Despite GE’s record, Welch is seen as abrasive and cold. And critics say the slogan “GE Brings Good Things to Life” masks a long list of defense-contract scandals and pollution sites designated for Superfund cleanup. Notoriously press shy, Welch runs a powerful media company. But NBC is again the topic of rumors that it could be sold-this time to entertainer Bill Cosby. Welch himself is the topic of several new or forthcoming books, including Robert Slater’s “The New GE: How Jack Welch Revived an American Institution.” He recently granted NEWSWEEK’S Jolie Solomon a rare interview.
Well, it’s a “waterfront property” held by a multibusiness company. It happens to be the most highly visible piece we have. And the media likes to cover the media… No one can ever say-about any business GE has-that it is forever. Our current plans are not to sell NBC. Our current plan is, we like NBC.
Well, its cash flow is very good. It has a certain cachet that it imparts to our [other] businesses. In earnings, it has reached its bottom and is having a comeback. NBC is a premier property.
Nothing could be further from a connection with GE than David Letterman’s decision [whether] to stay with NBC. David Letterman’s ratings have held up. He’s clearly a very talented entertainer. We happen to be the butt of a joke every now and then … That’s in good fun.
I don’t make those decisions.
Yeah, but I think Jay Leno is doing a fine job. His ratings over the last three or four weeks have been improving steadily. So I mean we’re happy with Leno’s performance. At least I am from what I see.
None.
Every pendulum swings too far. [The idea now is] we’re going to have “total peace.” In my view, Russia is certainly less stable today than at any point in time and we’ll have more regional conflicts. But the [budget] is clearly going to be lower.
We’ve positioned ourselves to be ready. For the foreseeable future, three to four years, it’s a business environment that will look quite healthy in terms of earnings and cash. But not growing.
Clearly, retraining and things like that are helpful. But I’m not one who believes you can convert a defense business to a washing-machine factory or to a hair-curler factory. I don’t happen to see that as an easy transition.
We think we’re perceived very, very well. Our market research shows that there’s been no impact [from the film]. Zero. Our share is up. Our sales are up. These people have a view about disarmament that most people don’t share.
No. Because it’s all nonsense. It’s malicious … full of lies. The [congressional] GAO report [proved] that. We are a first-class company, putting out first-class products. We have to be sure we are working to be more environmentally sound than anybody. But the fact that we happen to have a number of [Superfund] sites-we have been in business 114 years; we have more plants than anybody else. We operated within the law of the land at the time. We operate within the law of the land today.
No question, on the environment we are trying to get ahead of the curve. Getting toxics reduced below where you have to be. Going to places like Mexico with “best practices” environmental standards. People ask me, with [the Mexico trade pact] will the environment [there] be worse? I always say, “Have you ever seen a neighborhood that got wealthier, get dirtier?” Doesn’t happen.
It had no redeeming features. None. I hated it; I still hate it. Because frankly it didn’t [reflect] what we were doing. We were trying to get ahead of a wave. For the last five years, there have been headlines every day: 40,000 [laid off] here, 30,000 out of here. The only thing different about our actions was that they were 10 years ago. And … that we were perceived to be a very healthy company. Chrysler was going through a [similar] revolution, but it was well accepted, because the press had portrayed Chrysler as a train wreck.
We believe right to our toes that we’ve got to engage every mind in this place. They’ve got to feel good about being here. They’ve got to feel their contributions are respected. That doesn’t mean our standards aren’t higher than ever in terms of productivity; we just happen to think [this] is the right way to do it. Breaking down boundaries, taking away hierarchy. The idea is to liberate people.
There is a cynicism about this stuff in our society. But I think the people who run a lot of today’s corporations believe in it. What are we doing this for? To be competitive. To win. Tell me, is engaging every mind a good idea? Is getting everyone involved in the idea flow a good idea?
