Jeffrey R. Immelt
Jeffrey R. Immelt
Jeffrey Robert "Jeff" Immeltis an American business executive. He is currently the chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the U.S.-based conglomerate General Electric. He was selected as GE's CEO by their Board of Directors in 2000 to replace Jack Welch upon Welch's retirement from GE. Previously, Immelt had headed up GE's Medical Systems divisionas its President and CEO...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBusinessman
Date of Birth19 February 1956
CountryUnited States of America
I think that if you run a big company, you've got to, four or five times a year, just say, 'Hey team, look, here's where we're going.' If you do it 10 times, nobody wants to work for you. If you do it zero times, you have anarchy.
Really, the one thing that actually works - you know, state-run communism may not be your cup of tea, but [China's] government works.
I've been seeing the change. It's been steady. It's been more controlled than people think. And my own belief is that China knows it also needs to be part of the world, and that it needs to be able to have trade with Europe and the United States in order to house and feed a billion people. That's really kind of single-mindedly what they see their role as being.
Good leaders are very curious, and they spend a lot of time trying to learn things.
People ought to invest in us because they like our company and the way they run it. We still do quarterly earnings guidance, but we tell people openly that they ought to look at the company for the long term and that's how they ought to invest.
Enron and 9/11 marked the end of an era of individual freedom and the beginning of personal responsibility.
I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, and my parents are really right wingers. My dad watches, like, five or six hours of Fox News every day and stuff like that.
If the only common thread you have as an industrial company is the fact that you think you're well managed, you can still be a pretty good company, but you're not going to be a dominant company, a competitive company over time.
You can't delegate growth or customer satisfaction.
I'm out talking about this company (General Electric) seven days a week, 24 hours a day, with nothing to hide. We're a 130-year-old company that has a great record of high-quality leadership and a culture of integrity.
I love working with customers. Sales has really influenced everything I do. It has instilled in me the important traits of operating with a sense of urgency and listening to people.
And people is the most important part of my job. I spend one third of my time on people.
There is no real magic to being a good leader. But at the end of every week, you have to spend your time around the things that are really important: setting priorities, measuring outcomes, and rewarding them.
Surviving a failure gives you more self-confidence. Failures are great learning tools.. but they must be kept to a minimum.