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Comment by jasonwatkinspdx | Hacker News Reader

Jack himself said he should be judged by where the company was 10 years after he left. That comment did not age well.

I'm saying he had a larger agenda at the time that comment was made, one that had him divesting not just from nuclear but many other of GE's historic heavy industry and power related business lines.

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After he left the stock outperformed for 16 years, in my book that qualifies as aging well. What is your metric?

https://www.amazon.com/Man-Who-Broke-Capitalism-America_and/...

Your metric is a link to a biased book with nothing you wanted to quote?

No you are right. Stock prices of companies is the most important metric for how well society works.

Welch actually said 20 years. And when confronted about that performance he refuses to discuss it. That should tell you something.

DUBNER: Let me ask you this: in 1999, not long before you retired from G.E., you said that your ultimate success would be determined by how well your successor grows the company over the next 20 years. When you said that, G.E.’s market cap was up north of $450 billion. Now it’s almost 20 years later, it’s just north of $200 billion. So talk to me about that. I know that you —

WELCH: I don’t talk about that.

Now maybe Welch doesn't want to seem like he's bad-mouthing the performance of those who came after him, but he does have at least some responsibility for ensuring a good continuity of leadership.

https://freakonomics.com/podcast/extra-jack-welch-full-inter...

> Jack himself said he should be judged by where the company was 10 years after he left. That comment did not age well.

How so? Don't you agree with it?

His bets proved to be bad bets long term. They looked good initially because he was riding the real estate bubble.

But you disagree that he should be judged on that?

The implication when a comment is made like that about one's self is that it should be a positive reflection. Most people are not asking people to berate them.

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