The legendary Jack Welch, otherwise known as Neutron Jack for his propensity to eliminate jobs and people, is back. But this time as a revised edition. First published in 1994, this latest version of Get Better or Get Beaten! has reduced Mr Welch's leadership secrets from 31 to 29. Before you start yawning and thinking it is just another re-release, author Robert Slater - a former Time, Newsweek and UPI journalist - assures us that this edition is more than 50 per cent new or revised. The book includes the latest breaking developments before Mr Welch stood down as General Electric's (GE) 'manager of the century' late last year. These include GE's controversial Honeywell acquisition, Mr Welch's Six Sigma initiative and the evolution of his 'No 1, No 2 strategy'. Each leadership secret is contained in a stand-alone chapter and has been streamlined into four 'easy-to-access' parts. The book covers topics such as management tactics for gaining a competitive edge, strategies for dealing with change, productivity secrets and initiatives for driving double-digit growth. Get Better or Get Beaten! is a fast and uncomplicated read. It contains the usual Neutron Jack gems - in the first chapter alone, we learn that it is necessary to change before it is too late, not to rest on your laurels and to treat every day as if it were your first day on the job. 'Of all of Jack Welch's ideas, none carries more weight than this simple decree: change, before it's too late!' Slater writes. 'Welch responded to the changes occurring in the business environment of the late 1970s and early 1980s by coming up with a new strategy for GE's business.' Mr Welch took over the reins at GE in 1981, when the 124-year-old institution - founded by Thomas Edison - had sales of 'only' US$25 billion. By 1999, GE's sales had reached nearly US$112 billion. According to Slater, its profits in 1981 were only US$1.5 billion, and Mr Welch grew the bottom line to nearly US$11 billion in 1999. 'He is clearly doing not just something right - he is doing many things right,' Slater writes. 'And, therefore, we have only to gain from focusing on the business wisdom of GE's Jack Welch.' Slater says the book is designed to answer one overriding question: 'What would Welch do?' It was also updated, he says to reflect today's '24/7/365' global e-economy. Even though Welch presided over a 'superbusiness, leading 12 separate business entities, in charge of a total of 340,000 employees' this book can be adapted to a variety of businesses and managers. 'His business ideas can easily be put to work in any size organisation,' Slater writes. Get Better or Get Beaten! 29 Leadership Secrets from GE's Jack Welch By Robert Slater Published by McGraw-Hill
