In the Shadow of GE
I received my MBA from Sacred Heart University in the 1980's. SHU is one block from the General Electric headquarters in Fairfield CT, and many of the professors I had were GE exec's who preached the same business philosophy on communications.

Keep it brief, on point and don't tolerate any BS.

Bill Lanes book is just that, brief, on point and no BS. Although I wouldn't give the book to my mother to read, it is a must for anyone who has sat through a day of meeting filled with Power Point presentations and speakers who learned their presentation skills in the first grade with "Show & Tell".

Hopefully Board Rooms through out the country will adopt this communication philosophy, if not their competition will.

Two books in one

A number of excellent books have already been written by or about Jack Welch and I wondered why Bill Lane would write another. More accurately, I was curious to know what (if anything) he could add to the life and career of arguably the most effective CEO during the last 50 years. As it turns out, Lane provides an eyewitness account that is (pardon the cliché) up close and personal to Welch from the time he was selected by Reginald Jones as his successor in 1981 until he retired in 2001. After seven years of service in the Army's Congressional office at the Pentagon, Lane was hired by GE in 2000 and was later named GE's Manager, Chief Executive Officer Communications and was Welch's speechwriter. For almost ten years, Lane probably spent more one-on-one time with Welch than did anyone else at GE.

What I did not expect when reading this book was the abundance of information and advice Lane provides with regard to effective communications. Because I hold Jack Welch in high regard, I was delighted to be able to tag along with Lane as he and Welch worked closely together on various projects. However, I also thoroughly appreciate what Lane shares when discussing what he has learned about public presentations, written communications, and (yes) collaborating with egomaniacs such as Welch who could be endearing one moment and insufferable the next. So there are two ways to view this book: as a remarkably candid profile of Welch that uses real-world situations (e.g. communications) to reveal his personality and character, or, a remarkably detailed manual on effective communications that that uses real-world situations (e.g. assignments for Welch) to demonstrate key points.

It is worth noting that Lane can be as endearing and insufferable as Welch. (Both are masters of what could be called "strategic" use of temperament.) At no time does he seem to be haunted by self-doubt. He knows his stuff, knows that he knows his stuff, and leaves no doubt in anyone else's mind that he knows his stuff. Perhaps only someone such as Lane could have survived close proximity to Welch for a period of almost ten years. I should add that both Welch and Lane also come across as sensitive, thoughtful, and caring persons. Both possess what Ernest Hemingway once described as "a built-in, shock-proof crap detector." It would not be unusual for one to shout at the other "I love you, goddammit!"...and mean it.

Amidst the on-going drama of testosterone on steroids, while Welch "blows up GE" as Jones urged him to do, providing the leadership that enabled it to increase its market value from $14-billion to than $410 billion by the end of 2004, Lane includes what could serve as a primer of corporate communications. He illustrates all of his key points with real-world examples, adding insights provided by numerous GE associates. Here are a few representative examples:

"The vanity of communications is about never - ever allowing anything but your best face, and that of your organization, to ever, ever, appear in front of your constituencies or your employees or your mates." (Page 3)

"The best presentations I've done in my life - including my father's five-minute eulogy - are ones about which people I respected came up and said: `It was great, but it was too short. I wanted to hear more.'" (Page 33)

"Handle the dirty guts of your business or operation. Doing so will give you the confidence to walk into any meeting rooms immune to fakery and with no need to engage in that activity yourself." (Page 112)

"In any presentation, to any audience, you must `season' a success story - even a triumphant success story - with some commentary on `where we came up short' or `where we could have done better' or "if we had to do it over, we might have taken a slightly different approach.' These are enormous credibility-enhancers. An unalloyed `success story' sounds like `blow and go,' and causes any audience to switch on its BS detectors." (Page 157)

"Start off strongly with a hint of urgency in your voice. Memorize your opening. Sharpen it like a spear and then fire it into the hearts of the audience after you bound up to the lectern to do your pitch. And, if there is a particular anecdote that set you off on this subject and frames your thinking on the subject you are about to present, tell it. The dramatic effect of a powerful anecdote is immense. Grab them by the throats; pique their interest and their curiosity in those first few seconds." (Page 279)


Lane begins his Introduction as follows: "Is there a crying -- or even whimpering - need for this book? I'm not sure. My book fills three gaps that you, the reader, can decide were better filled or not." They are the details of Lane's life, how Jack Welch transformed GE, and his need to help the reader become a better communicator. If not filling each of the three "gaps," Lane certainly adds substantially to each. In process, he provides a remarkably lively, frequently entertaining account of both his relationship with Jack Welch and of what he learned during his own years at GE. Near the end of the Introduction, Lane sets the tone of the narrative that follows when recalling Welch's retirement party ("the hottest ticket in town") at the Crotonville campus. "My favorite tribute to Jack was by Triumph the Insult Comic Dog from the Conan O'Brien Show, who, peering out at us in contempt with a cigar in his mouth, said, "Look at this crowd of GE executives and celebrities at Jack Welch's party. I haven't seen so many parasites since my last stool sample.'...It was a real celebration."

And so is this book. I strongly recommend it as well as Jeffrey Krames's Jack Welch and The 4 E's of Leadership: How to Put GE's Leadership Formula to Work in Your Organization and Winning co-authored by Jack Welch and Suzy Welch.

An insiders view giving the gritty realism.
The author was Jack Welch's speachwriter or maybe could say helper since Welch intimately edited and sourced most of his speech data. Does a great job using short story vignettes showing what it was like to work in the executive suite inside the transforming General Electric company. Sure he probably doesn't tell it all since he was essentially friends with Jack Welch but he does tell more than you might ever think any friendly insider would. Includes GE's real world language amidst their frustration with poor management that they were trying to clean up. Shows the fixing of a bloated company. Added extra is a continuing expose on corporate communication from an insiders view, not consultants view, that you will seldom see. He summarizes what is needed in a good corporate presentation. A great read making you feel like you were a right there experiencing the events.

Engaging, entertaining, informative
As Bill Lane explains, one of the worst sins a presenter can commit is to be boring. This is true for writers also. And Lane's book is many things, but "boring" isn't one of them.

A couple of earlier negative reviews faulted Lane for being racist, sexist, and for being a peripheral player rather than a member of Welch's inner circle. After reading the book, I'd say that's partly true -- but irrelevant.

In one section of the book, Lane honestly describes the latent racism he perceives bubbling under the surface in corporate America. But I didn't get the impression he subscribes to any racist views himself. So criticism of him on this point is kind of like shooting the messenger.

Sexism, though, is another story. In addition to pointing out some harsh truths about the obstacles women face in corporate America, he also can't resist pointing out the physical attributes of some of the women professionals he writes about. While it might make you wince, you can understand where that neanderthal view is coming from, given that Lane is a former military guy who worked for 20 years in the chummy, highball-guzzling, locker-room-chatter, alpha-male fraternity of GE. Maybe he's a product of his environment, or call it a personality flaw. But I think it's a stronger book for the lack of a veneer of political correctness, even if I don't agree with his personal views.

Lane's credibility is helped by him never claiming to be a member of Welch's inner circle. Quite the contrary, he labels himself as part of the "junior 'Executive Band'" -- with ready access to Welch, but having little influence on business decisions. So his anecdotes seem genuine and believable as a result.

And the book really shines where it counts: in Lane's advice on how to communicate important ideas simply, forcefully, and clearly -- from a guy who helped Jack Welch and others do that every day. It's great advice not just for giving speeches or presentations, but any time you need to sell your ideas in person or in print.

Best Profile of Jack Welch - A Good Read
None of the books I have previously read about Jack Welch have given me what I would consider a `real' portrait of the man. In recent years I have begun to appreciate his strengths due to his regular appearances on CNBC's Squawk Box where he has shown himself to be a tough talking, tough questioning guest. He doesn't take prisoners. Bill Lane's book brings Welch to life and not always with hagiographic, lovey -dovey type of commentary.

The book contains real-life commentary (i.e. regular f-bombs and other interesting descriptors) and paints a good pictures of how hard driving Welch was. The opening chapter shows how unreasonable this hugely successful CEO could be and as he himself admitted how vain he could be. Welch was, and probably still is, completely unreasonable, profane and unrealistic in his work practices and demands which is partly why he was such an amazing success.

Jacked Up is interesting in a number of ways and is a book that could be of real benefit to the budding speech writer or someone who fancies themselves as an inspirational, motivational, keynote speaker.
Lane takes us through how Welch used communications to ignite the growth of GE, but he also shows us some key lessons of good speechwriting. Conversely, one of the weaknesses of the book is that he provides too much advice. Almost every chapter finishes with some speech writing advice based on Welch's or Lane's experience. It is not possible to take all of this advice on board, but if you want one enjoyable read about one of the business world's greatest icons, this is worth purchasing.