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GE really gobbled all those companies up, didn't they?

I learned about Neutron Jack from Bloomberg Game changers, I think, and then fleshed out a more well-rounded picture years later. Corporate America is currently using some of Jack's old tricks today, like cutting the bottom X percent of performers. IIRC, that was one of his big initiatives with GE.

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yeah that's become standard in one way or another - the dreaded annual performance review. I think Jack acquired 1000-ish(!) companies during his reign only to see it all undone; they really did lose their way and GE capital was the big domino to fall. Did you catch how I snuck in Gilded Age from your comment last week :)

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Nicely done! The mental torch-passing continues, and I love every minute of it.

Welch's strategy reminds me of the current money-printing paradigm the US is most likely perpetually stuck in. It'll work great, right up until the point where it just stops working, but nobody really knows how long the party is going to last.

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Tbh I think Jack knew. He had super kush retirement including use of corporate jet and NY penthouse setup just as he skedaddled off write his books and go on talk shows. He knew!

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Ick. They do sometimes.

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Speaking of logos, I remember when GE decided that its iconic cursive-circle logo just wouldn't do on its jet engines and came up with that awful sans-serif parallelogram monstrosity. I believe the classic original now graces its engines.

I also remember how my first real exposure to the Internet was GEnie. The user manual was a small, loose-leaf binder.

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That logo is MONEY, don't know why they would mess with it. While I didn't partake in GEnie, I had a few GE microwaves!

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