The Most Important Decision That Any CEO Can Make

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Malcolm Gladwell: Jack Welch made the most important decision that any CEO can make, especially a public company. In real life, in his, when you're with him, you would be charmed by him, he says. But there's a kind of ruthlessness in him that makes me uncomfortable and I wouldn't want to meet him. Bill Griscum: Everyone who gets to the top of Wall Street is like that. It's like they can be incredibly charming when they want to be and total assholes when they have to be.

General Electric used to be the most valuable company in the world; now it's practically irrelevant. What happened? Today on the show, we're going to find answers. And to help, we're turning to two writers who have followed the saga closely and written about it brilliantly: Malcolm Gladwell and William Cohan.

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• Check out "Power Failure: The Rise and Fall of an American Icon" and subscribe to Bill's newsletter, "Dry Powder"

• Read Malcolm's New Yorker story: "Was Jack Welch the Greatest C.E.O. of His Day—or the Worst?"

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