GE under his successor Jeff Immelt was definitely a mess. Under Jack Welch the situation was much more subtle. Source -- a book "Lessons from the Titans: What Companies in the New Economy Can Learn from the Great Industrial Giants to Drive Sustainable Success" that was published a few days ago. I coincidentally read the chapters on GE yesterday, which was written by somebody with extensive personal experience with the CEO's of GE. https://www.amazon.com/Lessons-Titans-Companies-Industrial-S...