The man they once called Neutron Jack for eliminating General Electric jobs and letting buildings stand can't say no.

        For almost four hours Wednesday afternoon — two hours longer than scheduled — retired GE chairman Jack Welch shook hands, offered words of encouragement and signed about 1,000 copies of his autobiography Jack: Straight from the Gut at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Norwood.

While surrounded by Aiken High School students, former General Electric Chairman Jack Welch recognizes a friend. The Aiken students presented Mr. Welch with a framed print including their names. (Dick Swaim photo) | ZOOM |

        The book signing, one of the largest in the store's history, followed a morning event in Louisville where Mr. Welch signed about 600 copies. He then was scheduled to head for Cleveland on Wednesday night for a similar book signing.

        “This has been an exciting day,” Mr. Welch said after the last of the books had been signed at Joseph-Beth.

        “I hate writing books but love book signings,” he said. “It's great. I love seeing people, some I knew. It's the most rewarding thing in the world.”

        Clearly feeling an adrenaline rush from the crowd, he told a TV interviewer: “It's like getting it straight in the veins,” gesturing as if injecting himself.

        Laurence Kirschbaum, CEO of Time Warner Books, Mr. Welch's publisher, said he's been impressed with the crowds Mr. Welch's tour has drawn. “Getting a couple hundred people for a book signing is very successful,” he said.

        He said he was amazed that for a company as large as GE with 300,000 employees, how many employees and former employees Mr. Welch knows.

        “It's what he says. He's really in the people business.”

        For almost four hours Wednesday, they trekked up the stairs at Joseph-Beth, where Mr. Welch sat with his ever-present black felt tip pen, scribbling personal messages in a bold script.

        Have more than one copy you want signed? Sure, who is this for? Want a picture? Sure, come over here.

        All the while, Mr. Welch was thanking folks for coming and waiting in line, asking where they worked and how they liked their jobs. And always dispensing career advice: Got a boss you don't like? Get another one, Mr. Welch advised.

        There were retirees and widows who grasped Mr. Welch's hand, looked him in the eye and said: Thank you for making GE's stock grow so that they could enjoy retirement or put their kids through college.

        One was Sandy Duderstadt of Montgomery, who had two books, one for each of her sons, both college graduates.

        “If you hadn't done what you did, they wouldn't be where they are today,” said Mrs. Duderstadt, whose husband, a 23-year GE Aircraft Engines employee, died in 1988.

        “I just want to thank you,” another GEAE retiree said and introduced his wife to Mr. Welch. “We have a nice home, my kids got through school, and I'm enjoying the hell out of retirement,” he told Mr. Welch.

        Some younger GE'ers wanted career advice. Melissa Brubaker, a co-op student from the University of Cincinnati, wanted to know whether to accept another co-op rotation at GEAE or accept another offer from GE Plastics.

        “Go where you want to go,” Mr. Welch advised.

        Not all the book buyers were from GE.

        Melissa Bergen, a marketing manager from Ethicon Endo-Surgery in Blue Ash, had Mr. Welch sign several books she purchased.

        “I'm impressed with his leadership and his personality,” she said. “GE's practices are the type of things every corporation should be doing.”

        Near the back of the line, Annette Pettigrew had been waiting for three hours for Mr. Welch to sign her copy.

        She just lost her job at the former Structural Dynamics Research Corp. in Milford. “I figure he knows a lot of human resource managers,” she said.

        After telling her story to Mr. Welch, he gave her his business card and said, “Send us an e-mail.”

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