{"product_id":"9780358250418","title":"Lights Out : Pride, Delusion, and the Fall of General Electric","description":"\u003cstrong\u003eLights Out\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor(s): Thomas Gryta, Ted Mann\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \"If you’re in any kind of leadership role—whether at a company, a non-profit, or somewhere else—there’s a lot you can learn here.\"—Bill Gates, \u003ci\u003eGates Notes\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e How could General Electric—perhaps America’s most iconic corporation—suffer such a swift and sudden fall from grace?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e This is the definitive history of General Electric’s epic decline, as told by the two \u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e reporters who covered its fall.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Since its founding in 1892, GE has been more than just a corporation. For generations, it was job security, a solidly safe investment, and an elite business education for top managers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e GE electrified America, powering everything from lightbulbs to turbines, and became fully integrated into the American societal mindset as few companies ever had. And after two decades of leadership under legendary CEO Jack Welch, GE entered the twenty-first century as America’s most valuable corporation. Yet, fewer than two decades later, the GE of old was gone.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ​\u003ci\u003eLights Out\u003c\/i\u003e examines how Welch’s handpicked successor, Jeff Immelt, tried to fix flaws in Welch’s profit machine, while stumbling headlong into mistakes of his own. In the end, GE’s traditional win-at-all-costs driven culture seemed to lose its direction, which ultimately caused the company’s decline on both a personal and organizational scale.\u003ci\u003e Lights Out\u003c\/i\u003e details how one of America’s all-time great companies has been reduced to a cautionary tale for our times.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReview(s):\u003cbr\u003e\"How could a company as big and successful as GE fail? I’ve been thinking about that question for several years, and Lights Out finally gave me many of the answers I was seeking. The authors give you an unflinching look at the mistakes and missteps made by GE’s leadership. If you’re in any kind of leadership role—whether at a company, a non-profit, or somewhere else—there’s a lot you can learn here.\"—\u003cstrong\u003eBill Gates, \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGates Notes\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e \"5 Ideas for Summer Reading\"\u003c\/strong\u003e   “A gripping and deeply reported account of the devastating disintegration of one of the most iconic firms ever to exist. To all of us shocked by GE’s seemingly abrupt fall from grace, this book lays out in painful detail how such a thing could have happened.” \u003cstrong\u003e—Rita McGrath, Columbia Business School, author of \u003cem\u003eSeeing Around Corners: How to Spot Inflection Points in Business Before They Happen\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e   “Gryta and Mann tell a bracing tale of corporate venality, incompetence, and shortsighted deal-making. It’s a parable with no heroes but many lessons for anyone who wants to know how twenty-first century corporate management, which venerates stock price above all other measures of value, has gone so disastrously awry.” \u003cstrong\u003e—Andrew Rice, \u003cem\u003eNew York Magazine\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e   “\u003cem\u003eLights Out\u003c\/em\u003e is the definitive story of an American business powerhouse losing its way. Gryta and Mann’s meticulous reporting puts us in the rooms—and on the private jets—where GE’s leaders struggled over the company’s fate, with billions of dollars in the balance. More than just an intimate profile of one company, this book is a captivating tale of human complexity, greed, and hubris.” \u003cstrong\u003e—Evan Ratliff, author of \u003cem\u003eThe Mastermind: Drugs. Murder. Empire. Betrayal\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e   “This vital history of an American institution warns us of what happens when a company pursues growth for growth’s sake, and its leaders struggle to understand what they can and cannot control.”  \u003cstrong\u003e—David Gura, anchor and correspondent, MSNBC\u003c\/strong\u003e   “Possessing all the suspense of a true-crime account, Gryta and Mann’s riveting look at GE’s previous two decades underlines the harsh facts of survival in twenty-first-century business.” \u003cstrong\u003e—\u003cem\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e   “Gryta and Mann expand on their \u003cem\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/em\u003e reporting to create a compelling narrative of a giant’s spectacular fall in this powerful and fascinating read.” \u003cstrong\u003e—\u003cem\u003eBooklist\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e   “This revealing and accessible postmortem of GE’s downward spiral will be important reading for a wide audience, including customers, employees, former employees, and investors, as well as anyone interested in twenty-first-century corporate management.” \u003cstrong\u003e—\u003cem\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eISBN:  9780358250418\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e ","brand":"Mariner Books","offers":[{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":41151189647566,"sku":"9780358250418","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0600\/7029\/7806\/products\/9780358250418_eb8c7ddc-c56e-480d-a780-702e6f957244.jpg?v=1652129014","url":"https:\/\/pickwickbookshop.com\/products\/9780358250418","provider":"Pickwick Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}