November 2, 2009
Launching the Jack Welch Management Institute
I can’t remember the last time I was as excited as I am today, as we launch a new online MBA at Chancellor University which will bring together the best of the traditional MBA with the ideas and practices in “Winning.” We’re doing something really new and different, with a terrific team – creating a global, integrated, relevant MBA for people at all levels of their careers. Suzy and I are thrilled to be entering the educational space of the future. Visit our site at www.jwmi.com
- Jack Welch, June 22, 2009
Our Business Reality Series
Our new web show It's Everybody's Business (with Microsoft) starts today. Real business, real problems. Check it out.
- Jack Welch, June 15, 2009
Congress is helping matters?
With Congress all over the auto restructuring, plant closing calls to CEO, dealer hearings, etc., have to think chances for success are diminished.
- Jack Welch, June 13, 2009
Labor Pains
So ironic to see NYTimes act so brutish in their dark-age labor relations with their Boston Globe employees. They certainly would be crucifying any other company with labor practices like theirs.
- Jack Welch, June 10, 2009
Costly Healthcare
Must read today’s WSJ opinion piece challenging Obama’s “spending more to save more” universal health proposal.
- Jack Welch, June 8, 2009
Cars and Congress
Lots of talk of "Obama Motors" today. Spectacle of Congress challenging dealer closing and Congressman Frank's call to keep facilities open -- unreal. Next, Amtrak!
- Jack Welch, June 7, 2009
Take Notice
Illinois sends out another anti-tax increase message when Legislature rejects proposed tax increases. Joins California. Hope President Obama notices.
- Jack Welch, June 6, 2009
Obama in the Middle East
No matter your political view, Obama's Cairo speech was brilliant.
- Jack Welch, June 4, 2009
Reaching the Low Point
Morning unemployment numbers are more proof of the economy bottoming. Should see positive GDP by 1Q 10. Longer term -- deficits make outlook more ??
- Jack Welch, June 4, 2009
Same Old Sentiments
Bin Laden treats Obama like Bush. Same rants. Anti-American, not Democratic or Republican. Terrorists cannot be appeased.
Follow me on Twitter
- Jack Welch, June 3, 2009
Nuclear Future
North Korea continues to play U.S. Administrations. No leader has been successful in reducing nuclear threat. We need global sanctions, including China.
- Jack Welch, May 27, 2009
Sotomayor Nomination
No surprise with Supreme Court choice Sotomayor. Republicans should grin and bear it. Fighting is a loser with well-qualified Hispanic woman. Elections matter.
- Jack Welch, May 27, 2009
Outcomes of Restructuring
Looks like Unions win Bankers lose in auto restructuring. Bankers best bet is Chapter 11 if Government TARP isn't being used as a club. Read about it in our latest column.
As of today, you can also now follow me on Twitter @jack_welch
- Jack Welch, April 28, 2009
10-10-10
Suzy’s book, “10-10-10,” launched this week to great reviews. Two days after the launch, it is #1 in Self-Help and #1 in Decision-Making & Problem Solving on the Amazon.com lists. You can see Suzy talking about it here. If you’re facing a life dilemma, or you’re making a difficult decision, or you just want an insightful and entertaining read, this book is just right for you. Biased as I am, I join the many others who in the last 48 hours have given great feedback on its contents.
- Jack Welch, April 16, 2009
Obama's Report Card
This interview with John King on CNN's "State of the Union" ranges from views on the automotive industry, to the economy, to President Obama's first few months' performance, particularly this week at the G-20. I give him an "A" on leadership despite disagreeing with him on many policies. This week's upcoming BusinessWeek column will focus on the President's leadership and our report card on him.
- Jack Welch, April 5, 2009
All the Rage
After drowning in the AIG discussions we thought it would be good to try and get the focus away from rage and onto the future, so we wrote this week's column about some of the positive things that are happening in the world. Turns out that 60-70 people who responded to the column on BusinessWeek.com didn't want to leave their rage behind -- and vented somewhat viciously about the audacity of our trying to put hope in front of rage. We believe fervently that looking forward is the only way to get out of this mess and avoid some of the unintended consequences that flow out of decisions made in rage, and hope most readers will feel the same way.
- Jack Welch, March 26, 2009
Second-Guessing AIG
There is a lot of heat over the AIG bonuses. Without commenting on specific bonuses, I want to comment on the process... People have to understand that the government is now the majority owner of AIG. They have paid 165 billion dollars and now own 80% of the company. They are, in effect, responsible for the governance of the institution. The CEO and government representatives (like a corporate board and the CEO) have to work together on issues like investment strategy and compensation matters. They can't be public critics (second guessers) of their (and our) company. Tearing the institution apart with carping will not improve our chances of getting our money back.
- Jack Welch, March 17, 2009
On Shareholder Value
Last Friday, the Financial Times ran a front-page story with the headline, “Welch Denounces Corporate Obsessions.” The article generated widespread reaction in the media and on blogs, especially concerning my quote, “On the face of it, shareholder value is the dumbest idea in the world.”
Read Suzy's question-and-answer session with me on the topic.
- Jack Welch, March 16, 2009
So What's New?
The comments I made in the Financial Times are getting a lot of attention today. To be candid, I just don't know what all the noise is about. For decades, I've said that shareholder value is an outcome, not a strategy. It is the result of the execution of a company's strategy. It is ridiculous to think of it as a strategy itself. There's nothing new in what I said, but it seemed to capture the imagination on a slow news day.
- Jack Welch, March 13, 2009
HR's Defining Role in Today's Economy
This is an urgent message for CEOs and HR executives around the world. In our latest BusinessWeek column we raise key organizational challenges for managers who are dealing with the difficult personnel decisions created by this economic tsunami.
- Jack Welch, March 12, 2009
Changing to Survive
>>Play Video
There is talk about profitable companies riding out the storm by not cutting people, and waiting for recovery. Unfortunately, for almost everyone, this is impossible. Economies and businesses are dynamic, and very few companies will come out of this credit-induced economic crisis looking at the same world as when they entered. Industries like newspapers, travel, and automotive, to name just three, will look dramatically different once the economy recovers. Companies that haven't acted decisively on costs and strategy to reposition their business will pay dearly -- profitable today can rapidly turn into a loss position tomorrow by "riding it out."
- Jack Welch, January 20, 2009
Palace Intrigue
President-Elect Obama's appointments of the highly-qualified Senator Clinton to the position of Secretary of State, Timothy Geithner to Treasury and Lawrence Summers to head the National Economic Council are certainly commendable. They also carry the potential for what politics and corporations can be wracked with – palace intrigue. With Senator Clinton comes a cadre of what have been known as "Clintonistas" – former members of President Clinton’s staff who bring with them the potential for all kinds of gossip and jockeying for position. With the appointments of Geithner and Summers, you will have two organizations vying for the President’s ear, and the credit that goes with any successful economic policy initiative. While all three may have good intentions, their subordinates will be working full time to position their bosses. The only way that President Obama will be able to solve the political infighting will be to set a tone that it is not acceptable – just like any CEO in the corporate world. He will have to punish this behavior with public embarrassments. If he asks people to leave because of it, there can be no subtlety about why they left, i.e., “to spend more time with the family.”
- Jack Welch, December 2, 2008
Avoiding an Auto Bailout
The union and the auto companies have testified for two days, and in my opinion, they have not made the case for a bailout. Painful as it will be, a carefully orchestrated, government-supported bankruptcy remains my recommended path. (See our Business Week column for more on this issue)
- Jack Welch, November 20, 2008
China's Capital Infusion
China’s approximately 600 billion dollar infusion of capital into their market is critical for the global economy, as well as China's own stability. While Chinese manufacturing exports will be down dramatically because of the global slowdown, this infusion for infrastructure and consumer spending in the rural areas will keep jobs growing even though the exports segment is slowing. I had lunch with the CEO of a major Chinese appliance company on Friday, who told me about the subsidization of appliance sales to the rural regions, and he was confident that, with this government intervention, China would grow 8% in 2009. It’s nice to have a strong trade balance that allows the country to infuse capital from its own reserves.
- Jack Welch, November 10, 2008
Electing Change
Congratulations to Senator Obama on his decisive victory. The country voted for change with both feet. Despite voting for Senator McCain, I wish and pray for only the best for our new President. I hope he has the backbone to stand up to the wild liberal policies of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid on business issues. A center-left business agenda with compromises on business taxes, unionization (Free Choice Act) and trade (let NAFTA live) would be in the best interest of the one thing we all want -- good jobs for more people.
- Jack Welch, November 4, 2008
The Unionizing of America
Today's Wall Street Journal article on Page A19, entitled "The Election Choice: Unions," lays out as clear as anyone can the issue that every business man, small and large, must be focused on -- the unionization of America. Mr. Obama's position is stated unequivocally in this article, and The Free Choice Act will undoubtedly be one of the first items on the Democratic agenda after January 20th. The most important feature of the act would be the elimination of the secret ballot, something sacred to all Americans, and democracy itself. Should be a call to action for every business leader in the country.
- Jack Welch, October 27, 2008
Building confidence
The actions taken by the Fed are taking hold and financial markets are slowly stabilizing. It won't be smooth sailing, as consumer de-leveraging will put serious pressure on the economy over the next several quarters. Nevertheless, we have taken some very positive steps, and confidence is building. One example of this increased confidence is an Op-Ed piece in today's New York Times (Page A27) by Warren Buffett, where he recommends buying American equities. His quote, "Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful" is a simple rule that he refers to as dictating his buying pattern. His track record would say, "Listen."
- Jack Welch, October 17, 2008
Unfreezing the Market
The government finally brought out the Howitzer. Today's global coordinated action to invest equity into the banking system as well as add various government insurance programs should unfreeze the credit markets and get the banking system back on the right track. The piecemeal approach just wasn't doing the job. Fortunately, the TARP plan approved on October 3rd gave broad authority to the Treasury that permitted taking this action. There are still more actions under the TARP plan to be taken -- buying mortgage pools to reduce the foreclosure rate and stabilize housing, and setting up auctions to get toxic securities off bank's balance sheets -- both of which will take weeks if not months to implement. But today's action goes a long way toward putting things back in order and building some trust into global markets. Dealing with a tough economy comes next.
- Jack Welch, October 14, 2008
Dealing with the Downturn
This week's economic numbers are confirming what we are seeing in our various business relationships. A dramatic 3rd quarter drop in business activity (Auto is down 20-30%), exacerbated of course by the unavailability of credit, has really tipped the economy to the downside. Our latest BusinessWeek column lays out a plan for managers to deal with this deteriorating environment.
- Jack Welch, October 2, 2008
Credit and Confidence
This crisis we are in is all about 2 C's -- credit and confidence. Both took a real hit yesterday... We didn't get a Bill that might have gone a long way toward freeing up credit and the public confidence shaken by the political spectacle associated with the vote and the resultant fall in the Dow. The issue to be dealt with is credit availability to get our economy functioning. How fast we deal with this will determine the depth and length of the downturn.
- Jack Welch, September 30, 2008
Fixing the system
The current crisis has plenty of causes, but without question, one root reason has to be the Vegas-like atmosphere that has pervaded the Street for the past few years. As shareholder-owned investment banks started taking on larger risks on larger positions –using other peoples’ money -- bonuses went crazy. Risk came with mounds of upside, but almost no downside. Is it any surprise that pricing risk in an appropriate manner went out the window?
But those days are clearly over, and the out-of-whack i-bank compensation model will now be dealt with as part of any government intervention. The good news is, even with this massive and complex crisis, the past proves that smart people can and do repair broken systems. And the team of Hank Paulson, Ben Bernanke, and Tim Geithner couldn’t be better equipped to do so. They’ve never let ideology blind them as this crisis rapidly unfolded, and they’ve been flexible and fast in anticipating a next move when a first move didn’t do enough. We’ll never know every last cause of this crisis, nor can we say exactly how or where it will end. But it’s very likely the team in charge will put the system back on a better track.
- Jack Welch, September 22, 2008
Paulson to the rescue
Following a pattern, the Fed has stepped in to rescue Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, preventing what I believe could have been financial Armageddon. The one surprising element in the Fed's move was the crass treatment of preferred stock. This stock is held by many banks, and treating it as junior to the government's option on future Fannie and Freddie preferred stock creates an unnecessary capital burden on many institutions who have held the preferred stock as part of their capital base. On the whole, I wholeheartedly endorse the move, and hope the preferred stock issue can be reexamined.
- Jack Welch, September 5, 2008
Republicans are missing a big one
See Video. Despite their lack of popularity, there's been little talk of the congressional combine of Reid and Pelosi joining up with Obama to create a very troublesome triad. Last time we saw that for a four-year period was Jimmy Carter, and the economy and our world standing were never in worse shape than at the conclusion of his presidency. It's generally agreed that Reagan and Clinton were our best presidents over the last 30 years. It's interesting to note that Reagan for all 8 years, and Clinton, for 6 out of his 8 years, had Congresses of the opposite party.
- Jack Welch, September 4, 2008
Employee Freedom
Great to see mainstream media covering the "Employee Free Choice Act" on the WSJ front page Friday. Washington Post this weekend. This pro-union legislation will make it easier for Unions to turn around their steady membership decline (See our Business Week article on subject for more details). The bill alone is reason enough for any thinking business person from shop floor to CEO to not cast a vote for Obama.
- Jack Welch, August 1, 2008
The Tax Debate
WSJ today had a great editorial on just who is paying taxes in America. This should be the basis of the fall debates. High-income taxpayers are shouldering the largest load since the Carter years...BEFORE any proposed Democratic '09 tax increases.
- Jack Welch, July 21, 2008
The Right Way to Break the News
Rick Wagoner, CEO of GM, the man with probably the toughest job in business, announced another restructuring of GM today. Lost in the announcement was a CEO lesson on doing it right, as Wagoner broadcast news to employees first before meeting and informing the press.
- Jack Welch, July 15, 2008
Handing Over Votes
We just had a huge week in the presidential race. Jesse Jackson gave Barack Obama a gift of white votes by allowing him to take the moderate stand on African American responsibility. Plus Gramm, John McCain's economic advisor, helped Obama pick up even more hardworking blue collar voters by telling them they are imagining a recession. The result - more white votes from both sides for Barack Obama.
- Jack Welch, July 10, 2008
Global Warming Bandwagon
There is a thoughtful global warming piece in the July 1 Wall Street Journal (A15) comparing global warming hysteria with prior social and political movements over the past 60 years. We need more brave articles like this to expose the other side of the Global Warming issue and give voice to those questioning this runaway train.
- Jack Welch, July 1, 2008
McClellan Hearings
If there was ever any doubt about the ramifications of firing someone the wrong way, Friday's Scott McClellan hearings circus before the House Judiciary Committee would set you straight. McClellan, who wrote the recent tell-all book What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception, was called on by Congressman John Conyers, a Democrat of Michigan, to further amplify his anti-Bush administration comments over Valerie Plame and the Iraq war. McClellan is the equivalent of a disgruntled corporate whistleblower, created almost exclusively out of anger for the way he was dismissed. They're almost all in the same category.
You can read more about how to let someone go in our column The Right Way to Say Goodbye.
- Jack Welch, June 21, 2008
Tim Russert
The news of Tim Russert’s passing is crushing. He was a colleague and friend who was loved by everyone he touched. My last encounter with Tim was a month ago, and it typifies everything about him. I called to ask him to speak at a Boston charity. Although I was long-retired and someone who could do nothing for him, he didn’t say, “Let me look at my calendar.” He said, “Tell me where and when.” When he came, he drove his truck from Washington to Boston, so his son Luke would have a truck for graduation. After driving all day, that night, instead of 'mailing it in', he delivered one of the most touching, heartfelt speeches about the homeless. He received a standing ovation. Then, as the rain poured down, he left us for the airport because he had a morning meeting back at NBC news. Love of family, giving back, and passion about work -- all in a day. That was Tim Russert. Passionate and good to his toes. I loved him.
- Jack Welch, June 13, 2008
Just returned from Spain
If you think we have a housing crisis in the US, go to Spain. In the last few years, Spain alone has put up more new houses than just about all the rest of Europe combined. Vacancies are everywhere and prices are falling like a stone.
- Jack Welch, June 11, 2008
Cap on Cap-and-Trade
Congress came to its senses and last Monday's posting about the cap-and-trade vote is by the boards for now. Fortunately senators dug deeply into the issue and saw the unilateral negative competitive impact on the US. It'll be back again in some other form. Keep your eyes open to see if it contains more common sense.
- Jack Welch, June 10, 2008
But . . . What About Competitiveness??
For anyone thinking about policy answers to Global Warming, you must read today’s lead article on the Wall Street Journal Opinion page (June 2). It lays out very clearly the consequences of the proposed Lieberman-Warner Cap & Trade proposal. Sure raises questions about U.S. competitiveness.
- Jack Welch, June 2, 2008
CEO Pay or Energy Independence?
News last week of Brazil’s major offshore oil find comes as the U.S. Congress interviews Oil CEOs on extraneous issues and ignores any real discussion of opening up U.S. offshore and Arctic sites for domestic exploration. Talk about wrong headed!
- Jack Welch, May 20, 2008
U.S. Bargain Hunting
Today there is speculation about InBev’s potential acquisition of Anheuser-Busch. With the strong Euro, it is surprising that we haven’t seen more European acquisition activity in the U.S. Watch for a lot more!!
- Jack Welch, May 27, 2008
China – Looking out
Last week, we met Jack Ma, the impressive CEO of the very successful China Internet company, Alibaba. A friend asked him about China Internet censorship, and his response is illuminating to anybody doing business in China or any developing country. He said, “It looks a lot better to us looking out from China than it may seem to you looking in. It's not an issue.”
- Jack Welch, May 19, 2008
- Jack Welch, May 19, 2008
Just back from Dubai
The only word for it is, "Wow." Paying attention to India and China makes sense, but opportunities in the Gulf countries have to be seen to be believed. If you're in the infrastructure business, ask yourself: do you have enough of your resources focused on this region?
- Jack Welch, March 20, 2008
