25 Lessons from Jack Welch

1. Lead Managers muddle - leaders inspire. Leaders are people who inspire with clear vision of how things can be done better.
2. Manage Less “We are constantly amazed by how much people will do when they are not told what to do by management.”
3. Articulate Your Vision “Leaders inspire people with clear visions of how things can be done better.” The best leader do not provide a step-by-step instruction manual for workers.
4. Simplify Keeping things simple. “Simple messages travel faster, simpler designs reach the market faster and the elimination of clutter allows faster decision making.“
5. Get Less Formal “You must realize now how important it is to maintain the kind of corporate informality that encourages a training class to comfortably challenge the boss’s pet ideas.“
6. Energize Others Genuine leadership comes from the quality of your vision and your ability to spark others to extraordinary performance. Getting employees excited about their work is the key to being a great business leader.
7. Face Reality Face reality, then act decisively. Most mistakes that leaders make arise from not being willing to face reality and then acting on it.
8. See Change as an Opportunity Change is a big part of the reality in business.
9. Get Good Ideas from Everywhere New ideas are the lifeblood of business. “The operative assumption today is that someone, somewhere, has a better idea; and the operative compulsion is to find out who has that better idea, learn it, and put it into action - fast.“
10. Follow up Follow up on everything. Follow-up is one key measure of success for a business.
11. Get Rid of Bureaucracy The way to harness the power of your people is “to turn them loose, and get the management layers off their backs, the bureaucratic shackles off their feet and the functional barriers out of their way.”
12. Eliminate Boundaries In order to make sure that people are free to reach for the impossible, you must remove anything that gets in their way. “Boundarylessness” describes an open organization free of bureaucracy and anything else that prevents the free flow of ideas, people, decisions, etc.
13. Put Values First Don’t focus too much on the numbers. “Numbers aren’t the vision; numbers are the products.“
14. Cultivate Leaders Cultivate leaders who have the four E’s of leadership: Energy, Energize, Edge, and Execution
15. Create a Learning Culture “The desire, and the ability, of an organization to continuously learn from any source, anywhere - and to rapidly convert this learning into action - is its ultimate competitive advantage.“
16. Involve Everyone Business is all about capturing intellect from every person. The way to engender enthusiasm it to allow employees far more freedom and far more responsibility.
17. Make Everybody a Team Player Managers should learn to become team players. Take steps against those managers who wouldn’t learn to become team players.
18. Stretch Stretch targets energize. “We have found that by reaching for what appears to be the impossible, we often actually do the impossible; and even when we don’t quite make it, we inevitably wind up doing much better than we would have done.“
19. Instill Confidence Self-confident people are open to good ideas regardless of their source and are willing to share them.
20. Have Fun Fun must be a big element in your business strategy.
21. Be Number 1 or Number 2 “When you’re number four or five in a market, when number one sneezes, you get pneumonia. When you’re number one, you control your destiny.“
22. Live Quality “We want to change the competitive landscape by being not just better than our competitors, but by taking quality to a whole new level.”
23. Constantly Focus on Innovation “You have just got to constantly focus on innovation. And more competitors. You’ve got to constantly produce more for less through intellectual capital. Shun the incremental, and look for the quantum leap.”
24. Live Speed “Speed is everything. It is the indispensable ingredient of competitiveness.”
25. Behave Like a Small Company Small companies have huge competitive advantages. They “are uncluttered, simple informal. They thrive on passion and ridicule bureaucracy. Small companies grow on good ideas - regardless of their source. They need everyone, involve everyone, and reward or remove people based on their contribution to winning. Small companies dream big dreams and set the bar high - increments and fractions don’t interest them.“

* philosopher and writer Khalil Gibran

You work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth.
For to be idle is to become a stranger unto the seasons, and to step out of life’s procession, that marches in majesty and proud submission towards the infinite.”
“When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music.Which of you would be a reed, dumb and silent, when all else sings together in unison?”

Gibran mentions of the “the earth and the soul of the earth” which pertains to the self-sustaining world that we live in. And that pace of the earth is to exist, to live and survive.
Though human endeavor will always be continually relentless in our society’s search for never-ending progress and development [”proud submission towards the infinite”], every human being must learn to live in harmony with this rhythm. The poem speaks about unity and accord, that every aspect of human labor is collective in nature. One can never achieve a goal without having the help of his peers or his co-workers. Humans are social beings attributed to its immense population and relative responsibility of sustaining the needs of its race. In order to survive, every human being must work in unanimity. In the aspect of labor, productivity depends on the harmony of social structures within a system.

“Always you have been told that work is a curse and labour a misfortune.But I say to you that when you work you fulfill a part of earth’s furthest dream, assigned to you when that dream was born,And in keeping yourself with labour you are in truth loving life,And to love life through labour is to be intimate with life’s inmost secret
“But if you in your pain call birth an affliction and the support of the flesh a curse written upon your brow, then I answer that naught but the sweat of your brow shall wash away that which is written.”

A common misconception of work and labour is that it is always associated with hardship and physical stress. But to the author, that misconception greatly depends on the perspective of the worker. In a spiritual sense, the author mentions of a “dream” which can be translated as “one’s purpose of existence”. He said that “if one is keeping himself with labour, then he is in truth loving life” which will therefore fulfill the “purpose of his
existence” [”fulfilling a part of earth’s furthest dream”]. Work therefore is an amount of effort applied to produce a deliverable or to accomplish a task, not a state of burden or misfortune. And when one bears fruit of his own labour then one shall acquire his own alleviation. [”the sweat of your brow shall wash away that which is written”]

“You have been told also that life is darkness, and in your weariness you echo what was said by the weary.And I say that life is indeed darkness save when there is urge,And all urge is blind save when there is knowledge,And all knowledge is vain save when there is work,And all work is empty save when there is love;And when you work with love you bind yourself to yourself, and to one another, and to God.”
“And what is it to work with love?It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart, even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth.It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy, even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit.It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit,And to know that all the blessed dead are standing about you and watching.”

Gibran conceivably implicated the most benign interactions of expression in this stanza where he contemplated the importance of urge, knowledge, and love in one’s work. When one works with love one attaches himself to himself, and to others, and to God. We all live in a spiritual, quasi-philosophical world that we always tend to struggle for justification for our actions. We need a source of strength for our entire physical and spiritual skirmish with life, and Gibran explains; we can achieve this if we bind our existence to ourselves, to others and to God.
The verse further explains symbolical relationships on the nature of one’s purpose of labor. That one must put all his commitment and dedication on his work as if the outcome of his physical labor; the cloth that he weaved, the house he built, the seeds he had sown and harvest, will all be for his beloved.

“Often have I heard you say, as if speaking in sleep, “He who works in marble, and finds the shape of his own soul in the stone, is nobler than he who ploughs the soil.And he who seizes the rainbow to lay it on a cloth in the likeness of man, is more than he who makes the sandals for our feet.”But I say, not in sleep but in the overwakefulness of noontide, that the wind speaks not more sweetly to the giant oaks than to the least of all the blades of grass;And he alone is great who turns the voice of the wind into a song made sweeter by his own loving.”

Gibran attempts to define the state of equivalence of men in all labour. “He who works in marble, and finds the shape of his own soul in the stone, is nobler than he who ploughs the soil.” He further explained that this realization only exists “in sleep” or in a whimsical state of human thoughts, an actual misconception. He then turns to define greatness as when “one who can turn the voice of the wind into a song made sweeter by his own loving.” When a writer creates a masterpiece by committing himself to his work to help others to understand earns as much success as when an inventor produces a machine that alleviates the welfare of people. Work will be defined by the greatness of its worker not by its own greatness.
“Work is love made visible.And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man’s hunger.And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distils a poison in the wine.And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man’s ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night.”
The prophet Almustafa, ends the poetic discussion on work that was started by a ploughman, by saying “Work is love made visible…” The only way to conceive and produce a good result of work or labor is when one puts his heart into it. Loving one’s work is one of the greatest contentment a human being could ever feel. No one else could define this feeling not unless he commits himself into it. By showing dedication, enthusiasm, devotion and loyalty, one’s physical work would bring peace and contentment to himself, to his family and to the people around him.
These are words to live by. Gibran’s words are refreshingly nonsectarian yet feel none the less profound, timeless, universal and relevant to all cultures, peoples and times. The profoundness of his truth is not gleaned until the words are read many times. Gibran teaches us to celebrate life no matter what the circumstance is. We need to work in order to live. And as what he said, “Work is love made visible…” just intricately suggest that to work is to love.

1. Realistic

If you’re anything like me and have read self-help books before, you’d find that sometimes when you finish one of these books, you’d feel like you can walk through fire and conquer the world. Whilst that’s not necessarily a bad thing, sometimes it can be a little dangerous. Unrealistic goals and expectations can lead to failure and disappointment.

This is why I’ve set being Realistic the most important element of the framework. It wraps the other elements and serves as a reminder that throughout the process, we have to be brutally honest with ourselves about what we are trying to do, whether it is attainable or not and what’s really involved.

2. Realise

The precursor to any change is Realising a change is required. For me, this is typically personified by the “Ah ha” moment. That is, the moment when something inside just clicks by magic and I realise there’s a problem and something needs to be done.

Based on my experience, this is really the first step in the whole process. If we don’t know whether a change is required or not, either nothing would change or something would change but not by choice or conscious effort. The net result of this is we’re left letting the Universe dictate our happiness.

3. Recognise

The Recognise step comes immediately after Realise. It is about identifying what the problem is truly about and whether there are any parallels we can draw from based on our past experiences and circumstances. I find problems are seldom completely unique. If I were to break a problem down, there are always similarities with other things I’ve done before. Recognise is the step in which we try to figure out what the problem is about and whether we’ve solved similar things before.

4. Reframe

Sometimes, our initial assessment of a problem can be incorrect. Often, I find this is because the problem is poorly defined. Reframing is the feedback step which allows us to restate the problem in a different way and in doing so perhaps Realise and Recognise the problem as something else entirely. This can sometimes cast a problem in a different light and present a solution which may otherwise not be obvious.

5. Respond

Although Respond is depicted as the next step which comes after Recognise, it doesn’t really occur until the problem is fully Realised, Recognised and Reframed (if necessary).

Respond is an action step. It is about taking the problem we have identified and working at the action items until the problem is resolved. I find using solutions I have applied to similar issues, keeping things positive and other great problem solving techniques to be useful here.

6. Review

Have we actually resolved the issue? That’s a question we should always ask, even though it may seem obvious for simple problems. Review is the time we do this and it’s important because without it, we may never learn from our mistakes or know if our solution has done the job or not. If we aren’t satisfied for whatever reason, we will need to Repeat a few things.

7. Repeat

Repeat is the step which we follow if for whatever reason the solutions we have put in place does not meet all the requirements we have identified.

I find as I work on a problem, my initial assumptions can be incorrect. For these cases, I repeat the Recognise step to redefine and potentially reframe the problem. Sometimes also, I may need to re-execute and re-implement for no other reason than me making mistakes the first time through. For these cases, I simple Respond again.

8. Reflect

Reflection is similar to Review in the sense that we are comparing what we’ve done against what we have set out to do. Whilst Review is focused mainly on the problem itself, Reflect is about matching what we’ve done against our overall mission statement and goals in life.

I’ve always believed that life is too short to be doing things that are not congruent to our life’s goals. Reflection is the step in which we pause for a second to ask if we’re doing the right thing. If we aren’t perhaps we need to reassess our position and change.

While this isn’t a step we need to do all the time, I find it pays to do it occasionally simply because sometimes we can work in auto-pilot, get bogged down with the realities of life and forget what’s really important to us.

9. Reward

I described this step in the original post about the 5 steps to accomplishing your goals and I’ll briefly reiterate it here. If you have met all the requirements of the problem and are measuring well against your overall goals, then reward yourself. This is an important step because it helps to keep us motivated. As with the other steps, ensure your Rewards are Realistic!

10. Renew

The final element in the framework is Renew. Renew is essentially using the results of the work you have just done and the things you have just achieved as a motivator for new and more ambitious goals. Use it as a launching platform to set your sights to new things which may not have seem possible or Realistic before.

In conclusion

Life is a continuous process of discovery and learning. We only stop doing either of these when we die. At this very moment, you are discovering new things, experiencing interesting events, learning and growing constantly. For any given problem, challenge or goal, pause for a moment and identify which step you’re at. The great thing is you don’t have to start at the beginning of the flow. Just start applying the 10 R’s to Success based on where you’re at right now, irrespective of the problem.

I hope what I’ve written makes sense. I don’t think I’ve fleshed it out as well as I could have in this article. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment. If you can, please provide me with some input on what works and what doesn’t based on your own experiences, so I can incorporate your suggestions and improve the overall effectiveness of the framework for one and all.

1. Build a critical mass of knowledge. You have to have a sound base from which ideas or thoughts will come. This base of knowledge has to be built before you are required to think fast.

2. Be prepared. If you are going to show (off) your speed of thought, you have to be prepared before the time of reckoning comes. This is different from building critical mass above. The preparation can be done by reviewing bodies of knowledge, or you could guess/think about what the potential questions may be and try to answer them quickly.

3. Practice thinking fast. The brain has to be trained to think fast. In Chess, this is accomplished by playing practice speed or blitz games. In real life, you can do this by reading very quickly, reviewing quickly, answering testlets quickly. Practice makes perfect. This is different from preparation above. Preparation is getting ready for something. Practice is just doing it to form a habit.

4. Be honest. It takes longer when you fake it than when you tell the truth. It is easier to rattle off something that you truly know than something that doesn’t exist. In addition to thinking fast you would have to create it if you are making it up.

5. Practice lateral thinking or getting out of the box. If you stick to old ways of thinking you may find that when you hit a mental block, you are not be able to get over it. The solution may be to go around or over it instead of through.

6. Commit to thinking fast. You have to commit yourself to thinking fast. It is an endeavor that requires discipline. You cannot do it some of the time. Or you wake up one morning and you decide to give it a shot and expect to do well. Commitment may require some life changes.

7. Time yourself. How long did it take you to solve a puzzle, to explain yourself, to solve a problem at work, or to complete a testlet in an exam? FAST has an element of time in it.

8. Use your experience. Analyze your thought process afterwards. This is similar to analyzing a Chess game that you recorded. From here you see some patterns that you can tweak accordingly.

Fast thinking helps to take fast decisions.   

Sometimes some decisions we have to make fast and carry out.  If you think all the sides of that issue fast, you can take a correct decision fast too.  Taking a decision is easy, but making that correct decision is not. 

Some kind of brain teasers, puzzles are good to practice , and stimulate our brain, to think fast.  One of my favorite is Blitz chess game.  You have a fixed time to play, the game is going to win in two ways. Either you have to move faster than your opponent, and make your opponent run out of time, or you have to win over your opponent.  When you play this game, you have to concentrate your critical movements and time. 

http://www.flyordie.com/chess/index.html