Jack Welch - Any Jerk Short-Term Earnings

The ultimate measure of a leader is how well their business unit performs AFTER they are gone.

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Retired Navy submarine Captain David Marquet explains this very well in:

Quote: Any jerk can have short-term earnings. You can squeeze, squeeze, squeeze, and the company sinks five years later. Jack Welch Retired Chairman and CEO of GE.

With the construction industry heading into even bigger talent shortages it is critical that leaders focus on building other leaders.  This must be done at an accelerated rate just for contractors to maintain their market position and profitability.  

Jack Welch discusses this in his memoirs written after he left GE.  

Look at your organizational chart and ask the following: 

  • Who are your strong leaders?  
  • Who are your up-and-coming promising leaders?
  • Who can you trace their development back to?  
  • What training or coaching can you put in place to help your leaders become better people builders?

Evaluate all leaders in your company on the following.  Rate them 0-10 both in today’s demonstrated capabilities AND in what you believe they could be reasonably capable of in 3-5 years.  

  • Building the Projects
  • Building the Business
  • Building the People

Where are your strengths?  Where are your gaps?  

What can you do to leverage those strengths and close those gaps? 




Good or Bad is Just Perception
“There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.” - William Shakespeare It’s too easy to frame things that happen as good or bad. Try to frame things simply as events and accept that you can choose to perceive them however you want.
Working Like an Owner
Success in anything significant can never be guaranteed, but there are many things you can do that will nearly guarantee failure. If you do the following consistently, without any expectation in return, you will see opportunities open for you.
Definition - SITREP (Situation Report)
A standardized report originated in the military to provide a concise, clear update on the current situation, typically in a combat environment. The principles can be applied to projects and construction businesses.