Join Early Retirement Today
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Jack Welch, dead at 84
Old 03-02-2020, 07:36 AM   #1
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Mr._Graybeard's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 2,962
Jack Welch, dead at 84

Former General Electric chairman was "A life force made of love," wife says.

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/bus...es-84-n1146876
__________________
Tick tick tick tock goes the clock on the wall as we're dancing the evening away -- Tick Tock Polka
Mr._Graybeard is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 03-02-2020, 07:46 AM   #2
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
target2019's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: On a hill in the Pine Barrens
Posts: 9,669
I guess it was the third wife...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Welch
target2019 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-02-2020, 09:59 AM   #3
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Scrapr's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Portland
Posts: 1,703
Quote:
Originally Posted by target2019 View Post
I guess it was the third wife...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Welch
maybe he stack ranked the former wives vs the mistress and the bottom performers had to go?

I should be nicer to the dearly departed. IMO he was a charlatan and bad for business
Scrapr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-02-2020, 10:02 AM   #4
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
audreyh1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Rio Grande Valley
Posts: 37,931
Well at least he lived long enough to see what he so boastfully built fall apart. Please excuse my snark.
__________________
Retired since summer 1999.
audreyh1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-02-2020, 11:10 AM   #5
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
travelover's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 14,328
He finally has enough.
travelover is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-02-2020, 11:26 AM   #6
Full time employment: Posting here.
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Portland
Posts: 584
Hmm, it seems there is no love for him here.
neihn is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-02-2020, 11:41 AM   #7
Full time employment: Posting here.
atmsmshr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: An island off the coast of Florida. (Ok - if you really need to know it's Vero Beach)
Posts: 633
IMHO - Welch popularized the worst of unchecked business practices.

Competing for a managerial position? Second and third place talented individuals are turned into pariahs - Losers have to go elsewhere. A clear indication of management culture for cohesion and teamwork.

Forced ranking every year to get rid of bottom 10% Performers? After 2 years the good ones are getting cut and the best ones leave the company developing a toxic culture.

International 'focus' - is gobbling up diverse divisions creating a better unstructured conglomerate business model? Quickly, the increased company product diversity results in bean counters having no technical savvy about the business division and it drives out of resources, talent and innovation. Look how a much slimmer present day GE is trying to unwind that mess.

A CEO with integrity and moral compass? Ha! He openly diddled his secretary and divorced his long married wife after becoming the business icon of leadership. Thpppptttt.

Strengthening the bottom line of the balance sheet? He cooked the books with GE capital to help justify his outrageous salary and stock options.

A CEO who added value to shareholders? Wonder what the stockholders think of his legacy now.

Don't get me wrong, I am a staunch capitalist who believes the means of production belong in private hands to build wealth and benefit the economy. Knuckleheads like Welch disgrace the system and destroy wealth and prosperity while they line their own pockets. The only difference between him and Bernard Ebbers is that Welch did not get caught.

Whew. Glad I got that off of my chest.

Atom
__________________
DW and I are 62/62. 100% equities 31 years. FIRE'd August 2019. Non-cola pension cashed out Dec 2022 before segmentation rates reduced balance - rolled to MM fund, max SS for DH and DW at FRA. Mega retiree health available. IRA rollover from 401k Jan 2020 for NUA treatment. LTCG for 3 years. Next few years will be IRA cash withdrawals or until Stock Market recovers. AA 33% stocks, 67% MM and T-Bills. Rising equity glidepath.
atmsmshr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-02-2020, 11:52 AM   #8
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Koolau's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Leeward Oahu
Posts: 17,713
He always sounded good on the Sunday shows, but that was the extent of any admiration I might have had for him. Still, RIP, Jack Welch.
__________________
Ko'olau's Law -

Anything which can be used can be misused. Anything which can be misused will be.
Koolau is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 03-02-2020, 12:47 PM   #9
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
frayne's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Chattanooga
Posts: 3,871
He ranks right up there with chainsaw Al Dunlap as far as CEOs go. One of the worst CEOs of all time.
__________________
Earning money is an action, saving money is a behavior, growing money takes a well diversified portfolio and the discipline to ignore market swings.
frayne is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-02-2020, 12:59 PM   #10
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
ownyourfuture's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 1,548
Ah yes, Six Sigma. That overhyped load of BS. I went through that in the factory I worked at back in the 90s. We made great improvements at our plant AFTER we convinced management to stop wasting so much time training employees on the wonders of R bars, bell curves, PONC status, standard deviation, flow charts, etc.
and get back to basics!

What we did was simple. Identify a problem area, get a group of 4 or 5 people who worked in that area, meet once a week, & follow the steps posted on a plaque in our cafeteria since 1975.

1: Identify root cause.
2: Take corrective action.
3: Follow up/monitor

No BS like Six Sigma required.
__________________
"No beast so fierce but knows some touch of pity, but I know none, therefore am no beast"
Shown @ The End Of The Movie 'Runaway Train'
ownyourfuture is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-02-2020, 01:02 PM   #11
Full time employment: Posting here.
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 953
He's not dead, Jim. He's just an under-performing asset.
__________________
Well it's all right, we're heading to the end of the line...
Clone is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-02-2020, 01:18 PM   #12
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
latexman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Apex and Bradenton
Posts: 1,764
Obviously, sustainability was not his legacy.
latexman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-02-2020, 01:33 PM   #13
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 2,975
The forced rankings became a joke at my old employer. I don't need to beat the competition i just need to beat you. Very toxic. Bring on the clowns the guy was a joke. Too bad many good people suffered.
__________________
Took SS at 62 and hope I live long enough to regret the decision.
foxfirev5 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-02-2020, 01:35 PM   #14
Full time employment: Posting here.
atmsmshr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: An island off the coast of Florida. (Ok - if you really need to know it's Vero Beach)
Posts: 633
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr._Graybeard View Post
Former General Electric chairman was "A life force made of love," wife says.

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/bus...es-84-n1146876
Ack. I just read this fawning article and threw up in my mouth. What a pack of mistruths.
__________________
DW and I are 62/62. 100% equities 31 years. FIRE'd August 2019. Non-cola pension cashed out Dec 2022 before segmentation rates reduced balance - rolled to MM fund, max SS for DH and DW at FRA. Mega retiree health available. IRA rollover from 401k Jan 2020 for NUA treatment. LTCG for 3 years. Next few years will be IRA cash withdrawals or until Stock Market recovers. AA 33% stocks, 67% MM and T-Bills. Rising equity glidepath.
atmsmshr is offline   Reply With Quote
St Peter: "Sorry, Jack, but we use a forced ranking here at the Pearly Gates"
Old 03-02-2020, 02:30 PM   #15
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Mdlerth's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: The Shire
Posts: 1,504
St Peter: "Sorry, Jack, but we use a forced ranking here at the Pearly Gates"

I'd add my own performance review but that would be piling on and would draw a 15-yard penalty. So I'll focus on Jack's positives.

In his defense, there is no evidence that he ever sold crack to kindergarteners. I guess that's about it.
__________________
Paying it forward is the best investment.
Mdlerth is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-02-2020, 04:09 PM   #16
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
38Chevy454's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Posts: 4,344
I worked at GE early in my career, 5 years and just long enough to be vested and have small pension. Gladly took a cash buyout offer in late 2018. I worked under Welch's time and could see then that he was not good for long term success of the corp.

In my opinion Welch was selling off the company, taking advantage of suppliers, not treating employees well, and was too short term focused. All in pursuit of profit and stock price. Sure the stock price did well, but at what long term expense? I think we all know how that worked out.


I won't say good riddance, trying to be nice and will just say hopefully history will show lessons learned to prevent similar actions.

Found this article which was interesting in that it does not sugar coat the Welch legacy:
Jack Welch Inflicted Great Damage on Corporate America
https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/j...172844562.html
__________________
The problem isn't artificial intelligence, it's natural stupidity.

You can't spend yourself to prosperity.

Semi-Retired 7/1/16: working part-time (60%) for now [4/24/17 changed to 80%]
Retired Aug 2, 2017; age 53
38Chevy454 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-02-2020, 05:58 PM   #17
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
NW-Bound's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 35,712
Jack Welch? Quite the opposite from James Sinegal, the humble former CEO of Costco, who managed to take care of employees, customers, and shareholders at the same time.

Jack Welch said he cared about shareholder value, but it was really about his stock options. But then, he is not the only CEO with this selfish and egocentric trait. Nothing unusual here. He was simply among the more celebrated and revered ones.
__________________
"Old age is the most unexpected of all things that happen to a man" -- Leon Trotsky (1879-1940)

"Those Who Can Make You Believe Absurdities Can Make You Commit Atrocities" - Voltaire (1694-1778)
NW-Bound is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-02-2020, 07:07 PM   #18
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
RunningBum's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 13,184
The CEO at the MegaCorp I worked at totally bought in to the Welch system. So Welch managed to drag down other companies as well. I know nothing of him personally so I'll stop there.
RunningBum is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-02-2020, 07:53 PM   #19
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
travelover's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 14,328
Quote:
Originally Posted by RunningBum View Post
The CEO at the MegaCorp I worked at totally bought in to the Welch system.........
Same here. Those forced ranking, fire the bottom 10% years were especially rough. Zero remorse cashing my fat pension checks.
travelover is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-02-2020, 07:59 PM   #20
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
audreyh1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Rio Grande Valley
Posts: 37,931
Quote:
Originally Posted by NW-Bound View Post
Jack Welch? Quite the opposite from James Sinegal, the humble former CEO of Costco, who managed to take care of employees, customers, and shareholders at the same time.

Jack Welch said he cared about shareholder value, but it was really about his stock options. But then, he is not the only CEO with this selfish and egocentric trait. Nothing unusual here. He was simply among the more celebrated and revered ones.
Yes, unfortunately his high profile popularized that management style, and it hasn’t been good for American business IMO.
__________________
Retired since summer 1999.
audreyh1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Jack Tramiel, dead. easysurfer Other topics 5 04-10-2012 09:09 AM
Jack Welch Long CNBC Interview re: Oil Spill haha FIRE and Money 45 06-21-2010 01:29 PM
Laptop Power Jack -or- Get Rich Quick BigMoneyJim Other topics 4 03-02-2006 02:10 PM
Saw - '5 easy pieces' with Jack Nicholson on New Years.... Cut-Throat Other topics 5 01-04-2006 02:55 PM
Jack Hurst Stands Tall Even With ALS haha Other topics 5 03-13-2005 06:58 AM

» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 03:16 AM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.