A few books that cover the topic much more throughly than I will:
Lights Out
The Man Who Broke Capitalism
The approach lasted as long as it did because of generally favorable economic conditions at the time and because the SEC had not yet passed Sarbanes Oxley. Even his favored successor said (paraphrasing) that he gutted GE and left it a hollowed out husk.
When his acolytes applied the approach to other corporations it had overwhelmingly negative outcomes.