#316 William D. Cohan: The Rise & Unimaginable Fall of General Electric - The Realignment Podcast

William D. Cohan, founding partner of Puck, writer at large for Airmail, former investment banker, and author of Power Failure: The Rise and Fall of an American Icon, joins The Realignment to discuss his autopsy of General Electric, from its founding by Thomas Edison to its fall in the 2010s, the keys to impactful business journalism in an age of scandals from SBF/FTX to Elizabeth Holmes, what (if anything ) this story says about the capitalist system, and where responsibility for the GE's fall lies.

William D. Cohan, founding partner of Puck, writer at large for Airmail, former investment banker, and author of Power Failure: The Rise and Fall of an American Icon, joins The Realignment to discuss his autopsy of General Electric, from its founding by Thomas Edison to its fall in the 2010s, the keys to impactful business journalism in an age of scandals from SBF/FTX to Elizabeth Holmes, and where responsibility for the GE's fall lies.

0:00 - Introduction
0:41 - History of Businesses
5:01 - Beginning of General Electric
10:40 - Peak of GE
21:34 - Jack Welch
35:56 - Business journalism today
39:29 - Role of the CEO
45:25 - Companies similar to GE
50:35 - Takeaways for business leaders

[mrworldwide]

His inability to say that Jack Welch may have POSSIBLY done a few things wrong is so bizarre. His book was interesting, but his reverence almost without question really rubs me the wrong way. Good interview!

[gilpali]

I think half of his book is "you know"

[TheVBounce]

So difficult to listen to. Very monotone and slow voice.

[douglaslee]

As of January 26-2025, Apple market cap is 3.3 trillion, with a t.

GE market cap is 2.12 Billion.

[alexcipriani]

the guy presents another idealized version of capitalism different from ground reality…that might work on Fox and Frieds but over here we are not that gullible

[randolphmank]

How many "you knows" can you fit in every sentence?

[jlindsay]

GE suffered from spinning off GE Capital as Sycroney Bank, as well as cheap oil…. Expensive oil keeped GE well funded regardless of what they were doing, but once the price of oil started dropping, the lost revenue exposed GE’s debt and expensive projects/investments that were either not self sustaining, or required additional investments before they would produce profit, forcing GE to fend off corporate raiders who were seeking to dismantle the company’s assets for profit…

[TinaCaton]

It appears Sweden, Norway seem better and not a new invention. More poor people move up in income in Europe than the US since the 1970s. Not a good speaker nor explainer. What dead body? No summary of outcome and cause.

[neilwalsh]

Candour - Ukraine, Twitter etc. Hype is no substitute for careful analysis.