In a recent article in ReliablePlant.com Jeff Immelt talks about renewing American leadership. What he has to say makes a lot of sense. American business leaders need to wake up from their slumber.
“We need a new strategy for this economy. We should clear away any arrogance, false assumptions, or a sense that things will be ‘ok’ just because we are America. Rather, we should dedicate ourselves again to be the most competitive country in the world… We need to invest more in innovation.
Nothing of consequence is accomplished without leadership.
Jeff told the audience that GE has been working hard to understand what attributes of leadership can make an impact given the challenges of the 21st century.
First, “we have to be better listeners,” he said. “21st century leaders listen. They use external inputs as a catalyst. They put their ego in check. They ask more questions than they answer. They welcome dissent and debate, and are constantly seeking more intelligence.”
Second, “leaders must become systems thinkers who are comfortable with ambiguity,” he said. “Success requires problem solving, and connecting the dots. This requires intellectual breadth and tactical depth. We must understand technology, globalization, politics, economics, Human Resources. We must understand how government, community, the environment, business, academics all connect. And we must apply this to solving problems.”
Third, “leaders must build competency and move with speed,” Jeff said. “GE is a big organization, like the Army. The problem with size is that it can be too slow. At GE, we must push decision-making down in the organization and we must delegate more.”
Last, leaders, he said, “must motivate with vision” — providing the “emotional connection that inspires action and commitment.” And they must re-earn the trust that was lost during the economic meltdown.
“The residue of the past was a more individualistic ‘win-lose’ game,” he said. “The 21st century is about building bigger and diverse teams; teams that have a culture of respect. This new spirit of American leadership — much of which is derived from this great institution — will be the foundation of renewal and change.”
From the video:
“The color helps us to accept diversity and understand that we are all different. We live in America and Randy just sets that tone. Randy just sort of gave us that opportunity to be your own self.”
From PopCityMedia.com:
“North Side resident Randy Gilson spent 25 years revitalizing a section of the North Side with bold colors and designs, art and more. Randyland is now a landmark, an act of love for the community and a statement on what one person can do.”
Went to see Avatar tonight in IMAX 3D and it was fantastic. I had heard about the glowing reviews but for some reason I still didn’t have high expectations for it. The movie blew me away, I loved every minute of it. The special effects are amazing and it is easily one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. The only thing I can compare it to from a special effects standpoint is Lord of the Rings and in my opinion Avatar blew that movie out of the water (from a visual standpoint). I give it a 10 out of 10. What did you think?
Apple had a famous ad campaign in 1997 asking people to “think different”. How many off you think different? If you find you or your company struggles to think differently, I just reviewed a great list of 50 ways to foster innovation and here are my favorite from the ideachampions.com article:
Remember that innovation requires no fixed rules or templates — only guiding principles. Creating a more innovative culture is an organic and creative act.
Wherever you can, whenever you can, always drive fear out of the workplace. Fear is “Public Enemy #1″ of an innovative culture.
Have more fun. If you’re not having fun (or at least enjoying the process) something is off.
Always question authority, especially the authority of your own longstanding beliefs.
Make new mistakes.
As far as the future is concerned, don’t speculate on what might happen, but imagine what you can make happen
Increase the visual stimuli of your organization’s physical space. Replace gray and white walls with color. Add inspiring photos and art, especially visuals that inspire people to think differently. Reconfigure space whenever possible.
Help people broaden their perspective by creating diverse teams and rotating employees into new projects — especially ones they are fascinated by.
Ask questions about everything. After asking questions, ask different questions. After asking different questions, ask them in a different way.
Ensure a high level of personal freedom and trust. Provide more time for people to pursue new ideas and innovations.
Encourage everyone to communicate. Provide user-friendly systems to make this happen.
Embrace and celebrate failure. 50 to 70 per cent of all new product innovations fail at even the most successful companies. The main difference between companies who succeed at innovation and those who don’t isn’t their rate of success — it’s the fact that successful companies have a LOT of ideas, pilots, and product innovations in the pipeline.
