- Jack Welch the former CEO and chairman of General Electric has died at the age of 84.
- In 2015, the former CEO spoke at the Daily Mail's Answers to Correspondents' presentation about the importance of taking responsibility for your mistakes or what he called "own your whack."
- Through owning the companies' mistakes, he said a team can be proactive and grow.
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The former CEO and chairman of General Electric, Jack Welch has died at the age of 84.
In 2015, the leader spoke about the best way to start recovering from a major mishap is simply to take responsibility for it — a strategy Welch calls "owning your whack."
Welch spoke about this technique at a Daily Mail Answers to Correspondents presentation, where he and his wife, former business journalist Suzy Welch, were interviewed by former Daily Mail North America CEO Jon Steinberg.
He referred specifically to industrial distributor HD Supply, which bounced back from a serious "whack" in 2008 — an example he elaborates on further in his book "The Real-Life MBA: Your No-BS Guide to Winning the Game, Building a Team and Growing Your Career," cowritten with Suzy Welch.
In 2005, the company's revenues were about $12 billion. But in 2008, the organization suffered some serious setbacks; it had been sold by Home Depot, so it faced a heavy debt load while simultaneously getting hit by the real estate bust. Its revenues fell by 40%.
While it might have been easier for HDS CEO Joe DeAngelo to pretend the company wasn't in danger, he instead took a proactive, realistic leadership approach with his staff.
"It takes a leader who's got guts to own [the mistake]," Welch said.
Specifically, DeAngelo awarded small cash sums to employees who embodied the company's core values, including integrity and innovation.
By publicly celebrating the recipients of the awards, DeAngelo did exactly what Welch advises company leaders do when they get whacked: "keep everyone informed" and "be transparent."
When HD Supply was in trouble, Welch writes in the book, "there was no denial, and just as important, no blaming or victimhood-claiming."
Ultimately, DeAngelo's survival approach paid off. In 2014, the company had a successful public offering.
As for getting whacked in your personal career, Suzy Welch told the audience that similar principles apply.
"Don't blame anyone but yourself," she said.
SEE ALSO: Jack Welch On How To Manage Millennial Employees
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