Lights Out: Pride, Delusion, and the Fall of General Electric
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- Create Date：2021-06-15 08:54:11
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Thomas Gryta
- ISBN：0358250412
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Summary
How could General Electric—perhaps America’s most iconic corporation—suffer such a swift and sudden fall from grace？
This is the definitive history of General Electric’s epic decline， as told by the two Wall Street Journal reporters who covered its fall。
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。
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。
Lights Out 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。 Lights Out details how one of America’s all-time great companies has been reduced to a cautionary tale for our times。
This is the definitive history of General Electric’s epic decline， as told by the two Wall Street Journal reporters who covered its fall。
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。
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。
Lights Out 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。 Lights Out details how one of America’s all-time great companies has been reduced to a cautionary tale for our times。
Reviews
Ambarish Halwasiya
，
three words are Accounting gimmick， merger and acquisition， divestment （oh my that's more than 3 words but you get what I mean）。 that is what this whole book is aboutMore at Hermit Tree three words are Accounting gimmick， merger and acquisition， divestment （oh my that's more than 3 words but you get what I mean）。 that is what this whole book is aboutMore at Hermit Tree 。。。more
Amiee
，
As a former GE employee I found this book fascinating。 I fell for the company hook line and sinker！ I remember the changes in marketing and thought they were ingenious。 reading about the disfunction at the top is eye opening！ We all knew there were issue but dedicated to the success of the company。Reading these names， marketing decisions， memories of acquisitions and sell offs…interesting look at basically 10 years of my career。
Isaac Gill
，
Phenomenal book， it seems to go from A-to-Z - at least based on publicly available info on how GE was run in to the ground， not just by Jeff Immelt but also by Welch， and how post-Enron rule changes in accounting specifically destroyed some of the magic GE Capital contributed to GE's ability to keep hitting earnings estimates quarter after quarter， clearly a great example of how a bunch of type A sociopaths were able to fool all of the people some of the time and then it came to an end， it's unb Phenomenal book， it seems to go from A-to-Z - at least based on publicly available info on how GE was run in to the ground， not just by Jeff Immelt but also by Welch， and how post-Enron rule changes in accounting specifically destroyed some of the magic GE Capital contributed to GE's ability to keep hitting earnings estimates quarter after quarter， clearly a great example of how a bunch of type A sociopaths were able to fool all of the people some of the time and then it came to an end， it's unbelievable reading how on Immelts watch 100's of billions that could've been directed to design better jet engines and go in to improving the company processes were instead used as a firehouse to buttress the share price with highly idiotic share buybacks and dividends， and how several billions were lost chasing fads at best， or at worst gambled away on stuff like the price of oil。 Incredibly entertaining read too， totally riveting start to finish。 Also lead me to read about Danaher Corporation which is an incredible story in and of itself – a Milken seeded enterprise run by two reclusive brothers who’re billionaires focused on building good businesses in the unsexiest niches。 I am now generally weary of any company that's run by a former top level GE executive （Boeing， 3M， several others）。Oh！ If you enjoyed this book， I'd highly recommend you check out "Losing the Signal: The Untold Story Behind the Extraordinary Rise and Spectacular Fall of BlackBerry" by Jacquie McNish and Sean Silcoff - it is similar and quite nice。 。。。more
Cheng Jun
，
This is a great book about yet another venerable old company and how it fell prey to the lure of easy cash from finances。 Unlike many venerable， well-respected financial firms from Wall Street that crashed in the 2008 financial crisis， this is General Electric。This is the story of General Electric， the producer of products from toasters to jet engines; the investors in Brazilian deep-sea oil fields and toxic mortgages; and the company shaped by two legendary CEOs， Jack Welch and Jeff Immelt。A fa This is a great book about yet another venerable old company and how it fell prey to the lure of easy cash from finances。 Unlike many venerable， well-respected financial firms from Wall Street that crashed in the 2008 financial crisis， this is General Electric。This is the story of General Electric， the producer of products from toasters to jet engines; the investors in Brazilian deep-sea oil fields and toxic mortgages; and the company shaped by two legendary CEOs， Jack Welch and Jeff Immelt。A fascinating story， and a must read。 。。。more
Mousek
，
This book was a great read but could have been edited down to 240 or so pages。 The story was very interesting all the same。 It felt well researched and compiled with minimal author's opinion sprinkled throughout。 My only other complaint was that so many sentences started with the word 'and'。 Ending a sentence with a preposition is one thing but starting sentences with a conjunction at least once per page isn't my cup of tea。 The book was good all the same。 It's definitely an interesting look at This book was a great read but could have been edited down to 240 or so pages。 The story was very interesting all the same。 It felt well researched and compiled with minimal author's opinion sprinkled throughout。 My only other complaint was that so many sentences started with the word 'and'。 Ending a sentence with a preposition is one thing but starting sentences with a conjunction at least once per page isn't my cup of tea。 The book was good all the same。 It's definitely an interesting look at the downfall of an old company that couldn't shed it's skin。 。。。more
Ryan Okuno
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The book was written fine。 I finished it。 If I didn’t think the writing was good I would’ve quit reading it。 My problem is that the authors seem to gloss over Jack Welch’s problems to take a shit on Immelt， Flannery， and the board of directors of whatever they’re called instead of also identifying the issues that Welch created and then left behind when he retired。 Sure there’s a lot of blame to go around， but the authors really just didn’t care to give any critical review of the ticking time bom The book was written fine。 I finished it。 If I didn’t think the writing was good I would’ve quit reading it。 My problem is that the authors seem to gloss over Jack Welch’s problems to take a shit on Immelt， Flannery， and the board of directors of whatever they’re called instead of also identifying the issues that Welch created and then left behind when he retired。 Sure there’s a lot of blame to go around， but the authors really just didn’t care to give any critical review of the ticking time bomb that Welch left behind either。 Anyway who cares。 Every one of those assholes got their golden parachute and will be allowed to fail multiple times while the rest of us fight for scraps。 。。。more
Mary & Tom
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GE "Bringing Good Things to Life" was pretty much the extent of what I knew about GE before reading this book。 I remember growing up in the 1960's with GE appliances around the house。 G。E。 was a known a stable company whose wares could be trusted to provide good service。 This book documents the story of all the different things that happened in the world and within GE to cause its decline from a Fortune 500 Company to the shell that remains today。 The book begins with the retirement of long time GE "Bringing Good Things to Life" was pretty much the extent of what I knew about GE before reading this book。 I remember growing up in the 1960's with GE appliances around the house。 G。E。 was a known a stable company whose wares could be trusted to provide good service。 This book documents the story of all the different things that happened in the world and within GE to cause its decline from a Fortune 500 Company to the shell that remains today。 The book begins with the retirement of long time CEO Jack Welch。 Under Welch shareholders did well and the stock all ways traded about $30。00 or more per share and always paid a dividend。 Today， May 24， 2021， the stock is at $13。14 a share。 Many things contributed to this change in fortunes。 Appliances from Japan and China began making inroads in the appliance market。 The new CEO Jeff Immelt wanted to grow the business and take it to new heights。 He acquired other business which often resulted in losses。 He took the company into the the oil business just as the market was going down。 The company also had a Financial Arm GE Capital that had investments in the subprime mortgage market。 We all remember that crisis that shook the US economy。 The company had a division that sold insurance （long term care policies）。 These of course， with the rising costs in the health care industry， cost more than the premiums paid in by insureds。 In addition to these outside problems， GE was also in the habit of using some dicey accounting strategies to balance its books and make it dividend payments。 Under Immelt， the company was far from frugal in spending on itself and its executives。 These 700 people got cars and $30，000 a year to spend on GE appliances。 Immelt would fly around the world in the corporate jet， but in addition also had an empty corporate jet following him， so he would never be without a plane in case of breakdown。 The book contains short and easy to read chapters that explain the business world to rookies。 If you read this book you will learn much about corporate hierarchies， boards of directors， deal making on a million dollar scale。 Excellent reading。 GE is no longer bringing good things to life。 It is "Building a World that Works" 。。。more
Dmitry
，
This is the story of General Electric， one of the world's most iconic companies， during and after the leadership of Jeff Immelt， who had taken the the company over after Jack Welch。 The stock of GE is / was arguably one of the most widely held by individual investors， many of which depended on the steady dividend for retirement income。Following the disastrous heritage of Welch， GE went into a freefall accelerated by the greed and hubris of Immelt。 Feeling the pressure to keep the stock price up This is the story of General Electric， one of the world's most iconic companies， during and after the leadership of Jeff Immelt， who had taken the the company over after Jack Welch。 The stock of GE is / was arguably one of the most widely held by individual investors， many of which depended on the steady dividend for retirement income。Following the disastrous heritage of Welch， GE went into a freefall accelerated by the greed and hubris of Immelt。 Feeling the pressure to keep the stock price up and desperately trying to appear to be a successful CEO， Immelt team tried the complete set of traditional corporate tricks - from massaging earnings to acquiring businesses to flat out lying to investors， employees， and regulators。 The outcome is summed up nicely: "In the year after Immelt left， more than $140 billion in stock market value evaporated from the company。 More than twice the amount that vanished when Enron collapsed in 2001， that loss dwarfed the market losses on Lehman Brothers。"The book， written by two Wall Street Journal reporters， provides a detailed and well-researched narrative and analysis of the events。 With GE's drama still playing out （as of early 2021）， it sets a solid background to better appreciate what is going on。 。。。more
Craig Dupler
，
Gryta does an excellent job of walking the reader through the insanity that was the leadership of GE， and how the poison of hubris seems almost guaranteed to be generated when corporate boards pay their executives too much and lavish them with a lifestyle one would associate with a Saudi prince。 The myth that Jack Welch and the cadre of managers he trained and unleashed on a great many other once great American companies had even a tiny clue as to how to run a successful company is thoroughly di Gryta does an excellent job of walking the reader through the insanity that was the leadership of GE， and how the poison of hubris seems almost guaranteed to be generated when corporate boards pay their executives too much and lavish them with a lifestyle one would associate with a Saudi prince。 The myth that Jack Welch and the cadre of managers he trained and unleashed on a great many other once great American companies had even a tiny clue as to how to run a successful company is thoroughly dismantled。 So that's why I give it four stars。 If you worked for GE or one of the other companies that Jack's minions destroyed， you will both recognize the story and have your sense of indignation properly stoked。For a fifth star， I really expected him to dig into the morality play a little deeper and paint a more broadly applicable picture。 But， the fifth act of a great Shakespearian play is missing from the end of the book。 The end is left in what I would call a semi-satisfying state。 。。。more
E Del Corpo
，
This book was recommended by the CEO of the company I work for。 I really enjoyed this book。 This book was recommended by the CEO of the company I work for。 I really enjoyed this book which brought out to the table the inner workings of the most iconic company in America。 Corporate responsability towards employees， shareholders and society were all fails。A must read for executives on what not to do。
Benjamin Bau
，
This was a hard book to rate。 I read it soon after reading Immelt's defense which was an interesting exercise。 Much of the book felt like it veered a little too close to a hit job on Immelt。 However， the final chapters in particular provided a damning indictment of certain decisions during his tenure that rang true and made it worth the read。 This was a hard book to rate。 I read it soon after reading Immelt's defense which was an interesting exercise。 Much of the book felt like it veered a little too close to a hit job on Immelt。 However， the final chapters in particular provided a damning indictment of certain decisions during his tenure that rang true and made it worth the read。 。。。more
Charles Vasanthkumar
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Worth reading。 Business journalism has come out very well in this book
Cynthia Campbell
，
The first part of the book reads like a thriller novel - with the opening chapter detailing a visit by Flannery to the Power HQ in Schenectady - when the shady business of pumping the profitability numbers becomes evident - the reader is then treated to a roller coaster ride of the Jeff Immelt era with a back drop of GE’s history of becoming a financial business masquerading as an industrial company。 In the end， it is a Greek tragedy of the American Corporation - where pride leads to the hero’s The first part of the book reads like a thriller novel - with the opening chapter detailing a visit by Flannery to the Power HQ in Schenectady - when the shady business of pumping the profitability numbers becomes evident - the reader is then treated to a roller coaster ride of the Jeff Immelt era with a back drop of GE’s history of becoming a financial business masquerading as an industrial company。 In the end， it is a Greek tragedy of the American Corporation - where pride leads to the hero’s downfall and mere mortals are left to clean up the mess。 。。。more
Derek （AGrumpyOldMan）
，
I picked up this book last year as I have followed GE with more interest in the post-Immelt years。 I finished Jack Welch's autobiography， Jack: Straight from the Gut earlier this year and I felt that this book would be a worthy "sequel。" I was not disappointed。 In the first few chapters， the book overlaps with the Welch era and soon moves into the Immelt-led GE。 The book does a good job of layering in the various aspects of Immelt's long tenure and emphasizing certain themes such as the building I picked up this book last year as I have followed GE with more interest in the post-Immelt years。 I finished Jack Welch's autobiography， Jack: Straight from the Gut earlier this year and I felt that this book would be a worthy "sequel。" I was not disappointed。 In the first few chapters， the book overlaps with the Welch era and soon moves into the Immelt-led GE。 The book does a good job of layering in the various aspects of Immelt's long tenure and emphasizing certain themes such as the building threat posed by the operations of GE Capital， Immelt's moves to reshape the company， and his management style along with the shortcomings of that style。 While this is not a "novel-like" non-fiction book， the authors do a good job of building the tension as they tell a story and trace these elements over time， driving toward the eventual collapse （though I think that word is too extreme given that GE did not disappear as did， say， Enron。）If I had to level a criticism， I think they gave too little attention to John Flannery and his time leading the company。 I get that the theme was that GE wound up where it was largely due to the leadership of Jeff Immelt， but I would like the coverage of Flannery's period at the helm to have been expanded slightly。 I would also have liked to read more about the early stages of the Culp transition， but I appreciate that that timeline might not have been far enough along at the time the book was being put together。Having finished Welch's book and now， Lights Out with its clear criticism of Jeff Immelt， I am interested in reading his new book， Hot Seat that gives his side of the story。 It's kind of like a General Electic trilogy！ 。。。more
Nick Sotos
，
Very interesting read and history of the fall of General Electric。 As a shareholder of GE， I wanted to read this one。 Very well reported and written。 I am going to follow this up with Jeff Immelt's memoir called Hot Seat: What I Learned Leading a Great American Company to get his side of this story。 Should be very interesting。 Very interesting read and history of the fall of General Electric。 As a shareholder of GE， I wanted to read this one。 Very well reported and written。 I am going to follow this up with Jeff Immelt's memoir called Hot Seat: What I Learned Leading a Great American Company to get his side of this story。 Should be very interesting。 。。。more
Santosh Shetty
，
Was hoping to be substantially different from Hot Seat （Jeff's version） but in the end it was more or less along the same lines + a few notable discrepancies。 Was hoping to be substantially different from Hot Seat （Jeff's version） but in the end it was more or less along the same lines + a few notable discrepancies。 。。。more
Ku
，
Lacking a dramatic moment when the house of card collapses - such as Theranos or Madoff - the story of GE is your garden variety corporate greed of fudging the numbers and not paying taxes。
Chris Bauer
，
Thomas Gryta spared no avenue of research when relating the story of the downfall of an American industrial titan in "Lights Out"。Detailed， rich in interviews and fair in perspective， the book offered insights into the terrible "perfect storm" of conditions which led to GE's downfall。 I felt that many lessons were learned in wading through the chapters。 I think one of the most amazing facets of the tale is a combination of hubris， arrogance and the smug sense of "being the smartest people in the Thomas Gryta spared no avenue of research when relating the story of the downfall of an American industrial titan in "Lights Out"。Detailed， rich in interviews and fair in perspective， the book offered insights into the terrible "perfect storm" of conditions which led to GE's downfall。 I felt that many lessons were learned in wading through the chapters。 I think one of the most amazing facets of the tale is a combination of hubris， arrogance and the smug sense of "being the smartest people in the room" at all times were the true killers of GE - not changing industries， fluctuating demands of energy or other external explanations。 It was a toxic culture masquerading as confidence which ultimately brought this once great company down。 A long， demanding read but an insightful one。 。。。more
Bank
，
A tragedy worthy of Shakespeare
Wonyoung Kim
，
Interesting bookInteresting book， but lacks depth and glances over long periods of times since it is covering 20+ years of GE history in 350 pages。
Amy Dalton
，
As a former employee of GE （2016-2020） I lived through the later part of this book。 I remember the day I John Flannery was fired。 We had already been through so much turbulence already and that was the panic day for me。 Everyone had their time of fear to the change announcements and that was mine。 This book captures so much I saw to be true。 The earlier years were so telling to what happened later during my tenure。 The company is in essence historically been led by a lot of male ego。
Mehmet Demir
，
It is a good account of the rein of Jeff Immelt and how the great American icon fell from grace。 It is more one sided than I expected。 If they could get input from Jeff Immelt himself， it would have been better。 Still a fun read。
Chris Chen
，
Brutal takedown of the culture of hubris at GE， but indicative of many more companies and leaders who struggle to balance expectations， their own perception of the right image， and legacy-creation。 The book delivers a strong narrative about how Jack Welch gave him no favors when he transitioned over a bunch of B and C-quality businesses that were incredibly dysfunctional and political， but Immelt still drove the bus off the cliff。Want to read Immelt’s take
Steve Georgevitch
，
Great read！Great book on the realities of business。 Story is not strategy， optimism isn’t a plan and legacy is not a prologue for the future。 Strategy is hard but execution is harder。 Success is not a simple function of will， it also requires a recognition of reality。
Lisa
，
Fantastic book， showing the inner-workings of a massive company。 Traces the history of GE from the Welsch era to more modern years cast against changes in economic trends and corporate America。 A case study in leadership missteps， group think and poor culture- a warning to other company leaders for sure。
Heikki Keskiväli
，
An excellent book about General Electric’s demise。 Detailed walkthrough of the key events - however best enjoyed if you work in a large corporation。
Christine
，
5 stars for the content， 3 stars for writing style。 I found it hard to follow at times， it jumped time points and was grouped by topic which also makes sense but personally made it hard to see the intersection of all the things that were happening。 Effing fascinating though！ I had no idea just how large and how eff’d GE is/was and will definitely be keeping an eye on them to see how They fare！
Deb G
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Dry
Leah
，
GE is where I began my career， met some of my best friends， and where I learned skills that I've used in every professional role I've had since， but it was far from perfect。 I didn't 100% understand the severity of what happened in the 2015-2018 time frame， but now feel like I have so much more clarity。 Summary: a bunch of old powerful white men who were unable to collaborate with and listen to each other made some super poor decisions that negatively affected the environment and a lot of rank a GE is where I began my career， met some of my best friends， and where I learned skills that I've used in every professional role I've had since， but it was far from perfect。 I didn't 100% understand the severity of what happened in the 2015-2018 time frame， but now feel like I have so much more clarity。 Summary: a bunch of old powerful white men who were unable to collaborate with and listen to each other made some super poor decisions that negatively affected the environment and a lot of rank and file employees fiercely loyal to the company。 Of course shit hit the fan。 。。。more
Nigel
，