Recently, in contrast to
many of Jack Welch’s practices, Fortune
came out with its own list of “rules” that it feels offers a better “route to
success for corporate America".

“If applied correctly,
Welch contends, his rules can work forever.”  

To quote the article:

"Sorry, Jack, but we don’t
buy it. The practices that brought Welch, Goizueta [CEO Coca Cola], and others
such success were developed to battle problems specific to a time and place in
history. And they worked. No one questions today that bloated bureaucracy can
kill a business. No one forgets the shareholder – far from it. Yet those
threats have receded. And they have been replaced by new ones. The risk we now
face is applying old solutions to new problems."

Here’s a summary of the
“old” versus “new” rules (with links to Fortune’s more detailed coverage):

1. Old
rule: Big dogs own the street. New rule: Agile is best; being big can bite you.

2. Old
rule: Be No. 1 or No. 2 in your market. New rule: Find a niche, create
something new.

3. Old
rule: Shareholders rule. New rule: The customer is king.

4. Old
rule: Be lean and mean. New rule: Look out, not in.

5. Old
rule: Rank your players; go with the A’s. New rule: Hire passionate people.

6. Old
rule: Hire a charismatic CEO New rule: Hire a courageous CEO.

7. Old
rule: Admire my might. New rule: Admire my soul.

What do you think of the old and the new?

Personally, I agree with Tom Peters on
this one!

“It boils down to "Do
both." And indeed many of the "old-new" pairings are not
mutually exclusive.”  

“The real Welch magic, as
I see it, can be summarized in just two words: EXECUTION MANIA. GE folks make
promises—and keep them.”

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