The book was recommended by Bill Gates and I listened it on Audible.
It explored the downfall of General Electric under CEO Jeff Immelt. The fall of GE is set in stone by former CEO Jack Welch, who turned GE into a conglomerate of diverse components, ranging from industrial manufacturing(GE Aviation, GE Power and GE appliances) to media (NBC) and even finance (GE Capital). Jack Welch leveraged GE Capital (a bank in reality but valued as a industrial company which gave it a higher P/E) to smooth out the revenue and earning and created an illusion of superior management and innovation, satisfying Wall Street and hiking up the GE share price, enriching himself along the way. In truth, Jack Welch is more a shrewd Ponzi schemer and financial engineer than an entrepreneur. To a large extent, Jack Welch is a Bernie Madoff with a better timing.
It is a sobering read on how crooks like Jack Welch and Jeff Immelt can fool the world and make General Electric an American icon.
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