Paraphrasing (Briefing)
Main idea of the passage：
The passage briefs the reader on Welch’s leading style, that is, how he manages GE. With his leading style, his personal charisma and his perseverant efforts, Welch has transformed what was an old-line American industrial giant into a keenly competitive global growth engine.
这篇文章向读者简要介绍了韦尔奇的领导作风，也就是介绍了他是怎么管理通用电气的。韦尔奇靠他的领导作风、个人魅力和坚持不懈的努力，把一个老派的美国工业巨人改造成一个极具竞争力的全球性的增长领袖。
Structure of the passage：
The passage can be divided into five parts, the first two paragraphs being the first part, paragraph 3 to paragraph 11 being the second part, paragraph 12 to paragraph 18 the third part, paragraph 19 to paragraph 26 the fourth part, and paragraph 27 to paragraph 34 the fifth and last part.
The first part serves as the introduction – much has been said and written about how Welch has helped GE succeed, but less well understood is how Welch is able to wield so much influence and power over GE.
The second part explains how Welch manages GE. He does it through sheer force of personality, coupled with an unbridled passion for winning the game of business and a keen attention to details. He does it because he encourages near-brutal candor in the meetings he holds. And above all else, he does it because he is a fierce believer in the power of his people. To motivate his people, he makes GE “informal”. Besides, he takes actions by surprise, such as unexpected visits, hurriedly scheduled luncheons, etc.
The third part tells the reader that Welch believes that efficiencies in business are infinite and that there are no bounds to human creativity. As the ultimate expression of his beliefs, he launched the Six Sigma programs at GE. The programs have brought in huge benefits and Six Sigma has spread like wildfire across the company.
The fourth part tells the reader that the show-and-tell routine, which is typical of GE’s conferences and meetings, allows “best practices” to get transferred among GE’s differing businesses. Even when they were celebrating their success resulting from the implementation of the Six Sigma programs, Welch warned his executives and managers that they would face one of the toughest years in a decade with the Asian economic crisis and with deflation in the air, and he pushed them to cut costs.
The fifth and last part tells the reader that, when he senses that a unit is underperforming and that something needs to be done, Welch will intervene decisively and quickly to have the phenomenon rectified or to contribute to its operation success.
