Prologue Summary and Analysis

Jack Welch prefaces the autobiography of his early years and career with GE by beginning at the end. He passes the CEO baton on to Jeff Immelt, Thanksgiving Day, 2000, and reminisces about the day in 1980 that GE Chairman, Reg Jones announced him as Jones's successor. Jack considers his initial appointment as Jones's successor to be one of the most painful moments of his career. Jones appoints Jack because he believes Jack is the person who can most effectively help the company change and grow.

In a lengthy Business Week magazine interview, Jack says he quickly learned that changing the company to become more competitive did not mean that he should change the person he is. Instead, he realizes that working collectively in an informal environment does more to effect the desired and necessary changes toward modernizing the company. Many write to...