Jack Welch Quotes (42 Quotes)

What the Commission is seeking cuts the heart out of the strategic rationale of our deal,

This shows you are never too old to get surprised, ... In this case, the European regulators' demands exceeded anything I or our European advisors imagined, and differed sharply from antitrust counterparts in the U.S. and Canada.

If you pick the right people and give them the opportunity to spread their wings and put compensation as a carrier behind it you almost don't have to manage them.

Willingness to change is a strength, even if it means plunging part of the company into total confusion for a while.

The record results for the third quarter once again demonstrate the ability of GE's diverse mix of leading global businesses to deliver top-line growth, increased margins and strong cash generation.

The 1980s will seem like a walk in the park when compared to new global challenges, where annual productivity increases of 6% may not be enough. A combination of software, brains, and running harder will be needed to bring that percentage up to 8% or 9%.

My main job was developing talent. I was a gardener providing water and other nourishment to our top 750 people. Of course, I had to pull out some weeds, too.

I've learned that mistakes can often be as good a teacher as success.

The essence of competitiveness is liberated when we make people believe that what they think and do is important - and then get out of their way while they do it.

The team with the best players wins.

Don't manage - lead change before you have to.

It's the internet like the flu - it just spreads like crazy.

An organization's ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive advantage.

Be candid with everyone.

I was afraid of it the internet... because I couldn't type.

I was afraid of the internet... because I couldn't type.

We have built a company with a business mix and operating system that will allow us to deliver record results in any foreseeable economic climate, ... We have just completed a very successful management transition and I've never been more confident about the company's future.

Just give me a whole page o' Lex.

(Wright is) a visionary with a great strategic mind, and he's a strong business leader with outstanding people skills, ... He's a terrific guy and will be a key force in guiding the company's future growth.

While shareholders want boards to pick the best candidate, imported talent inevitably costs more. During the book tour for his recent best seller Winning, ... is one of the many driving forces behind the exponential rise in CEO pay.

We have always said there is a point at which we wouldn't do the deal, ... The Commission's extraordinary demands are far beyond that point.

Drucker said 'If you weren't already in this business, would you enter it today And if not, what are you going to do about it' ... Simple, right But incredibly powerful.

We had a chance to all rejoice a little bit at Mr. Greenspan's aggressive actions here at lunch. We raised a glass of water to Mr. Greenspan for taking that action, and we all think it's in the right direction,

Giving people self-confidence is by far the most important thing that I can do. Because then they will act.

Globalization has changed us into a company that searches the world, not just to sell or to source, but to find intellectual capital - the world's best talents and greatest ideas.

And if they do, the board should also stay above the noise.

Papers filed by my wife in our divorce proceeding became public and grossly misrepresented many aspects of my employment contract with General Electric,

We bring together the best ideas - turning the meetings of our top managers into intellectual orgies.

Number one, cash is king... number two, communicate... number three, buy or bury the competition.

They were making a deal for a property that clearly was a property that we wanted to own, so we had to act, and act as quickly as we could, and make the offer more attractive,

The world of the 1990s and beyond will not belong to 'managers' or those who can make the numbers dance. The world will belong to passionate, driven leaders - people who not only have enormous amounts of energy but who can energize those whom they le

Face reality as it is, not as it was or as you wish it to be.

If you don't have a competitive advantage, don't compete.

Give me a highly successful unionized industry.

An overburdened, over-stretched executive is the best executive, because he or she doesn't have the time to meddle, to deal in trivia, to bother people

Change before you have to.

Strong managers who make tough decisions to cut jobs provide the only true job security in today's world. Weak managers are the problem. Weak managers destroy jobs.

If GE's strategy of investment in China is wrong, it represents a loss of a billion dollars, perhaps a couple of billion dollars. If it is right, it is the future of this company for the next century.

The Internet is the Viagra of big business.

I sure liked the idea of someone giving me millions of dollars, ... In 1992 they took control of the company, and I was out on the street.

Control your own destiny or someone else will.

We've only been wealthy in this country for 70 years. Who said we ought to have all this? Is it ordained?