
- 384 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
About this book
A WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER
"If you’re in any kind of leadership role—whether at a company, a non-profit, or somewhere else—there’s a lot you can learn here."—Bill Gates, Gates Notes
How could General Electric—perhaps America’s most iconic corporation—suffer such a swift and sudden fall from grace?
This is the definitive history of General Electric’s epic decline, as told by the two Wall Street Journal reporters who covered its fall.
Since its founding in 1892, GE has been more than just a corporation. For generations, it was job security, a solidly safe investment, and an elite business education for top managers.
GE electrified America, powering everything from lightbulbs to turbines, and became fully integrated into the American societal mindset as few companies ever had. And after two decades of leadership under legendary CEO Jack Welch, GE entered the twenty-first century as America’s most valuable corporation. Yet, fewer than two decades later, the GE of old was gone.
Lights Out examines how Welch’s handpicked successor, Jeff Immelt, tried to fix flaws in Welch’s profit machine, while stumbling headlong into mistakes of his own. In the end, GE’s traditional win-at-all-costs driven culture seemed to lose its direction, which ultimately caused the company’s decline on both a personal and organizational scale. Lights Out details how one of America’s all-time great companies has been reduced to a cautionary tale for our times.
"If you’re in any kind of leadership role—whether at a company, a non-profit, or somewhere else—there’s a lot you can learn here."—Bill Gates, Gates Notes
How could General Electric—perhaps America’s most iconic corporation—suffer such a swift and sudden fall from grace?
This is the definitive history of General Electric’s epic decline, as told by the two Wall Street Journal reporters who covered its fall.
Since its founding in 1892, GE has been more than just a corporation. For generations, it was job security, a solidly safe investment, and an elite business education for top managers.
GE electrified America, powering everything from lightbulbs to turbines, and became fully integrated into the American societal mindset as few companies ever had. And after two decades of leadership under legendary CEO Jack Welch, GE entered the twenty-first century as America’s most valuable corporation. Yet, fewer than two decades later, the GE of old was gone.
Lights Out examines how Welch’s handpicked successor, Jeff Immelt, tried to fix flaws in Welch’s profit machine, while stumbling headlong into mistakes of his own. In the end, GE’s traditional win-at-all-costs driven culture seemed to lose its direction, which ultimately caused the company’s decline on both a personal and organizational scale. Lights Out details how one of America’s all-time great companies has been reduced to a cautionary tale for our times.
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Yes, you can access Lights Out by Thomas Gryta,Ted Mann,Gryta, Thomas,Mann, Ted in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Personal Development & Energy Industry. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Index
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
A
accounting. See KPMG; management training center
accounting rules, 50, 56, 63â64, 92, 94, 138, 247
See also Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act; financial reports; Sarbanes-Oxley Act; US Securities and Exchange Commission
acquisitions and divestitures
Abbott Laboratories diagnostics, 104
Amersham, 66â67, 161
Antares Capital, 86, 183
Arden Realty, 104
commercial real estate, 104, 128
consumer-facing brand, 145
Crow Holdingâs third fund, 104
Dundee Reit, 104
Employers Reinsurance Corporation (ERC), 69
failed acquisitions, 67â68
Flanneryâs sales, 288â89
Immelt division sales, 88â89
INGâs US online banking business, 139
Instrumentarium, 66
insurance businesses, 70
ivillage.com, 107
Lake consumer finance business, 107
Lufkin Industries, 210, 212
NBC Universal, 131â35
âorganic growth,â 71â72, 81
Polandâs Bank BPH, 103
RCA Corporation, 17
Smiths Group aerospace business, 104
startup partnerships, 153
televisions and toasters, 17
Transamerica Finance Corporation., 67
Vetco Gray, 104, 209
Vivendi, 66
See also Alstom SA; GE Capital; Honeywell acquisition; spin-offs
Allen, Andrea, 26
Alstom SA
concession issues, 225â26, 228, 230
deal closing, 231
deal possibility, 193â95, 199â208
enterprise value, 194â96
French government objections, 201â5, 207
Immeltâs role, 192â95, 199, 202, 205, 231â32
Justice department criminal investigati...
Table of contents
- Title Page
- Contents
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Off a Cliff
- The Meatball
- Neutron Jack
- Big Jeff
- The Race
- Make Some Noise
- The Edison Conduit
- Senioritis
- Last Call
- Buying and Selling
- Imagination at Work
- Time to Go Big
- Higher Returns
- Applied Mathematics
- Size Doesnât Matter
- The Screwup
- Enter the Bear
- Paper Jam
- Suspenders on Suspenders
- Circle the Wagons
- Kabletown
- No Other Way
- Green Is Green
- Palate Cleanser
- The Quarry
- New Lieutenant
- Playing Startup
- Cowboys into Farmers
- Project Hubble
- The Chop Shop
- Big Bets
- Dinner in Paris
- One Day in Chicago
- A Modest Proposal
- âWe Know What Weâre Doingâ
- Buy High
- The Problem with Owenâs Hammer
- âI Donât Even Know What Weâre Sellingâ
- Jeffâs Deal
- Closing Costs
- An Unexpected Guest
- The Candy Factory
- Your People Donât Want It Bad Enough
- Making Adjustments
- Back Bay Deal
- Managing Power
- Unmovable Target
- The New Guy
- Behind the Curtain
- Triage
- Cleaning House
- Conservatively Calculated
- A Reset Year
- A Bill Comes Due
- Asleep at the Switch
- âManaging in a Broader Senseâ
- A Midstream Change
- Epilogue: âJeff Is a Friendâ
- Afterword
- Acknowledgments
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
- About the Authors
- Connect on Social Media