Jack Welch is Wrong
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I’m so glad to finally see an article that questions the methods that Jack Welch evangelizes. I believe he’s inconsiderate, mean-spirited, selfish and greedy. He was only successful by making customers and employees suffer. He may alone be a winner, but it was at the expense of so many others that have lost.
I was driving home tonight and thinking about when I worked for Landmark Communications. I had the great pleasure of meeting Frank Batten Sr. while at some corporate leadership training. Someone asked Mr. Batten, “How much is enough?”. Mr. Batten did not even flinch at the question. He simply said that if it was about the money, he would have been gone a long time ago. I don’t remember his exact words, but he said that his happiness is now drawn from the fact that the great people that he’s hired and the company they have built employs thousands of families. His focus was to continue diversifying the company and expanding so that the company can continue to support so many.
Mr. Batten is now retired but his thoughts have always stayed with me. His ideals were such that he thought of ‘Winning’ as hiring the best people, building the best products, and expanding the business in order to ensure success for the long haul. So many people are ‘Winning’ because of Frank Batten’s vision. I left Landmark 7 years ago… and I continue to ‘Win’ because of the way I was treated by Mr. Batten and Landmark.
The fact is, you can not call it a ‘Win’ unless your entire team is celebrating with you. They helped you to get there and they deserve a piece of the credit, as well as a piece of the reward. Of course you’ve risked and invested in their careers - that means that it’s in your best interest to keep and respect them. If I had to worry about getting a pink slip because a stock price was slipping, do you think I’m going to put my heart into my job? That’s what we see happening to the businesses that these vultures pray on. It’s simply unconscionable.
Kudos on the article! It’s about time someone stood up!
How many of you know who Jack Welsh is? Have you ever heard of Frank Batten Sr.? There’s something wrong with that, isn’t there?
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