Jeff Immelt on Crisis Leadership at General Electric: Former GE CEO Jeff Immelt provides insight into crisis leadership and addresses the challenges faced during his tenure. Despite successes and failures, GE's drastic market value drop shows the need for ongoing adaptation in industry.
In his book, former General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt shares his experience with crisis leadership, offering context for the story of his tenure and the truth behind it. Immelt identifies the current state of all leadership as crisis leadership and asserts his ability to offer valuable contributions to this debate. While his time at General Electric was marked by volatility and change, Immelt admits to both successes and failures, highlighted by the company's drastic drop in market value during his tenure. G.E. was once the biggest private employer in the region and a symbol of American industry, but selling off body parts has been necessary for the company to survive in recent years.
Jeff Immelt Defends His Leadership in New Book Amidst Financial Fraud Allegations at GE: Despite controversy surrounding his tenure at GE, Jeff Immelt's new book, Hot Seat, offers insight into his leadership style and the challenges faced during his time as CEO.
Jeff Immelt's tenure as CEO of General Electric was marred by allegations of financial fraud and erratic decision-making in the company's portfolio. Immelt was criticized for placing bad bets, including bulking up in the oil-and-gas sector just before oil prices crashed. However, Immelt defends his performance and attributes some of G.E.'s decline to the exposure of the company's standard practice of fudging the numbers, which dates back to the Jack Welch era. Immelt's new book, Hot Seat: What I Learned Leading a Great American Company, is a defense of his leadership. He admits that time away from the intense C.E.O. job has given him more time to think but still has a desire not to trash people. This interview with Immelt is part of an occasional series we call The Secret Life of a C.E.O.
Jack Welch's Successor and Jeff Immelt's Leadership at G.E.: Jeff Immelt, despite his appealing background and significant contributions to various divisions at G.E., faced setbacks during his tenure as CEO. However, he identified G.E.'s healthcare inventions as some of his proudest achievements.
Jack Welch's ultimate success at G.E. was determined by how well his successor grew the company, but he refused to comment on Jeff Immelt's leadership after he retired. Immelt's background growing up with a father who worked at G.E. and his education at Dartmouth and Harvard made him an appealing choice for Welch. Immelt's contributions to G.E.'s Plastics, Appliances, and Healthcare divisions were significant, but his tenure as CEO was plagued with challenges and setbacks. Despite this, he identified G.E.'s healthcare inventions, such as the ultrafast C.T. and handheld ultrasound, as some of his proudest achievements.
The Importance of a Technical Foundation for Successful Conglomerates: To succeed in today's business world, conglomerates must have a strong technical foundation. Innovation is largely driven by data and analytics, and companies like Amazon and Alphabet have achieved success by prioritizing technology in their business strategies.
The intersection of technology and problem-solving has always been great. General Electric was once an industry innovator, with many patents filed and investments in technology. However, the majority of innovation today is driven by information technology, data, and analytics. While GE invested in a software vision to harness customer and machine data, it did not work out as planned. The era of conglomerates that do different things like GE is over. Today, conglomerates must have a technical foundation. Companies like Amazon and Alphabet have scaled to success because of their technical foundation. To be a successful conglomerate today, a technical foundation is a must.
Separating Natural Volatility from Business Growth: Lessons from Jeff Immelt's Experience at General Electric: Failure is a crucial part of career growth, and surviving it can lead to success. Companies may experience volatility, but this doesn't necessarily indicate failure within the organization. Learning from mistakes is essential for personal and professional growth.
Jeff Immelt, the former CEO of General Electric (GE), believes that natural volatility must be separated from a company's core business growth. He admits that industries like aviation can suffer drastically in bad times, but that doesn't necessarily indicate failure within the company. Immelt describes his near-death experience at GE, missing his annual earnings estimate by $50 million and receiving criticism from CEO Jack Welch while at a manager's conference. However, he learned from this experience that surviving one's failure is crucial and part of a career growth. He emerged by becoming famous for hitting company targets. Postmortems reveal that some of GE's earnings were inflated through aggressive accounting, but Immelt says he learned how to operate and invest in growth from GE.
Challenges and Lessons of Being a CEO in a Changing World: Being a CEO is a tough job. Leaders face constant change and must make difficult decisions with incomplete information. Success requires adapting, taking risks, and learning from mistakes.
Former G.E. CEO, Jeff Immelt, discusses his tenure and the challenges of being a CEO in an ever-changing world. Despite G.E.'s rigorous accounting practices and regulatory oversight, the pressure to make important decisions with incomplete information can be daunting. As the world faces more tail-risk events like 9/11, Fukushima, the financial crisis, and Covid, leaders are constantly navigating uncharted waters. The primary lesson here is that being a CEO is a difficult job that requires constant adaptation and a willingness to take risks and learn from mistakes. It's not for the faint of heart, but those who are up for the challenge can make a difference.
Jeff Immelt's Leadership Challenges at GE: From 9/11 to Covid-19 Preparation: Amidst crisis, it's important for leaders to recognize the need to adapt and make tough decisions, but also not to lose sight of the bigger picture and long-term goals. Being prepared for volatility is crucial for success.
As the CEO of GE during the aftermath of 9/11 and Enron, Jeff Immelt faced immense challenges, from navigating a new world with no trust to making tough decisions regarding lending money to struggling airlines. Despite the initial panic, he recognized the need to retool their industrial businesses and reinvest in technology, while also working towards making GE Capital smaller. However, the pressure to continue growing earnings-per-share and hit dividend numbers led to a missed opportunity to reset the company. And even with preparations for Covid-19, the importance of being good at volatility cannot be understated.
Jeff Immelt's Leadership Style and GE's Challenges amidst Financial Crisis: Immelt's approach to selling GE story, lack of enthusiasm for financial-services, and reliance on unsecured debt contributed to GE's struggles. New regulations, like Dodd-Frank, further compounded challenges for the company.
Jeff Immelt's leadership style differed greatly from his predecessor Jack Welch, which became evident during the financial crisis as GE's reliance on GE Capital led to significant challenges. Immelt's quiet approach to selling the GE story and his lack of enthusiasm for the financial-services arm contributed to the company's struggles. Additionally, GE's wholesale-funded finance company model, relying on unsecured debt instead of deposits, made it susceptible to the 2008 financial crisis, resulting in significant disadvantage and permanent challenges. Immelt believed that new regulations, like Dodd-Frank, directly targeted GE due to their combination of a financial institution and industrial arm.
Jeff Immelt's Commitment to General Electric Through Trying Times: Through difficult times, it is important to stay committed to what is working and appreciated by customers, team, and investors rather than playing the victim.
Jeff Immelt's love for General Electric was so strong that he got the company's famous circular logo, known as the 'meatball', tattooed on his hip along with his wife's and daughter's initials on top and bottom respectively. During the financial crisis of 2008, Tim Geithner suggested splitting off G.E. Capital from G.E., but Immelt believed it was not possible at that time. Geithner may have suggested this to make G.E. a Fed-regulated entity due to the size of G.E. Capital. However, Immelt never played the victim and continued to execute the strategy that was working and appreciated by customers, team, and investors.
Jeff Immelt's Leadership at GE: Streamlining and Reshaping with Mixed Results: Through his focus on exporting and relationship-building, Jeff Immelt helped create jobs and competitiveness for the country, but faced challenges amidst a changing political climate and distrust of big corporations.
Jeff Immelt's leadership at GE was characterized by his attempts to streamline and reshape the company's focus, but his investments and divestments were not always successful. Immelt tried to position GE as a good global company that knew how to make money in and for other countries, but his tenure coincided with a changing political climate in America and distrust of big corporations. However, GE's focus on exporting created jobs and competitiveness for the country, and Immelt's approach to diplomacy and relationship-building with heads of state was key to the company's success.
The Challenges and Ramifications of Exporting for Businesses and the Country's Growth: Political policies that do not address the concerns of small and medium-sized businesses can have significant consequences, such as lower tax revenue and political instability. Effective policies should stem from communication and collaboration with business owners.
Exporting is essential for the growth of a country, but it is a hard and unsustainable practice. The Obama administration's lack of empathy towards the business community had significant ramifications, including the election of President Trump. G.E. was one of the many big American companies contributing less to tax coffers due to their international operations. Both the Democratic and Republican parties make life difficult for small and medium-sized businesses, with their excessive regulations and volatility. To truly understand the struggles of these businesses, we must talk to them and create policies that address their issues.
Jeff Immelt Reflects on GE's Downfall and His Leadership Role: Jeff Immelt defends his performance as General Electric CEO but admits to mistakes leading to the company's downfall. He emphasizes the importance of effective leadership and a preference for less regulation to support small- and medium-sized businesses.
Jeff Immelt, former CEO of General Electric, discusses the downfall of the company and his role in it. He defends his time as CEO, citing the almost $300 billion of earnings and cash generated, along with being number one in their industries and setting up a global foundation. However, he acknowledges that the ending was not what he wanted and admits to making mistakes, such as underestimating the volatility of G.E. Capital and not having strong leadership in place at G.E. Power. Immelt also touches on his political beliefs, stating a preference for less regulation and helping small- and medium-sized businesses. He does not support the events of the last 6 months and did not vote for Donald Trump.
Jeff Immelt's Departure from GE and his Reflection on the Company's Challenges: Jeff Immelt stepped down from GE voluntarily and stands by the company's efforts to comply with the law. Although there have been hardships, Immelt remains committed to the company and its shareholders.
Jeff Immelt's stepping down as C.E.O was possibly in the best interest of the company, and is a decision that he himself made. Despite the hardships he faced, his concern for everyone at the company was always evident. With regard to the current state of the company, although things have gotten worse, Immelt stresses that they had tried their best to comply with the law, by ensuring transparency with their board, hiring the best auditors, among others. He acknowledges how former shareholders' disappointment and heartache is understandable, and sympathizes with them. Immelt adds that he had never sold a share of GE stock and still owns a lot of it today.
Jeff Immelt's Regrets and Aspirations: Jeff Immelt, former CEO of GE, shares his regrets and aspirations for future leaders. He hopes his experiences serve as a cautionary tale and teaches leadership at Stanford while working as a partner at a venture-capital firm.
Despite a successful career in which he was paid very well at GE, Jeff Immelt feels guilt for the company's current state. He teaches a leadership class at Stanford and focuses on technology and healthcare as a partner at venture-capital firm New Enterprise Associates. Despite enjoying his current professional career and family life, Immelt thinks about his mistakes and wishes he had done things differently every day. He admits that every job looks easy until you're the one doing it, but he hopes his own experiences can serve as a cautionary tale for others.
452. Jeff Immelt Knows He Let You Down
GE was once the world's most valuable company but has since been selling off assets to survive. CEO Geoff Cooper presides over its decline.
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609. What Does It Take to Run a Cannabis Farm?
Chris Weld worked for years in emergency rooms, then ditched that career and bought an old farm in Massachusetts. He set up a distillery and started making prize-winning spirits. When cannabis was legalized, he jumped into that too — and the first few years were lucrative. But now? It turns out that growing, processing, and selling weed is more complicated than it looks. He gave us the grand tour. (Part three of a four-part series.)
- SOURCES:
- Chris Bennett, operations manager at Berkshire Mountain Distillers.
- Luca Boldrini, head of cultivation at The Pass.
- Yasmin Hurd, director of the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai.
- Chris Weld, founder and owner of Berkshire Mountain Distillers.
- RESOURCES:
- "As America’s Marijuana Use Grows, So Do the Harms," by Megan Twohey, Danielle Ivory, and Carson Kessler (The New York Times, 2024).
- "Evaluation of Dispensaries’ Cannabis Flowers for Accuracy of Labeling of Cannabinoids Content," by Mona M. Geweda, Chandrani G. Majumdar, Mahmoud A. ElSohly, et al. (Journal of Cannabis Research, 2024).
- "The Complicated, Risky — but Potentially Lucrative — Business of Selling Cannabis," by James R. Hagerty (The Wall Street Journal, 2023).
- "Marijuana Content Labels Can’t Be Trusted," by Shira Schoenberg (CommonWealth Beacon, 2022).
- "Growing Cannabis Indoors Produces a Lot of Greenhouse Gases — Just How Much Depends on Where It’s Grown," by Jason Quinn and Hailey Summers (The Conversation, 2021).
- "Blood and Urinary Metal Levels Among Exclusive Marijuana Users in NHANES (2005-2018)," by Katlyn E. McGraw, Anne E, Nigra, Tiffany R. Sanchez, et al. (Environmental Health Perspectives, 2018).
- "The Carbon Footprint of Indoor Cannabis Production," by Evan Mills (Energy Policy, 2012).
- EXTRAS:
- "Cannabis Is Booming, So Why Isn’t Anyone Getting Rich?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024).
- "Is America Switching From Booze to Weed?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024).
Abortion and Crime, Revisited (Update)
With abortion on the Nov. 5 ballot, we look back at Steve Levitt’s controversial research about an unintended consequence of Roe v. Wade.
- SOURCES:
- John Donohue, professor of law at Stanford Law School.
- Steve Levitt, professor emeritus of economics at the University of Chicago and host of People I (Mostly) Admire.
- Jessica Wolpaw Reyes, professor of economics at Amherst College.
- RESOURCES:
- “The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime Over the Last Two Decades,” by John J. Donohue and Steven D. Levitt (The National Bureau of Economic Research, 2019).
- “The Demise of the Death Penalty in Connecticut,” by John J. Donohue (Stanford Law School Legal Aggregate, 2016).
- “Environmental Policy as Social Policy? The Impact of Childhood Lead Exposure on Crime,” by Jessica Wolpaw Reyes (The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 2007).
- “The Impact of Legalized Abortion on Crime,” by John J. Donohue and Steven D. Levitt (The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2001).
- “State Abortion Rates: The Impact of Policies, Providers, Politics, Demographics, and Economic Environment,” by Rebecca M. Blank, Christine C. George, and Rebecca A. London (The National Bureau of Economic Research, 1994).
- EXTRAS:
- "John Donohue: 'I’m Frequently Called a Treasonous Enemy of the Constitution,'" by People I (Mostly) Admire (2021).
608. Cannabis Is Booming, So Why Isn’t Anyone Getting Rich?
There are a lot of reasons, including heavy regulations, high taxes, and competition from illegal weed shops. Most operators are losing money and waiting for Washington to get out of the way. In the meantime, it’s not that easy being green. (Part two of a four-part series.)
- SOURCES:
- Jon Caulkins, professor of operations research and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University.
- Adam Goers, senior vice president of The Cannabist Company and chairperson of the Coalition for Cannabis Scheduling Reform.
- Precious Osagie-Erese, founder and C.E.O. of Precious Canna Co.
- Nikesh Patel, C.E.O. of Mammoth Distribution.
- Nikesh Patel, director of the San Francisco Office of Cannabis.
- Tom Standage, deputy editor of The Economist.
- RESOURCES:
- "Most Americans Favor Legalizing Marijuana for Medical, Recreational Use," (Pew Research Center, 2024).
- "Whitney Economics U.S. Legal Cannabis Forecast - 2024 - 2035," by Beau Whitney (Whitney Economics, 2024).
- "Beer Sellers Use a Loophole to Break Into Weed Drinks Market," by Redd Brown (Bloomberg, 2024).
- "Cannabis Producer Seeks Boston Beer Merger," by Lauren Thomas (The Wall Street Journal, 2024).
- "California's 'Apple Store of Weed' Declares Bankruptcy With $410M in Debt," by Lester Black (SFGate, 2024).
- "Is the State Democratic Chair Influencing Who Can Sell Legal Weed in this N.J. City?" by Jelani Gibson (NJ.com, 2023).
- "When Prohibition Works: Comparing Fireworks and Cannabis Regulations, Markets, and Harms," by Jonathan P. Caulkins and Kristina Vaia Reimer (International Journal of Drug Policy, 2023).
- "Did Minnesota Accidentally Legalize Weed?" by Paul Demko (Politico, 2022).
- EXTRAS:
- "Is America Switching From Booze to Weed?" by Freakonomics Radio (2024).
- "The Economics of Sports Gambling," by Freakonomics Radio (2019).
607. Is America Switching From Booze to Weed?
We have always been a nation of drinkers — but now there are more daily users of cannabis than alcohol. Considering alcohol’s harms, maybe that’s a good thing. But some people worry that the legalization of cannabis has outpaced the research. (Part one of a four-part series.)
- SOURCES:
- Jon Caulkins, professor of operations research and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University.
- Yasmin Hurd, director of the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai.
- Michael Siegel, professor of public health and community medicine at Tufts University.
- Tom Standage, deputy editor of The Economist.
- Ryan Stoa, associate professor of law at Louisiana State University.
- RESOURCES:
- "Cannabis Tops Alcohol as Americans’ Daily Drug of Choice," by Christina Caron (The New York Times, 2024).
- "Deaths from Excessive Alcohol Use — United States, 2016–2021," by Marissa B. Esser, Adam Sherk, Yong Liu, and Timothy S. Naimi (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 2024).
- "Nixon Started the War on Drugs. Privately, He Said Pot Was ‘Not Particularly Dangerous,'" by Ernesto Londoño (The New York Times, 2024).
- "A Brief Global History of the War on Cannabis," by Ryan Stoa (The MIT Press Reader, 2020).
- Craft Weed: Family Farming and the Future of the Marijuana Industry, by Ryan Stoa (2018).
- "How the Sugar Industry Shifted Blame to Fat," by Anahad O’Connor (The New York Times, 2016).
- "The Perils of Ignoring History: Big Tobacco Played Dirty and Millions Died. How Similar Is Big Food?" by Kelly D. Brownell and Kenneth E. Warner (The Milbank Quarterly, 2009).
- A History Of The World In Six Glasses, by Tom Standage (2005).
- "Cancer and Coronary Artery Disease Among Seventh-Day Adventists," by E. L. Wynder, F. R. Lemon, and I. J. Bross (Cancer, 1959).
- EXTRAS:
- "Why Is the Opioid Epidemic Still Raging?" series by Freakonomics Radio (2024).
- "Daron Acemoglu on Economics, Politics, and Power," by People I (Mostly) Admire (2024).
- "Let’s Be Blunt: Marijuana Is a Boon for Older Workers," by Freakonomics Radio (2021).
- "What’s More Dangerous: Marijuana or Alcohol?" by Freakonomics Radio (2014).
606. How to Predict the Presidency
Are betting markets more accurate than polls? What kind of chaos would a second Trump term bring? And is U.S. democracy really in danger, or just “sputtering on”? (Part two of a two-part series.)
- SOURCES:
- Eric Posner, professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School.
- Koleman Strumpf, professor of economics at Wake Forest University.
- RESOURCES:
- "A Trump Dictatorship Won’t Happen," by Eric Posner (Project Syndicate, 2023).
- The Demagogue's Playbook: The Battle for American Democracy from the Founders to Trump, by Eric Posner (2020).
- "The Long History of Political Betting Markets: An International Perspective," by Paul W. Rhode and Koleman Strumpf (The Oxford Handbook of the Economics of Gambling, 2013).
- "Manipulating Political Stock Markets: A Field Experiment and a Century of Observational Data," by Paul W. Rhode and Koleman S. Strumpf (Working Paper, 2007).
- "Historical Presidential Betting Markets," by Paul W. Rhode and Koleman S. Strumpf (Journal of Economic Perspectives, 2004).
- EXTRAS:
- "Has the U.S. Presidency Become a Dictatorship? (Update)," by Freakonomics Radio (2024).
- “Does the President Matter as Much as You Think?” by Freakonomics Radio (2020).
- "How Much Does the President Really Matter?" by Freakonomics Radio (2010).
Has the U.S. Presidency Become a Dictatorship? (Update)
605. What Do People Do All Day?
EXTRA: Roland Fryer Refuses to Lie to Black America (Update)
604. Did the N.F.L. Solve Diversity Hiring? (Part 2)
603. Did the N.F.L. Solve Diversity Hiring? (Part 1)
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Agile Infrastructure: Is it an Oxymoron?
We demand agility from our IT environments and offering software solutions to address the issue. How about infrastructure? Understaffed and bogged down by daily fire-fighting, can we truly expect the infrastructure team to complete a project without an effect on other groups and at the speed expected?
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Guest Bio: https://www.ciotalknetwork.com/contributor/wallace-dalrymple/
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Scalable Carbon Capture Technology - Putting a Price on Carbon
The energy transition is an ‘all-hands-on-deck’ journey. As we know, there is no silver bullet or golden ticket that will get us to where we need to be. Just like our economy, it is compiled of complex systems, smaller markets, and key stakeholders. Another thing about our economy? It is always in a state of motion. Moving from one system to the next - carbon is an invisible stakeholder that is singlehandedly the backbone of modern society. In the past two decades, we have begun to rapidly recognize that the management of carbon is more essential, visible, and crucial than we previously thought.
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The Interchange is brought to you by the Yale Program in Financing and Deploying Clean Energy, training working professionals to accelerate the deployment of clean energy worldwide. To connect with Yale expertise right from your laptop, grow your professional network, and deepen your impact, visit yalecleanenergy.info/Interchange and apply before March 13, 2022.
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