Don't Miss This

I have typically heard very derogatory statements about the former CEO of General Electric, Jack Welch, about how mean and heartless his policies were. It is eye opening then to hear the man speak about what drove him to these policies. You can catch his talk on C-SPAN 2 this Sunday at 3 PM EDT - streaming video here or buy the DVD here. He tells his audience that one of the most important characteristics of a manager is to be genuine and the most hurtful act to another person is to be dishonest with them. If someone isn't performing then you need to tell them and if failing to improve after given a chance mercifully fire them instead of praising them and then unexpectedly firing them during a 'Reduction In Force' purge. Jack Welch offers real managerial inspiration that defies all of the hearsay.

As someone who has endured several waves of 'RIF's I can tell you that the anxiety and uncertainty of who was going to be fired was destructive to the morale of all of the employees - since the choices could be viewed as arbitrary. I can also tell you that the people that I knew who were fired found new work that always was liberating and an improvement for those concerned.