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President and CEO, GE
SESSION 2: Positioning Your Organization for the Future
- Chairman of General Electric, a post he has held since September 7, 2001
- Named one of the “World’s Best CEOs” three times by Barrons
- Under his leadership, GE has been named “America’s Most Admired Company” in polls conducted byBarrons and the Financial Times
- Served as Chair of President Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness
- Immelt holds a B.S. in Applied Mathematics from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Harvard University
Session Notes
- Hierarchy doesn’t mean much… we all work together as a team.
- There has never been a moment where any job in the company has been beneath me.
- When did you know you were a gifted leader?
- Great parents… opportunities to lead early through athletics
- Parents taught me not to be afraid
- Did you have a plan when you first joined to GE to differentiate yourself?
- It was always about the work and not about the career
- Your piers ultimately decide how far you go. If you’re more of a giver than a taker, your piers see that… horizontal strength in the organization.
- Jack Welch once assigned him to turnaround a failing appliance division…
- Be around a crisis early in your career.
- We can’t tell anything about your leadership when times are good but we see a lot when times are tough.
- Setting high standards is important
- Became CEO on Friday Sept 7, 2001
- End of an era of stability
- We live in a volatile time. People aren’t going to be given the luxury to go back in time. The best leaders see the world as it is and go forward.
- The best leaders don’t long for the past but see the world as it is and go forward.
- Why do you invest so much in the GE leadership training center?
- We spend $1b/yr on leadership development
- Some aspects of leadership never change, but many aspects do change…
- Continuously learning from other leaders and companies.
- GE leadership training solidifies the company culture
- How do you feel when someone you’ve trained leaves?
- It’s deeply personal.
- I don’t want people to come to work at GE because they’re afraid they can’t get another job but because they love what they do and want to make a difference.
- We want people to live their dreams even if it’s working somewhere else.
- What are the X-factors when you look for leaders.
- The willingness to stand apart, to buck the system
- We want people who will challenge authority & status quo
- Excuses turn everyone off
- We don’t expect people to be perfect but to learn from mistakes and get better.
- Excuses indicate you’re not willing to learn from mistakes.
- Hardest person you ever had to fire
- Person who was not connecting with his team.
- Where did the value of diversity originate? How do you foster diversity?
- If you believe in talent and meritocracy, you must believe in diversity.
- The best people and ideas must get ahead.
- Old white guys don’t have all the great ideas.
- Why did you decide to help President Obama with job creation?
- The 24 of us who did this because we wanted to help (not for political reasons)
- Almost 70% of our business outside the U.S. but we’re proud to be an American company.
- Explain simplification
- We live in a complicated world, and we’re all looking for better ways to do things.
- 4 ideas…
- Less management – fewer meetings, people closer to the markets they serve
- Become hyper competitive
- Start today – test & learn
- Use IT to network the company – empower people with information
- Works 80 hours a week 7 only takes 12 days off a year
- I love what I do
- We can’t guarantee outcomes, but we can guarantee processes.
- We’re going to work hard on your behalf and play to win.
- What would you hope to experience in a church
- In big leadership jobs, you’re on all the time…
- Leadership is an intense journey into yourself… resiliancy
- The ability to sit for an hour and be at peace… listen to someone else talk.