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"Change is the constant, the signal for rebirth, the egg of the
phoenix," Christina Baldwin once said. This holds true in the
corporate world also. The chapter on change emphasises that
business leaders who are averse to it are likely to fail in
their jobs. So the best option is to face change as an
opportunity. A rule put at the top of the list of important
business strategies by Welch is about reality. He says business
leaders who avoid reality are doomed to disappoint.
The chapter on managing gives some tips about proper
management. Managing less is managing better, this is the gist
of the chapter. The chapter emphasises that employees do not
need constant supervision. If a manager lets them do their job
he may himself get surprised by the positive results.
Another mantra is to tackle problems one by one. Never
pursue a central idea. Instead, set only a few clear, general
goals as business strategies. The book while suggesting that
employees, who live up to company values, must be nurtured
also emphasises that those who do not fall in this category
must be fired even if their number is sizeable.
Strategic audits of businesses are must to keep it in a
healthy state. Allocate resources to market-leading
businesses, fix ailing companies and jettison those that are
not competitive.
Then markets should not be so narrowly defined so as to
shut a business out of the key market segment. Every corporate
giant needs downsizing and restructuring from time to time, a
kind of corporate dieting crash course, to shed extra flab.
Just because things look okay for the moment, shouldn’t give
the notion that all is well. Moving quickly can mean the
difference between success and failure.
To make an organisation better, learning culture should be
inculcated. Employees should be encouraged to scour the
outside world for goodreat ideas. Best Good ideas, no matter
where they come from, should be implemented. In fact, Welch
suggests that idea-sharing meetings should be held on a
regular basis.
The GE CEO has been quoted by the author as saying that the
idea of a company being global is nonsense. Businesses are
global and not companies. To win on a large scale, companies
need to develop a distinct strategy for each international
market. However, they need to have a strong home base before
they venture into the international arena.
Many organisations have a lot of management layers — the
bloated bureaucracy that is. It’s better to shed it for the
sake of the organisation’s health.
Another endeavour should be to make the business houses
boundary-less. "Anything that creates barrier between
employees and department is a boundary," according to the
book. Boundaryless people, excited by speed, have an
absolutely infinite capacity to improve everything.
The book then discusses the six sigmas of success and adds
that latest technology will lend some fizz to the corporate
world. "There’s no question. Channels will be different.
Commerce will be different. People will communicate
differently," says the chapter on e-business.
Undoubtedly, these 29 secrets discussed are all gems.
Dwight D. Eisenhower had once said: "A sense of humour is part
of the art of leadership, of getting along with people, of
getting things done." Surely, humour could have been the 30th.
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