Jack Welch - Any Jerk Short-Term Earnings

The ultimate measure of a leader is how well their business unit performs AFTER they are gone.

D. Brown Management Profile Picture
D. Brown Management
May 27, 2018 2 minute read
Share

Retired Navy submarine Captain David Marquet explains this very well in:

Quote: Any jerk can have short-term earnings. You can squeeze, squeeze, squeeze, and the company sinks five years later. Jack Welch Retired Chairman and CEO of GE.

With the construction industry heading into even bigger talent shortages it is critical that leaders focus on building other leaders.  This must be done at an accelerated rate just for contractors to maintain their market position and profitability.  

Jack Welch discusses this in his memoirs written after he left GE.  

Look at your organizational chart and ask the following: 

  • Who are your strong leaders?  
  • Who are your up-and-coming promising leaders?
  • Who can you trace their development back to?  
  • What training or coaching can you put in place to help your leaders become better people builders?

Evaluate all leaders in your company on the following.  Rate them 0-10 both in today’s demonstrated capabilities AND in what you believe they could be reasonably capable of in 3-5 years.  

  • Building the Projects
  • Building the Business
  • Building the People

Where are your strengths?  Where are your gaps?  

What can you do to leverage those strengths and close those gaps? 

Winning Projects - The Early, Middle, and Late Game
Successfully winning projects starts with knowing all phases of the game. All contractors participate in the "Late Game." Playing the "Early Game" effectively positions contractors to win more frequently, with better pricing, and better terms.
Related Article
Profitability and Predictability
Contractors who are consistently improving their scoreboard, including profitable growth, focus on making the behaviors and actions that LEAD to profitability consistent habits.
Related Article
Return on Equity and Debt Leverage (2023)
Construction contracting is a risky business that should yield appropriate returns. We did this fun comparison looking at different types of contractor's financial benchmark returns and debt leverage against some selected other companies for 2023.
Related Article