Introduction.

IN ONE DECADE: FROM LETTERMAN TO SEINFELD N AMERICAN ODYSSEY.

Growing Up in Salem.

The First to Go to College.

Sports Were Everything.

Ice Can’t Form on a Swift-Moving Stream.

Take This Job and Do It.

QUALITIES OF A LEADER: WELCH STYLE.

The Challenge: To Be Fair.

The Temperament of a Boss.

The Thrill of Victory.

A Typical Meeting with Chairman Welch.

Humor Us.

WELCH’S WORLD: GENERAL ELECTRIC.

The Engine Called General Electric.

GE: Just an Everyday $163 Billion Family Store.

Beyond National Borders.

Heros.

The Holy City.

GE Jargon.

Dirty Diamonds and Other GE Scandals.

THE FABRIC OF LEADERSHIP.

Be a Leader, Not a Manager.

No Ideas du Jour.

The Trap: Measuring Everything, Understanding Nothing.

Don’t Sell Hats to Each Other.

Share Information.

The Creed.

Four Types of Leaders.

The Best Mutual Fund in the World.

WELCH, THE CHANGE AGENT.

Change Before You Have To.

Go for the Leap.

Managing Paradox.

Productivity: Unlimited Juice in the Lemon.

THE HARDWARE REVOLUTION.

Putting Money on the Right Gambles.

Three Big Circles.

Be Number 1 or Number 2: A Concept That Should Be Gone.

Flattening the GE Wedding Cake.

Downsizing.

Honey, I Shrunk GE.

THE SOFTWARE REVOLUTION.

The Soft Values.

Workout.

Simplicity.

Speed.

Self-Confi dence.

Labor Unions.

A Boundaryless GE.

Searching the Planet for the Best Practices.

Teamwork.

Stretch.

Six Sigma Quality.

It All Comes Out in the Wash.

TAKING STOCK.

Fail Your Way to Success.

Welch’s Critics.

The German Point of View.

Being a Good Citizen.

Work/Life Balance.

How Much Is Leadership Worth?

What Made Jack Welch a Success?

THE ROCKY ROAD TO RETIREMENT.

The Race for Jack’s Job.

How the Contenders Have Done.

The Honeywell Hustle.

Honeywell after GE.

GE after Jack.

THE REINVENTION OF JACK WELCH.

Falling in Love.

Back at Harvard Business Review: A Moral Dilemma.

Who Is Suzy?

The Dirty Divorce.

Passing Back the Perks.

The Wedding.

The New Couple.

The John F. Welch College of Business.

Jack’s New Career.

SUMMING UP.

General Electric and Jack Welch— A Chronology.

Endnotes.

Permissions.