The DNA of a Great Leader

Every entrepreneur dreams of being a combination of Steve Jobs and Jack Welch. A combination of innovation and discipline these two men model excellence in leadership that is the desire of every business leader around the world. Today, there is no class that studies the DNA of a great leader. We do not have an intimate way of discovering what made these two titans of great companies the leaders that they became. Their paths are different. Their backgrounds unsimilar. They did not lead similar companies nor did they lead in the same fashion. What they did do was become the identity and embodiment of their respective organizations and as these two corporate champions went so went their organizations.

When Steve Jobs was forced out at Apple analysts thought the move was a positive one with Apple having lagged behind in sales and losing a touch on the pulse of their typical consumer. However, in the near decade Jobs was absent from the top position, Apple's position did not change. In fact, until his reemergence as the champion of Apple, the company languished to produce anything worth buying. Since his return, iPods, iPhones, iMacs and the like have been rolling off the innovation platform that is Apple's design center.

Jack Welch led General Electric for twenty years from 1981 to 2001. In that time, the company saw its market capitalization increase over $400 billion dollars. That growth was in no small measure a byproduct of Jack Welch's business style and management philosophy. He was a staunch disciplinarian who annually fired the least productive ten percent of managers in GE. Additionally, he believed that if you were not either number one or number two in a particular industry you should divest yourself of that business.

It is obvious to see that Steve Jobs and Jack Welch come from distinctly different management styles and philosophies. Yet, their ability to influence change and growth in their respective companies is unmatched if not unrivaled. Yet, there are some similarities these two business leaders possess that any entrepreneur can tap into and begin to implement in their organizations.

The one undeniable trait that both of these gentlemen had is an internal vision of what their respective companies were. More than what they produced, GE and Apple are unique companies with diverse cultures, but their identities are unshakeable and it is a testament to the leadership of Jack Welch and Steve Jobs. Any company can waffle between industries, but great companies are those who understand who they are and what they can and cannot do. Apple never tried to beat Microsoft at building great personal computers. Apple's computers, the Macintosh, annually grade higher than its desktop brethren. In the same way, when GE decides to move into an industry it does so not to get larger but because it adds value to its established kiertsu of companies.

The second trait Jack Welch and Steve Jobs possess is the belief that failure is inevitable but is the price of success. If you were to read a bio of both of these titans of business you would find success and failures intermingled in their times of leadership. What you will learn is that both of them were gifted in using failure as a good thing to empower the company more than to demoralize it. Many leaders experience failure like drowning. Jack Welch and Steve Jobs saw failure as one step closer to success. Any great leader would be wise to have a similar philosophy.

The drive that Jack Welch and Steve Jobs have is immeasurable. Many ceo's are driven to achieve and grow their companies. These two men are driven to innovate and produce better, higher quality products more than anything else. Almost to the point of being called taskmasters, they lead oftentimes to the point of being intimidating to their employees. Yet with that came a healthy respect that outweighed any discomfort felt by the rank and file.

The level of ownership exhibited by Jobs and Welch is another shared trait. Any manager or entrepreneur must invest themselves so fully into their companies that they become synonymous with the success or failure of them. When someone thinks of General Electric to this day they think of Jack Welch. In the same way, during the twelve years that Steve Jobs was away from Apple it was still very much his company even though he only owned one share of stock during that time. Their ability to own the companies they led was seen as, as much of an investment on their part as any management decision they made.

The last trait that Jack Welch and Steve Jobs carry is commitment. It is unquestioned the level to which Jack Welch and Steve Jobs went and still would go in order for their respective companies to achieve. By achieve, it is not to mean simply net profits and revenue growth it is meant to be innovative and productive. When Jack Welch brought the Six Sigma quality standard to GE from Motorola profits sourced. Others thought the move foolish and culture killing but Jack Welch was willing to make a strategic investment in the dynamics of the organization he led. With Steve Jobs back at the head, Apple has churned out the most innovative products available. That is in no small measure to Jobs' commitment to doing things differently for the sake of doing them better.

Both of these men have performed under the microscope of scrutiny and criticism. They are not without their detractors and status killers. But when you gaze at the bottom lines of their companies, growth and revenues cannot be fabricated forever. They led great companies because inside of each of them were traits that are in many entrepreneurs and business leaders. The only difference is that they maximized whereas the rest of the world is satisfied with the status quo. And that makes them great.