Winning - Jack Welch [121]
So what does work?
Return for a minute to the “Getting Promoted” chapter; its advice is color-and gender-blind. If you want to get promoted, your best bet is to overdeliver on your results, manage your subordinates as carefully as you manage your boss, get on the radar screen by supporting major initiatives early, relish the input of lots of mentors, and always, always have a positive, high-energy approach to life and work. At the same time, don’t make your boss use his or her political capital to champion you. And when setbacks occur, and they will, don’t let them break your stride.
I’m not saying women and minorities haven’t had a tough go of it in the business world. They have, and they do need mechanisms to give them a higher profile in the system.
One such mechanism is diversity groups, like GE’s Women’s Network or its African American Forum. These groups have created an opportunity for successful women and minority executives to serve as role models. Just as important, they provide a setting to talk about the ways women and minorities can increase their experience and skills, and thus their visibility in an organization. They promote the concept that success is a function of talent, energy, and drive—just as meritocracies are.*
But the whole subject of diversity is more nuanced and complicated than I am making it out to be.
At GE, the African American Forum was a grassroots effort that started in 1990. It was bumping along without a lot of momentum until a senior vice president, Lloyd Trotter, grabbed it by the neck and gave it a whole new energy with seminars, conferences, and mentoring programs. With Lloyd in charge, every African American in the company wanted to get on board, and all of Lloyd’s peers wanted to jump in to help. The group really took off, and in time so did promotions for African Americans.
On the other hand, in the mid-1990s I would have dinners twice a year with high-potential women where we would discuss the work-life issues they were facing. In 1997, after a long give-and-take, I challenged the group to create their own version of the African American Forum. They seemed enthusiastic, but much to my surprise, over the next few weeks, I found that some of our top women were balking at the idea. They felt they had made it without any label. They didn’t want to be thought of as successful women, they wanted to be thought of as successful executives. After a couple of years, much of that faded, as even the most reluctant grew to enjoy their mentoring and its positive impact on the progress of women in the company.
Back to the quota question about Norway.
The only quota that I ever thought worked was the exposure quota we used at GE—that is, we made sure there was a woman or minority candidate on every slate for the top two thousand jobs. That guaranteed every manager saw the diverse candidates out there and that diverse candidates had a shot.
I spent the first half of my tenure as CEO focused on changing the portfolio and competitiveness. Diversity for me didn’t come into play until the ’90s.
But today, if you want to field the best team, you simply can’t afford a delay.
I’ve received this question numerous times, from audiences from New York to Sydney:
How did you pick your successor, Jeff Immelt, and how do you think he is doing so far?
I am always thrilled to answer the second part of this question—it’s such a layup. Jeff is doing amazingly well, even exceeding my expectations for his leadership. I couldn’t be more proud of where he has taken GE and where it is going.
Jeff became chairman and CEO of GE on September 10,2001, so it was technically his second day on the job when the terrorist attacks changed the game for everyone. Jeff handled the new uncertainty of the business environment with characteristic thoughtfulness and determination. Despite the resulting downturns in the airline, power, and reinsurance