Most of the great companies of our times have been bestowed with the best of architects of all times. These architects, with their success stories of leadership, transformed companies and in turn brought a revolution in the corporate world. All these have marked their name in the history of business world. All these leaders were very much different in their approach. Still, one can cull out some common traits. All these leaders had a stunning power to drive their companies towards success.
The stories of these path-making, rule-breaking leaders offer lessons that can be understood and practiced by all the up-and-coming leaders. This article draws upon the real-life experiences of business leaders with their own style of leadership. Definitely, their innovative style and visionary strategies made them great leaders: Jack Welch - the legendary transformer; Akio Morita - the global visionary; Archie Norman - the empowering leader; Andrew Carnegie and Thomas J Watson - led by intimidation; George Eastman - led by inspiration; and Sam Walton - the optimist.
GE was the world's 10th largest industrial conglomerate when Jack Welch took charge of GE in 1981 (Before taking charge as the chairman and CEO of GE, Jack Welch had been in the GE's plastic division for 20 years). After World War II, GE diversified into virtually every manufacturing industry. Slowly, GE's profit performance started to decline. In fact, its profit performance was poor during 1960s. Investors thought of GE as too large and too diversified a company to take care of their stakes.
In this situation, Jack Welch took over the reins of GE. He came to GE with a clear mindset. He had clear ambitions and goals. He made clear to the shareholders that GE has to be "a unique, highspirited, entrepreneurial enterprise, a company known around the world for its unmatched level of excellenceThe most profitable, highly diversified company on earth, with world quality leadership in every one of its product lines." |
