Recently, I had dinner with a business school dean. She asked me, “What was it like following Jack Welch?” Is the right answer:

a) Really, after 25 years?

b) What do you think? How would you like to follow Elon Musk?

c) It was joyful!

“C,” of course, is the right answer. Beyond having fun with it, this question made me think.What is the best way to learn from great leaders?

Over your career, you develop a style. It is a composite of family values, education, and career lessons. But an important component is learning from each other. Good leaders become students of other leaders. The trick is to find one thing to learn, follow the super-power. Leadership is a “one-act play.” In other words, lessons must fit your style and context. There was a lot to learn from Jack Welch, but you can’t mimic his style. All the “mini-Jacks” failed.

Today there are a lot of great business leaders on the scene. Each has a superpower worth learning: Jamie Dimon (sense for risk); Elon Musk (growth @ scale); Mary Barra (cool under pressure); Tim Cook (discipline); and Roger Goodell (peer leadership). Jack was the best communicator I have ever seen.

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The Best Communicator

Jack could make a big company small. He could go “low to high”... from the factory floor to the board room. He was pervasive and could enter your life any day. He was tough in the most human way possible. He was explosive. He was fun.

Like with all great leaders, much has been written about Jack. Business authors tend to be “haters” or “sycophants.” As a result, we tend to get a list of behaviors to study, but few penetrated to his essence. For instance, he created a number of memorable concepts, including: “Bottom 10%,” or “4E’s,” and #1/#2. Books are filled with fawning references to these ideas, many of which faded quickly. But that wasn’t what his team followed. We followed his voice.

And it was a memorable one. Jack was 5’7”, spoke with a squeaky stutter and a thick Boston accent. You don’t need an operatic voice to be a good communicator. In Jack’s case, this voice was connected to two blue lasers for eyes. The contrast was effective.

Jack’s formula: Learn to speak with three voices.

1) Stadium Voice...Deliver simple messages with clarity to a large group. Use a tone that is more resolute than kind. Know that you must follow words with action to build trust. Understand your platform and role; you are a business leader.

2) Meeting Voice...Connect with a team for the purpose of learning or building accountability. Use a versatile tone. Screaming is OK; so is laughter. The output is meant to drive action.

3) Intimate Voice...Challenging and honest for the purpose of making you better. Comments are professional, not personal. You are teaching in real time. Each voice would use a different tone, unique vocabulary, and range from serious to funny.He was completely informal and could be (very) profane. But all was done for the purpose of making GE better.

Stadium Voice

Stadium Voice was clean, simple and blunt. It was rarely accompanied by charts or stories. He would challenge, cite best/worst practices by name. It wasn’t unusual to be called out for credit or criticism in front of hundreds. Thick skin was a requirement. He was specific.

We launched a big process initiative...Six Sigma...to a room filled with GE officers, the top 150 leaders in the company.

To get started, we had a four-hour presentation on statistics from the Six Sigma founder, Michael Harry. It was brutal. The subject matter was dense...he was a terrible presenter...all of us had a million things going on. No one would dare look at their phone. I was a math major and could follow a few equations. Most had no fucking idea what he was talking about. I was exhausted.

At the end of the day, Jack went to the front of the room and said:

“I can see it in your eyes...you think this is crazy. Get off your fucking ass and learn it and do it. I believe it will make GE better. I will give you 60 days to get started and then review. Some of you will question our intent; you will get fired. Let’s go.”

It was great. So clear. No time was spent on “what do you think?” Large organizations want direction.

One mistake I see in tech is that leaders love to cross over into being “social philosophers” in big settings. Does anyone think that “Don’t be Evil” had any role in the success of Google? Or was it their superior technology and competitiveness? This is particularly true in the AI wave. Simple words lead to trusted actions. More words – flowery words (ie “Claude Constitution”) - don’t build trust. I listen to Andy Jassy, he has the best “Stadium Voice.” You know what Amazon thinks, and what they will do. Jack could always describe the “what and the where and the why,” without stumbling through things he couldn’t control. The audience mattered more than his own ego. He knew that words only framed actions...actions spoke loudest to big groups.

When you are in front of a big group, be sparse and clear. It is OK...even desirable...to be provocative. Change is hard, performance is hard; “nice” is not important. Years later during COVID, I would compare Jack’s style with leaders trying to explain layoffs to their team. There is nothing philosophical about layoffs. Deliver the message.

Importantly, Stadium Voice conveys a dimension of time and context. Leaders give you a flashlight – here is what must happen next- and a North Star- this is what is important forever.

Meeting Voice

First, let me say that the world would be better if half the meetings were cancelled. Most lack purpose. To gather people, you should be learning or building performance.

Meeting Voice leads with questions. With Jack, no presentation survived the first chart. Exchanges were like presenting to a hurricane. He would get to the substance, the problem, the decisions. Next came engagement. Everyone got access to the conversation, either as a teacher or as a performer or a teammate. Last comes consequence. Why were we here? What is next? What did we learn? Who is accountable? Every meeting was a three-act play; everyone had a part. Today, I sit through a lot of crappy meetings, even board meetings. Remember, substance over process. Make something happen.

When I was running the GE Healthcare business, I brought the Catholic Healthcare Leadership Committee to HQ. In those days, the Catholic systems ran 40% of the U.S. healthcare market. This was important.

Their leader came from The Sisters of Bon Secours. We sat down to breakfast and she said:

“Mr. Welch, are you afraid you will go to hell for laying off all these people?”

My heart sank...shit. I hadn’t seen that in the briefing document. Then I saw a MasterClass of leading and communicating:

“Sister, I don’t think it is fair to lie to people, do you?”

This led into a 30-minute conversation on culture and commitment to people. Then:

Sister: “Mr. Welch, how would you manage people without financial incentives?”

Jack: “You stymied me on that one, sister.”

Over the next 90 minutes, everyone spoke. Jack went to a flip chart to draw an organization concept...how to run a matrix. He asked the sisters to read a few paragraphs of his investor letter. We talked about PCBs in the Hudson River. Jack was charming and tough-minded. Everyone was energized. It was a great meeting.

Central to Meeting Voice is the “art of asking questions with the desire to get the right answer.” Jack didn’t want to stump or embarrass people. He wanted to win.

We walked our guests to the elevator after the meeting. Jack and the sisters hugged. The door closed and he said to me:

“Your inventory was the worst in the company. Get it fixed!”

I replied, “What happened to the charming Jack?”

He said, “They have more control over my future than you do.”

The important part of Meeting Voice is to have the tone to match the substance. I served President Obama; everything was “even-keel.” I worked for Jack; nothing was ever “even-keel”. If Jack had been running the disastrous Obamacare roll out, people would have been flying out of the second-floor window of the White House. It works.

Ask more questions than you answer. Engage everyone, while challenging their ideas. Reach conclusions. Drive a sense of mutual accountability; there is a consequence for good and bad. Try new techniques; go around the table and ask what people think...one by one. Success: Everyone wants to be in your meetings.

Intimate Voice

Every interaction with your boss should be a performance review. You want to speak with a desire to make people better, a combination of honesty and directness and context. There are always these waves of philosophy, things like “radical candor.” It can feel like “let me be an asshole.” They come and go. All that matters is making people better.

Jack was blunt, but he knew where you were, what you could control. He would identify gaps and what you should learn. One on one, he could wrap tough messages with a human voice. He wanted you to get better.

I worked in the Appliance business during a major product recall. It was brutal. I was 32 years old and watched a business and team implode. I was running the service business while we repaired three million refrigerators. This cost the company $500 million. Our business was losing money and customers and the team was splitting. It was a mess.

I was at GE headquarters board room with my boss to review the final reserve. There were four of us and 20 of the “HQ crew.” I felt like a gladiator in a Roman coliseum; not many walked out. My boss and the CFO got fired in the first 30 minutes. Literally fired. They were delivering bad news but had no plan. Then it was my turn to review the repairs, what we were doing, and how we were making progress. Regularly, I would go into homes to fix compressors. That fascinated Jack. I spent 90 minutes responding to tough questions with brutal answers. But I knew my shit. At the end he said, “Jeff, your answers are crappy but well understood.”

I got home that night and told my wife, “I am going to get fired. Let’s figure out what we do next.” She cried; we had a baby at home. The next morning, I got to the office and my assistant said, “Mr. Welch is on the phone.” My stomach dropped. Jack said:

“You were great yesterday. Look, I’m not happy, but let’s get the product fixed. Take care of the customer at all times. Think about what you learned. Problems happen in business. Your job is to fix them, not feel sorry for yourself. I don’t want you to feel relief, I want you to learn. Besides, you are more valuable to me now.”

GE was a big company. It is easy to think of yourself as a group, that your individual performance isn’t important or differentiating. But when the leader intervenes to speak to an individual – regardless of company size – then everyone thinks they matter.

You want a tough boss. They are not assholes. They give you specific guidance on how to get better. You can only get better when you are uncomfortable and challenged. They make your relationship human, not just professional.

As a leader, your style is a composite. Some of your puzzle pieces come from others. Many people confuse the meaning of “authenticity;” it doesn’t mean doing whatever the hell you want. An authentic leader has a responsibility to the team, to their own personal improvement. Good leaders learn and own their style, they are always trying to get better.

TLV Tips:

• Practice an external schedule. Great communicators see and experience a lot. They travel and are well read. They learn context and have a broad view. Too many leaders are “conference room warriors.” They can’t convey spirit or passion.

• Work on your communications...now. I was lucky because I worked for a company that drilled communication skills at an early age. Most of you aren’t that lucky. Hire good communicators...speak with intent. Most presentations I sit through are poor. The first skill we teach in my training course (Performance Acceleration Journey) is communication. It is fundamental.

• Learn how to watch. Sit back and observe others; how they speak and interact. See what works. Keep a leadership journal. Take notes on effective phrases or styles or interactions. Get off your phone and watch.

• Practice. There are very few natural communicators. Try different phrases and see how people react. Think about what you want to convey before a meeting. Run your agenda.

When you get a chance to speak, take it. I gave a college commencement speech and I took my daughter. She said to me, “I wish I could speak like you.” I told her: “This is my 10,000th speech!” You will learn.

Understand the power of Intervention. Don’t let communication rest on protocol or die in the lawyers office. Trust your gut and go direct. Good communication makes everyone feel connected because you are breaking through the bureaucracy.

Be effectively outrageous. Driving change requires provocation. I told my team that there were two ways to get fired at GE. Not listening to Jack or listening to him too much. It is ok to be memorable. Clarity. Fewer words; fewer charts; less time. Particularly with big organizations: less is more.

Very few people own their words. By this I mean they are thoughtful, they say what is on their mind, they say it in a way that people can understand, they are accountable for their ideas. We would be better off with fewer consultants. Peers you respect the most own their words; the ones you hate are whispering in the hallways.

Jack Welch was such a force, but my students really don’t know who he was. The new tech leaders have taken his place. That is too bad. Part of the AI future is communicating its impact with clarity in human terms. Jack could do that.

It was a challenge to follow Welch but over time, I appreciate him more, not less. Over the years, he said some tough things about me; but I loved him. He belongs on your “wall of fame” as a Master of Communication. He could motivate a huge company to trust and follow him.

I was lucky; I had a chance to learn every day. I could witness good and bad leaders through wild economic cycles. Watching others made me better. You are surrounded by people who have value, most with a superpower. Don’t copy them...learn from them. Let’s keep exploring.

Hot Seat by Jeff Immelt

Performance Acceleration Journey

Anything I have achieved in life was based on having dedicated parents and attending a great public high school with phenomenal friends. I have lived and worked around the world but still consider myself a “Cincinnati boy.” I worked hard for a long time; frequently I was clocking 90-100 hours per week and 200 nights per year on the road. I am lucky. I had a chance to learn every day...I worked with talented people on important ideas...and could earn a great living.

Jim Collins wrote a book called “What to Make of a Life.” In it he outlines the steps people make as they manage personal transitions. He provides a concept called “flipping the arrow of money.” Instead of work being the means to money, money becomes a means to work. I wanted to combine my resources with my expertise; getting hands on in areas I cared about. In an earlier post, I described an initiative to build a training program for young executives. Look, big causes and charities are fine. I just wanted to see results; had I really learned skills that could translate to helping others?

Many of my friends have become more active in the community after retirement. For instance, Alex Dimitrief (former GE general counsel), has become a leader in the Ronald McDonald House; others have joined boards of hospitals or community organizations.

Having time is such a blessing. I define “joy” as being able to focus on something important, not expecting anything in return.

In 2020 – at the outbreak of COVID – the superintendent of my high school, Finneytown High School in Cincinnati, reached out to me. She said, “We are in danger of losing the school and need a little help.” Her comment really made me sad. Over the years I have donated money back to my school but lacked the time to really help.

I dug in and learned more about the recent history of the school, what I would consider a “typical American middle-class high school.” Here is what I found:

• The community had gotten older and more economically diverse. Many school facilities were in disrepair.

• The families were much more diverse putting a strain on our teachers to stay contemporary.

• We were a net loser on all of the new “choice” initiatives...charter schools and open enrollment. This is a zero-sum game, where students pay the price due to no fault of their own.

• Test scores were falling. The scars of COVID remain as schools re-establish rigor and focus.

• The local business community had little connection with the school or knowledge of how to help.

• A small group of parents were doing most of the work. They had no advocate.

• Alumni had lost touch with the school...they cared but lacked any way to connect.

At first, the problems seem a little overwhelming. The physical plant (hardware) needed to be modernized. The curriculum (software) lacked critical funding to remain first rate. This is a tough cycle. Families move toward better resources; teachers receive little support; the wrong people end up in leadership; and the town unplugs from the school. We were fighting a negative wave of demographics and economics.

At the same time, the people are great. They retained a sense of purpose and pride. In my time at GE, I learned that the strength of the U.S. sits in the intelligence and optimism of the hard-working people on a local level. Everyone I met, parents and teachers alike, wanted a different future for their school.

Education is Hard

Finneytown sits between Wyoming (public) and St. Xavier (private), two of the best high schools in the country. These are the schools that many GE executives’ children attended. If we believe that wealth discrepancy is an issue — and upward mobility is a problem — then Finneytown must compete at their level. I was given that chance, to compete with the best. Why can’t this generation have the same opportunity?

As I began this journey, I thought that education NGOs or foundations could offer some guidance. I knew a few; GE had sponsored several education initiatives, and the Business Roundtable had targeted education as essential for a productive economy. I knew some of the foundations and benefactors around the city. I didn’t know quite what to ask for, but was open to ideas. What I found was a kind of latent arrogance... “if you fit my philosophy, maybe you can get my help.”

Everything in the U.S. has become political. And we have tried to politicize education. We saw the heavy hand of teacher unions during COVID. Meanwhile, conservative reformers tout school choice, charter schools and open enrollment. But what is working on a broad scale? Not much. Has a generation of growth in private schools created better citizens than public schools? I don’t see it. Education is about community, not politics. Locally, you are on your own.

Fixing public education is not easy; it is a complicated system. I hosted several college presidents at my Stanford class; in many ways their jobs are more complex than any CEO’s. High schools are even tougher; they have bigger problems with fewer resources. One thing is for sure: the rich are getting every advantage, while many are getting left behind. For years I have read about declining test scores or national education debates. I always assumed that “experts” would eventually fix the system. They don’t exist, so dig in!

For a businessperson, think about education as a turnaround. I learned to approach problems by thinking small. Try one approach at one place; learn and move on. What would be possible at “my school”? We have five skills that matter at the level of a local high school. The first is communication. We needed to treat our families like customers, make them believe that the school could listen and care.

The second is technology. Social media platforms allowed us to access generations of alumni. This is critical to building momentum. The third is leadership. Only parents can bring the passion for change. I can’t. Getting the right parents in leadership positions makes everything work better. The fourth is partnerships. I found that “Education NGOs” are myopic. If you can’t fit their “puzzle piece,” no luck. But local businesses have skin in the game and want to help. The last are funds and fundraising. Schools are strained for resources; a little bit of money goes a long way.

Sometimes it helps to focus big skills to small problems. Be a servant, not the boss. Support the ideas of others. Many parents and teachers and administrators have good ideas. A parent brings more passion than I can. Sometimes they just need encouragement. Set the highest bar you can. You can help.

Momentum

We went to work and are making progress. The real action happens with our team on the ground. This is from a recent newsletter:

“This week, we hosted a “Finneytown Vision Night” at our home with alumni, community members, Finneytown teachers, and friends who believe in this place. We shared our Finneytown stories – and the values that make this district and our experiences so special:

• Well-Rounded Excellence: Students from diverse backgrounds who do it all – and do it all well.

• Underdog Spirit: We’ve never had the deepest pockets, but we’ve always had the strongest drive.

• Community That Lasts: You’re known by name and supported for life.

• Legacy That Lives On: Every generation gives back for the next.

We also introduced our next goal: engaging 250 families in the Legacy Projects through our new Become a Champion Campaign – people who will give, share the story, and host gatherings to keep this momentum growing.

And momentum is growing. People are engaged. People are giving. Families are choosing Finneytown. Alumni are moving back. The shift is real – and it started with you.”

We have more work ahead. A major reconstruction project is underway at the high school. We have increased our private fundraising goals to $15 million. Parents are reengaging. Vastly upgraded performing arts and athletic facilities are in progress. Alumni are participating in record numbers. We are underdogs, and don’t want to lose that spirit. Our school is dreaming again. You can watch our progress or donate at: Finneytownalumni.org.

Young families can look at our town and see that we care. They are returning. In some ways, we have tackled the easy part first. The facilities will be competitive for the first time in a generation. Now, we need to support great teachers in a learning culture. The “software” must work.

Sometimes you can build change “top down.” Education is a “bottoms-up” game. Every school needs a series of “sponsors” who can bring skills and capital. When they are met by passionate parents and teachers, magic can happen. Our systems are broken, but don’t give up. Parents just need a catalyst. Go back to your school. Fix what you see and what you know. Own it and stick with it. Helping the local team to rejuvenate a place I love has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my lifetime. This might help:

TLV Tips

• Create or support an organization outside the school boundaries that can catalyze change. Ours is called Finneytown Alumni Network. It is staffed by people in the community who care. Invest seed capital for full time leadership and to communicate with the community. Here is a roster:

  • Michael Steel (Program Leader)...an alum and parent of young children. Mike is an expert fundraiser. His father was my friend.

  • Scott Haarlammert & Ric Towner (Parents)...concerned parents, whose children graduated and loved their experience. Scott and Ric inspired me to do more.

  • Rick Kennedy (Communication)...Retired communication lead from GE Aviation and familiar with the town. Rick is a friend.

  • Kara Smoker (Social Media)...young alum with contemporary skills

  • Rick Payne (Finance)...local financial advisor who brings passion and discipline.

• Invest in parents. There is a cohort of parents who are toiling with few resources. This includes boosters, PTA, school board, band parents, etc. They are heroes and they need help. Small dollar investments go a long way.

• Prioritize projects...big and small. Get a few early wins backed by a multi-year plan. We passed a bond issue to fund school reconstruction on top of our 60-year-old campus. Private donations will fund a performing arts center upgrade and new sports facilities. We are moving quickly, with multiple projects completed. People can see the difference. Legacy and pride will be at the center of what we do.

• Build a ground game with alumni. Many had lost connection, but not the love. I was not alone; most alums had a great experience and really cared. Many from the older alumni cohort may have financial resources and want to help; we just need to find them. The younger alumni have social media skills but little funds. Both groups are important.

• Create metrics for success. There are obvious ones...like test scores. But there are even more important foundational goals...are more young families moving to town? That is what will make this effort sustainable.

• Attach to community. Your school’s success should foster community success and vice versa. In our case, the town is doing great (Springfield Township). We need local business to support the schools.

• Promote teaching and outcomes. We will create physical space to train and explore our potential. We want to develop a foundation for continuous learning and leadership. Cheer for the next generation of administrators and teachers who can see the changes happen over time.

• Make change sustainable. Create an ongoing stream of funds for teacher training, scholarships, and content. Commit to making our students competitive, ready to enter and lead their world with confidence.

• Make it Personal. Big “philosophies of change” in education aren’t working. Depart your fancy and lofty initiatives and go home. It starts with you.

In the end, I am realistic about my role. I am outside the system. I am not going to pick the leadership or vote for the school board. But I can remove the excuses and challenge the status quo. Time is of the essence.

Let me leave you with this: Wealth discrepancy is a big issue in America. A primary cause is the erosion of our public schools. Nationally, initiatives to repair public schools have largely failed. But it is possible to have an impact locally by aligning resources with leaders and families who care. We need a few people at each public school to “pitch in”...financially and emotionally. It is up to us.

My father was a product of the Great Depression. He would say, “Get a good education, it makes a poor man rich.” I graduated in 1974 from Finneytown High School and felt like I was king of the world. I could do anything. If we let our public schools erode, we take away those dreams. I’m lucky and have resources. Many of you do as well. Most of us enjoy investing in causes that are close to our heart. There is nothing more personal than your school. Part of my value is financial for sure. But time and experience matter more. Let’s keep exploring.

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Hot Seat Proceeds Go to Finneytown HS

PAJ Executive Education

We stay connected to each other for life. John Chiminski and I serve on a start up board together. John was a talented Healthcare operator who I met in 1996. He was one of the most talented executives I had ever seen. He resigned in my office in March 2009…the day we cut the GE dividend. A bad day. He asked me, “will we speak again?” I said, “yes, but not soon.” He went on to do a great PE gig with Blackstone, taking Catalent (life sciences) public, and serving as its CEO. After 10 years, we finally spoke again and we remain great friends today. Life is long; surround yourself with great people.

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I feel like I have lost a connection to GE. But I always stayed engaged with our people, even current employees. Hundreds have reached out over the years. I had the chance to watch GE leaders become exceptional public company CEOs; while many others have become CFOs, GCs, and HR leaders. I continue to play the role of sounding board and coach to many. I am proud of them and want them to succeed.

Business leadership is an evolving art. When I began teaching at Stanford, I read multiple books on CEOs and leadership. Most are not good. Jack Welch was a great CEO, but his books never captured his magic. Elon Musk is a game-changing leader. No book from the early 2000’s predicted his style of success. It is hard to learn from a person without a contemporary context; “rearview mirror analysis” is uninspiring.

Fortunately, I was able to bring CEOs/Founders to class, including many with GE heritage. Watching leaders was helpful to show students a variety of styles. I wanted them to see the “gritty stuff;” how leaders make decisions, solve problems, and build culture. Watching “GE-bred” CEOs, alongside my students, allowed me to see them through fresh eyes, and with the perspective of the next generation. My students learned from the GE CEOs who were humble and open and curious and diverse and competent.

How Do You Develop A CEO?

No person really sets out to be a CEO, and no company has a charter to develop them. However, GE was intentional about recruiting and development and exposure and performance and ideas...the output created some really good leaders.

Making it through a system to become a CEO...or even becoming a founder...emanates from an internal fire. This looks like ambition, but it is really something different. Leaders want to get the most out of their potential, leave it “all on the field.” They don’t fear criticism or judgment. Becoming a CEO is where you end up, not the goal. Getting there is just the beginning.

I allocated one-third of my time to developing leaders. I watched how they spent their time, made decisions, and treated people. The results are the easy part. You try to prepare them for any environment; you can’t count on “tailwinds.” Fellow CEOs view leadership through a different lens than the pubic. They understand the task, learning more from the approach than the outcome. They recognize the role of luck. My favorite leadership book remains “Shoe Dog.” Phil Knight didn’t say “look at me.” Rather he told a story: “This is what I tried, what do you think?”

The current generation of GE leaders have flourished in great numbers, more than 100 becoming public company CEOs. In 2002 after my first leadership meeting, a veteran GE VP said to me, “We don’t need to know how the company works, we just want you to have some of Jack’s ‘magic beans,’ so the stock goes up.” I resolved to develop leaders who understood this world and believed in ideas.

Initially, start-ups don’t have the luxury of developing leaders. But scaling requires a “leadership culture,” where more people want more responsibility. Founders , eventually, will recognize and develop the best talent. Good CEOs (or founders) will invest in human resources to develop a plan to get the most from their talent. I worked hard with my HR leader, Susan Peters, to develop the following:

TLV Tips:

• Build a system where people receive specific feedback and measure improvement...from an early age. Make every meeting a performance review. This sounds basic, but almost never happens.

• Be intentional about a career path ... one that is broad and diverse. This is easier for companies than start-ups. But even leaders who want an entrepreneurial path should direct a zig zag career toward competency. Learn the right skills.

• Take risk…no one is completely ready for a job. Everyone – at some point - will have imposter syndrome. Bet on people with capacity and desire. Looking back, most of my mistakes were backing the “safe choice.”

• Simulate personal risk. Corporate life is different than the founder world; you operate with a net. Nonetheless, you must force leaders to make decisions, to risk “blame.” It only gets tougher. A common failure mode for people at the top is an inability to make decisions.

• Make every peer encounter a competition, even among friends. Keep people sharp and be willing to criticize (even in public) in the spirit of improvement. Exhibit a sincere desire to help people achieve their best.

• See how they fill spare time. When you are CEO, you control the agenda. If a senior leader fills their schedule with busy work, they will become a lousy CEO. Identify those who embrace new methods or ideas.

• Be completely honest about tragic flaws. It is “kind” to say, “your time is up.” At the top, flaws become more obvious and basic: selfishness, judgment, courage, intellect.

• Build confidence until you can’t. Encourage learning and risk taking. Most times when I removed a leader they had given up on themselves.

• At an early age, make them respect the world. Context is learned on the job and is essential for a CEO.

• Let them go. This was hard for me. Understand that everyone has their own desires and will find their own path. Some will leave. Strive to keep your alumni close. They help build a leadership brand. Have a bench: when a good person left, fill the job quickly; that gives your team confidence.

• Always be present when they need a friend.

While we put systems in place to develop talent, my most important message was “Be yourself.” A good CEO is comfortable in their own skin. I never expected them to be loyal to me, but rather to be committed to their own ideas.

Who Wins?

Multiple styles can win. As I have watched leaders prosper, I have tried to build a mental model for success. I selected a segment of leaders to build a composite (15 out of 100+). Here is a family tree; most of these leaders I have known for 20+ years.

Mike Mahoney, Boston Scientific (Personal Vision)
At a young age, Mike had a vision for himself to lead at the highest level. He became a master of blending innovation with customer needs; willing to take personal risk. Always bet on himself. A tough-minded optimist. Humble.

Kate Johnson, Lumen (Change Agent)
A very smart engineer who could walk into any room...from GE to Microsoft...and lead. Curious and comfortable in her own skin. Kate is a “change agent” that people trust and follow. It is rare to find someone who is fearless and funny…smart and tough. That is Kate.

Lorenzo Simonelli, Baker-Hughes (Capacity )
100% pure determination and a global road warrior. Has mastered the energy market, becoming an industry thought leader. He is willing to take the big swings without perfect information. Able to juggle multiple balls; excels in moments of ambiguity. Willing to “stand apart” when he thinks he is right. Frequently success is a simple equation: Capacity for work x desire to work.

Margaret Keane, Synchrony (Culture Builder)
People first...a dedicated culture builder. She led her team/customers through the financial crisis and a spin-out. She is immensely motivational through competence and grit. No bullshit...no “look at me”... just substance.

Khozema Shipchandler, Twilio (Clarity)
A brilliant systems thinker, tough minded, and decisive. Kho has immense operational intensity and uniquely ties discipline to strategy. Able to pivot from CFO of GE in the Middle East to CEO of Twilio. Bet on him to win in the AI age because he links innovation to outcomes. A great recruiter. He can see the next move.

Chip Blankenship, Woodward (Depth)
A “PhD operator”...can design jet engines and sell appliances. Leads through detailed understanding of every task...data driven. Chip packages product and process skills. This is rare. In an Aviation sector with sloppy supply chain, Chip stands out.

Joe Hogan, Align (Curious)
An athlete, actually a decathlete. His superpower is learning. Joe has transcended multiple industries...plastics, healthcare, automation and consumer. Always curious about markets and tech. Leads from a market point of view. Able to recruit great talent.

Rafael Santana, Wabtec (Fearless)
Excelled in every tough job. He grew from a process engineer in Minas Gerais (Brazil) to the board room. Comfortable in new markets and every situation. Has built huge performing businesses in places like India and Kazakhstan. A great manager through volatility and cycles.

Omar Ishrak, Medtronic (Innovator)
”A Ph.D. “product picker”...with deep healthcare domain knowledge. Comfortable in every geography and with changing technology. Develops a common languge inside diverse teams. Very unique listening skills and complete trust of customers. Always several steps ahead.

Scott Donnelly, Textron (First Principles)
A deep engineer and logical operator. Applies a “product first” mindset ... even in a conglomerate. Works “high to low.” Tough to BS. Scott was a CEO for 15 years, always remaining curious for the next idea. Sweats the details, but can elevate. Scott manages the extremes...very intense and very fun.

Carrie Eglinton Manner, OraSure (Energy)
Leading a turnaround in a diagnostics company that flourished during COVID but cratered afterwards. Huge passion and energy. Positive in the face of crisis. Can listen and talk at the same time. Believe it or not, this is a skill. Long runway.

Joe Mastrangelo, EOS Energy (Problem solver)
Built some of the biggest product businesses in the energy sector…LNG, H Turbine. Super, super intense and passionate. He is incapable of accepting the status quo. This is required to drive change in established industries. I’m sure he makes his board sweat from time to time; that is the job of the CEO!

Mark Begor, Equifax (Operator)
One of the few “generalists” who can excel in most industries. Able to cut through the noise. Detail oriented, but can elevate to lead strategy. A good human who drives accountability. Super high energy; constant communication and touch with team.

Tiger Tyagarajan + Pramod Bhasin, Genpact (Translators)
Tiger and Pramod created a “GE diaspora” in India. They brought a strong lasting culture that now sits in hundreds of Indian companies...best of GE and country. Intense and fun; always searching for the next idea. This is the power of globalization.

Was there a common path? All were discovered and tested early. Most worked outside their home country. They had good coaches and mentors. All led through tough cycles. They benefited from the conglomerate structure. As a result, they became deep and broad at an early age. All are “characters;” you could spend hours with them and never get bored. They let their personalities be a part of their leadership style.

How are they different? They come from different areas and life stories. Lots of public schools; no “Ivy Leaguers”. Some are charming and others are “screamers.” There is no common starting point...they come from every function and personal background. They were the product of a meritocracy where all could succeed.

They share some similarities that are worth “coaching.” These are the traits you observe when you watch them:

+ They are quick...there is a short cycle between learning and action.

+ They are clear...they break through the noise with a “point of view” and focus.

+ They lean forward...able to pivot toward trends and cycles…pick what is next

+ They are decisive...leveraging integrity and judgement to take risk.

+ They are humble…they work hard, taking nothing for granted.

+ They are disciplined...know how to sweat the details.

+ They can take a punch...each has failed and survived.

+ They are motivators...accountable personally and with their team. Great people follow them. They have fun.

+ They are competitors...All love to win. Each builds a culture unique to their company and their style.

They are also great teachers. It is not essential that CEOs know how to teach, but it helps. Bringing them into the classroom has two benefits. First, they are transparent and reflective about their journey. More importantly, they show that staying with one company has the benefit of friendship and mentorship for a lifetime.

I was trained to be a professional manager, but I didn’t want to train professional managers. Does that make sense? We live in a “sea of ideas” not just numbers. These great leaders reflect that thinking. I am perfectly comfortable letting people be my legacy.

Conglomerates have become unpopular. This is more of a function of capital markets than lessons in excellence. The GE structure and culture created a lot of great leaders. Let’s see what takes its place. Let’s keep exploring.

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Performance Acceleration Journey

I always wanted to be a leader who saw everyone; and tried to learn their story. When I was CEO, so many people helped me. I never got a chance to say “thanks.”

One of them was Ed Galanek. Ed provided security for me while I was CEO. He died last week of esophageal cancer that he contracted while he served as a New York police officer after 9/11. Ed was a great partner and friend.

I met Ed at NBC where he led security for Saturday Night Live and CNBC. Early on, Ed joined me on a few global trips. We hit it off and he became my main man.

I never took security for granted. GE was into a lot of activities, some risky. I received more than my fair share of death threats and went to a few challenging places. It was nice to have guys like Ed around.

I spent a lot of time with Ed. I traveled constantly, frequently outside the U.S. This is a vignette from my book, “Hot Seat.”

“Colleagues of mine who traveled with me to Bangladesh will laugh that I’m touting the virtues of patience. Because while I truly believe that a lengthy time horizon is essential when doing business in emerging markets, I was often anything but patient while actually visiting those markets. Ed Galanek, my trusted security guy who traveled everywhere with me, loves to tell the story of how, one morning in Dhaka, we found our driver and set off for a high-level meeting. Our destination was less than two miles away, but suddenly, our vehicle was at a standstill. I looked out the window to see five lanes of traffic squeezed into three lanes of road.

“Hey, Ed,” I said from the back seat. “What’s going on?”

To understand Galanek’s and my dynamic, you have to know that Eddie is a former cop who could have easily been a stand-up comedian. The son of a hotel doorman from the Bronx, he talks with his hands, and he’s impossible not to like. On 9/11, Galanek was among the first responders, but when I met him, he’d been manning the door at Saturday Night Live for years. If Eddie had a dollar, he’d give you fifty cents. But he also loved to give me a hard time. So when I asked why we weren’t moving, he rolled down his window and craned his neck.

“Huh,” he said, milking it. “It looks like we’re in traffic.”

I was itchy. I like moving forward. “You think we can walk from here?” I asked. Eddie turned around. It was his job to keep me safe. He’d seen this movie before.

“I want to advise you, Jeff, that we are currently in a safe and secure vehicle,” he said, his voice dripping with condescension. “Outside of this vehicle in Dhaka. I will support you in your endeavor to walk. I’ll point you in the right direction. I’ll try to keep an eye on you, and you’re taller than all of these cars, so I’m pretty sure I’ll see you. But here’s where you and I go our separate ways.”

All right, I grumbled. “Enough already.”

Let me tell you about Ed.

Ed was smart. He was quick to read situations and people. He took the time to understand the GE businesses. Further, we would occasionally hire other NYPD alums...they too were smart, and very much fit our culture.

Ed could “rep.” As we traveled, Ed would meet GE sales teams, customers, and government officials. He reflected my character: friendly, hardworking, and curious. We traveled to dozens of countries together, sometimes seeing hundreds of people in a day. He would always play his part.

Ed added capacity. Because of Ed, I could work harder. The role of your support team isn’t to shrink the load; it is to free up capacity for even more work. He was one step ahead and I trusted his judgment.

Ed was loyal. Loyalty is underrated. There is this school of thought that you should surround yourself only with “agnostics”...the so-called “truth tellers;” and that makes sense. It is also nice to have problem-solvers who don’t pass judgment. Most times, as a CEO, you are more vulnerable than powerful. What is loyalty? The best people around you respect your intentions, but don’t expect perfection. I knew Valerie Jarrett when she supported President Obama. She always protected him, even when he made a mistake. Leadership is hard. It is nice to have a few people who care only about the enterprise, not themselves.

Ed was fun. He had a million stories and knew sports statistics. In 2010, my daughter graduated from college and we climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro. My lead director said I could only go if I took a security person. I paid for Ed to go. This became one of the great times of our life. Ed was a basket-case physically, but by night would tell jokes and dance with the sherpas.

Ed knew people. He was a great judge of character and could spot phonies. He had a nickname for everyone. They were meant to be fun, but were also descriptive and relatable. He called Joe Mastrangelo “The Answer,” because he was so well versed in the power business. Ed meant this as a compliment to Joe, and a way to connect him to the global team. Keep someone close who can watch others when the spotlight isn’t on.

After retirement, we remained close. We would always compare fantasy football teams or talk politics. Ed was one of the most interesting people I ever met.

I will miss Ed.

TLV Tips

1. Get to know (all of) the people around you. Judge substance and not title. Go places without a big crew of handlers so that you can meet more people. Respect the people in your life who volunteer to serve, not looking for credit. I am lucky; I was surrounded by people who allowed me to work.

2. Surround yourself with culture. When you are on the road, others judge your group before they see you. If you are surrounded by jerks, you look like a jerk. But if your group is open and friendly, more doors will open.

3. Repay loyalty. Ed stayed loyal even when others trashed me. This probably cost him some work. I tried to repay his grace.

4. Find space and safety. Being a CEO is a lonely job and you are always on. Ed allowed me to have moments where I could be a “regular guy”...talk sports, laugh...things I needed to recharge.

A few days before he passed, Ed and I had this text exchange. He was in hospice. They were feeding him through a tube.

Me: “Ed, are you getting any sustenance?”

Ed: “If you call a rash on my balls sustenance, then yes.”

Edgy and human to the end.

I am a Christian and believe in everlasting life. Our destiny is a combination of faith and deeds. Ed had plenty of deeds; he touched a lot of lives. Aspire to “say thanks” to all the people who helped you. “Thanks, Ed...I love you.”

Let’s keep exploring.

Ed's obituary

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What is the value of experience? If you want to teach and help you must learn to translate what you have experienced to what matters in the future. I survived five tail risk events and 22 economic cycles. We called our Stanford class “Systems Leadership.” I wanted the students to grapple with the problems and decisions that confront CEOs. How do you “break through the noise” when answers are not easy or clear? What does it feel like to drive change at scale in the face of uncertainties? One of the most important situations for leaders is navigating market transitions. These are the seasons where value is created or lost:

I have experienced all four seasons, sometimes simultaneously. Leaders have to be clear-eyed and curious. There are two important questions: Are market changes permanent or cyclical? Is financial performance – good or bad – driven by the market or us? The answer to these questions can create trillions in value.

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We are experiencing one of the most important “seasons” of my career with the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI). I am 70 and have seen a lot. Trust me when I say that AI will change almost everything. AI will have the biggest impact on tech and software, where even the best companies need to pivot into change. I respect tech leaders who know that change is profound and endless and continuous. There is no rest.

However, at the base of the “AI tech stack” is power generation. Data centers feed AI, and they consume an immense amount of electricity. The power generation industry is 100+ years old. The electricity infrastructure is dated and broken. It requires massive investments in scale and operations under a confusing quilt of regulation.

AI is literally: “New Meets Old.”

The “AI season” requires different kinds of leaders. From a tech standpoint, AI will leap over software, making many companies obsolete. For power generation, only the leaders who survived the last cycle will prosper. A few new technologies will catch this wave; but not many. Legacy players will dominate.

Leading Pivots

Tech companies know that “innovation rules.” Invest or die. AI is radically raising the bar for what it means to be a tech company. It is brutal. Tech winners will emerge with a different business model. They must invest a massive amount of capital, even take on debt. Investors must commit to this reality. Will the “MAG 7” win? It is unclear.

I came to tech in 2018, and I knew how to manage cycles. However, this market has always grown; you are managing the “ups” only. The difference: transformative innovation happens continuously. Imagine needing to develop a new aircraft engine architecture every three years instead of 30. The H turbine was launched in 2014 and dominates today. Three generations of tech innovation have cycled in this same time period!

The AI winners will be “masters of pivots.” They will disrupt their business models, invest massively and recruit new teams. They will tell their investors to “defer gratification” and trust them. They will completely restructure the way they approach customers. Entire cultures and organizations will disappear. Others will fight to the end. I admire Oracle and its ability to innovate, even as an older company. Sounds like fun?

Future TLVs will talk more about AI.

Some companies will disappear. There are multiple SaaS companies with $100+ B market cap (and 80% margins) whose purpose in life is to automate IT tickets...run help desks. What? New companies can dominate old systems integration by driving “tech-led” outcomes, at a much lower cost. Part of the software pivot is driven by a recognition that “Statements of Record” have driven little value in the enterprise. Investments in ERP, CRM, MES are becoming wallpaper with AI leaping ahead. Transitions are hard.

In 2007, I saw a market transition in media with streaming…while GE owned NBCU. Any network could have acquired YouTube for $1B; now it is worth $500B. Today, the streamers dominate traditional networks that couldn’t pivot. In fact, Netflix is more valuable than all other media platforms combined. NBC launched Hulu early but couldn’t keep pace. One of the reasons we sold NBC was the inability to fund the streaming transition. Leaders who can pull off a pivot are rare.

Weathering Cycles

For AI to succeed, tech leaders must partner with a capital intensive, cyclical power industry. Economic cycles are different. Here, you must manage the "ups," alongside of the “downs.” Moreover, you have to manage them with the same leaders. Operating through cycles is actually fun when you get the hang of it. You move faster and the best people thrive.

The power cycle has been gut wrenching. It is a growth business, but it had a lot of lean years. Here is a picture of what a cycle looks like:

The impact of these cycles is obvious: There was a huge “bubble” in gas turbine shipments in the U.S. in 2000…with the promise of deregulation. In fact, 50% of the turbine installed base was shipped between ’98-’02; with no growth in demand. Subsequently, the market in the U.S. declined by 80%, where it remained for almost 20 years. When bubbles burst, it leaves a scratch; this one distorted GE metrics for years.

Data centers have changed all of the dynamics around the power sector. Electricity demand is booming and there is a global shortage of generation. Lead times are moving out and prices are rising dramatically. Everyone is a hero! Because the market is “demand-driven” instead of “regulatory-driven” this wave could last for a decade or more.

For the past few years, investors have won big owning power generation assets. They call it a “picks & shovels” business for the data center age. And they are right, but investors can pick their spots. These businesses couldn’t get a meeting with investors five years ago.

Operators must be trying hard even in the tough years, requiring a versatile leadership team. You must invest while cutting costs. You must acquire new technologies and build new regions in the face of uncertainty. You must cheerlead every success, when no one else cheers for you.

A story: In the middle of the lean years, GE opted to acquire Alstom, the French state-owned power company. They lost the will and capability to weather the down cycle. The deal was, at best, controversial. I once discussed the Alstom acquisition with my predecessor, hoping to get moral support. It was a real grind and many times I wanted to give up. He said to me, “How could you sell NBC only to buy a French power company?” Well, today: GE Vernova has a $300B market cap, up 115% in the last year. Comcast has an $80B market cap, down 30%. Think long term.

So much value has been created -- and lost -- during cycles. Weak leaders give up on a good business during a bad cycle. That is why private equity has been so successful.

Leaders Must Understand Markets

When I was running businesses – and today as an investor – I always study markets first. Income statements are easy to understand. Much of your success is determined by market growth, ecosystem value, and competitive position. Yet, it is rarely mentioned in leadership books or taught in business schools. Same with investors. Look, the value of GE Vernova is great today. But it should never have been as low as it was. A portfolio manager (who has won big) called this “investor malpractice.” Betting on themes is often more lucrative than picking individual companies.

One last example: Aviation is a market I know well. People frequently describe it as a “cyclical business.” It isn’t...it is a long-term growth business.

The industry is exposed to macro-shocks, but the underlying momentum is non-stop. In this industry, when a leader falters, they lose market share for a generation. GE Aviation’s Leap Engine will be one of the largest industrial products in history with lifetime sales heading toward $300B. It was launched during the financial crisis. Currently the industry struggles with supply chain weakness. Economically strong companies failed to invest for their customers. Many abandon the long-term in a short-term panic. Cycles require unique leadership.

How do you manage the “up” and the “down.” Those who have mastered cycles are having their day in the sun:

TLV Tips:

• Lead with a Point of View ... Debate markets constantly. Every company needs a technique to cut through the noise. Cycles should not change what you believe. Particularly in high-investment businesses – like Energy – it is important to sustain a long-term thesis. Start meetings with an “open mic session” where people discuss market themes. It is important to achieve a common view of the future; it can build confidence in moments of uncertainty.

• Sustain Product Innovation…. Over time, the best product wins. You can’t time success. The Leap engine and H turbine were funded during the Financial Crisis. Trust the market, even when it is tough financially. Meanwhile, venture will invest billions to catch “up cycles”. Find a way to place a few technical bets with them that can pay off over time.

• Leverage Business Development. At the top be willing to diversify. At the bottom, try to consolidate. The Power cycle created cash to acquire Jenbacher, renewable assets, and to build Baker Hughes. GE could invest organically to build a distributed power business based on aviation technology. Alstom was in trouble in 2014 as the market bottomed and GE acted decisively. It took time, but that investment has been a home run.

• Build Your Next Business Model. Don’t get lazy. The next down cycle is ahead of you; make sure you are stronger. In the last power bubble GE built out its global footprint. For a decade, Saudi Electric Corp bought more turbines than all the U.S. utilities combined. Now, they are focused on electrification ... smart!

• Let Your CRO Lead ... They may be the most important person on the team. Try weekly meetings. The cycle time between market inputs and actions should be short. From 2002-05 I met weekly with Del Williamson, our Power Sales Leader. GE backlog grew from 50 to 2000 turbines and then shrunk back to 50 in five years. Bridge the volatility for the company and customers. Don’t be a Pig. It is fun to have pricing power. Don’t take the last dollar to the bottom line. Use it to build long-term relationships. Listen to the sales leader.

• Add Content. After building share in the upcycles, gain content to sustain revenues over time. Services can make a volatile business into one with recurring revenue. Weathering cycles requires leaders to be creative and take more risk.

• Control the Supply Chain. It is inexcusable to disappoint customers in the upcycles or fail to gain share in the down cycles. Frequently backward integration is a viable option to protect customers. Leaders must hold their suppliers to high standards and not let them get too lean or fat.

• Worry About Your Team…They aren’t as good as you think they are when markets are booming! They are better than you think in the valleys. Don’t promote anyone who hasn’t weathered a crisis. I made this mistake too frequently!

• Never lose the hustle…Train your team to “chase the loose balls“ when you are on the bottom. Don’t lose that spirit when the order books are full. Culture should be a constant winning culture.

The winners in this AI season are those quick to pivot and determined to persevere. Together they will shape a new industry built on an old one. Each requires a different sensibility; there is nothing more fun than watching a tech native trying to figure out power, or watching a legacy company move with the speed of the market. This will be interesting!

I cheer for the GE Vernova team and their leader Scott Strazik. Today, he is on CNBC and a hero. But he was also busting his ass 10 years ago as the Power sales leader when there were no buyers. Go Scott!

Humans love certainty...operators and investors alike. All the value is in market transitions and volatility. Don’t fear judgement. Don’t quit on yourself. Business and change are relentless. Clear, long-term thinking – backed by a will to act — always wins. Winning at business is about good people persevering through every cycle. Leaders are optimists on the bad days, humble on the good ones. Let’s keep exploring.

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Read Hot Seat by Jeff Immelt

PAJ Executive Education progam

One of the most important business skills is not taught in a classroom; nor is it featured in leadership books. The lesson: how to build a strong network based, one that can weather personal cycles ... how to make friends.

Without thinking, I had prepared for tough times. I had done a million favors when I was on top, asking for nothing in return. I had been a good peer, a friend to many. Those favors came back to help when I struggled.

It may seem obvious, but you see the best and worst in people when you are on the bottom. Your best friends know what they have “seen” in you and do not believe what they read. But there are plenty of “haters” who take joy in your pain.

I would tell my Stanford students: “There are some things you can learn from me and things you should never learn from me. But I will bring you a Top Ten Network.” I was able to recruit 100 CEOs/founders into my class at Stanford. All were friends. My students may have read a few bad things about me, but when Ruth Porat or Roger Goodell said, “he is ok,” it worked.

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Building a Network

Your friendships last forever. I built a great network from 35 years at GE. I know thousands of people around the world by their first name. My network multiplied when I hit the west coast. At NEA, other venture partners included: Hilarie Koplow-McAdams, an Oracle/SFDC commercial leader; Mark Hawkins, CFO from Dell and SFDC; Brooke Seawell, a board member at NVIDIA for 30 years; Greg Papadopoulos, former CTO at Sun. I was surrounded by teachers; they became my friends. They were all icons in the community.

Quickly, my network expanded further to include Silicon Valley royalty: People like Byron Deeter (Bessemer), John Doerr (Kleiner Perkins), Mike Spieser (Sutter Hill), Jeff Epstein (Oracle), John Chambers (Cisco), and Elena Donio (Twilio). They also became friends. Look, they all valued and respected GE. At a high level, leaders understand that frequently what is written is wrong ... because they have put up with the same shit. This is an important point. Haters travel with other haters; they love to read angry words from anonymous sources. I weathered two terrible books, filled with anonymous quotes. After they were published, I never received one negative text or email, only support. Haters are lazy. So if no one follows haters, why not be a friend?

On the last day of class, I say to my students that your success is determined by three things: how much you learn every day; how fully you can give to others; and will you persevere on the bad days. If you give to others, it will be repaid over time.

A network is an asset and a differentiator. It must be built naturally and purposefully and continuously. Relationships are built in person. You can add followers online, but you can’t make friends. You must work it every day. I never had an agenda, but I liked people. In the end, my network worked!!

TLV Tips:

• See everyone ... all the time. I refereed Jamie Dimon’s basketball games at Harvard Business School in 1981. He yelled at me, but we liked each other. Later, I introduced him to his future wife. Ellen Kullman shared an office with me at GE in 1982. We watched each other’s children grow up. These relationships last a long time.

• Stop looking busy ... If you are at a party ... talking to someone ... but looking over their shoulder ... you are not networking. Don’t wear a watch or any device that makes you seem busy. Stay in the moment. The person in front of you is the most important in the world. This is a comment I make to a young investor texting during a founder presentation, “I was responsible for 300,000 people in 110 countries ... I could pay attention to people. So can you.”

• Lead with questions and an intent to learn ... making someone a teacher builds common ground. You connect more from listening than speaking. I learned a ton from Dave Cote early in my career ... about operational leadership.

• Be known for substance. Frequently, people think networking is about “glad-handing.” Good people want to hang out with depth. In other words, be well read; speak in turn; and bring a point of view.

• Communicate when you don’t need anything. Try a phone call or a text that starts with ... “Did you see?” or “What do you think?” If every call starts with “Can you do me a favor?” ... you are not making friends.

• Do favors, without expectations ... particularly on the tough days. Say “yes” to speaking engagements, coaching sessions. Respect the little things. I created a GE Day at Penn State right after the Paterno crisis. I didn’t have to, but that action said, “I’m a friend.” You always remember the person who answers the phone when no one else will.

• Go to the hard places, not to be seen. I traveled a lot. Networking events are not “fat-cat confabs” in ski resorts. You may “see” people, but you are not “meeting” them. Nigerian business leader, Aliko Dangote, is my friend because I met him in Lagos. Want a good network? Log the miles.

• Be intense or fun or generous (or all three). People who aren’t smart ... or are assholes .... tend not to be good at networking. Michael Milken is massively intense ... not a joke teller. He can convene the best group of investors in the world. But it helps to be fun. I integrate into every community. I play golf on Sunday mornings with a crew of “mid-40s” executives from Netflix, Apple, Google, and some startups. They know who I am ... they receive some free coaching a long as they give me a few five-foot putts. In the Valley, everybody looks for help: every interaction is a coaching session.

• Be generous. Help others first. The primary purpose of a network is to help others. If you have “banked a lot of favors,” they will come your way when you need them.

• Don’t be a hater. This is especially true for social media. Your network will include fellow haters, not friends you need over your life. Kindness beget kindness ... hating brings a different reward. Have a hopeful world view. People don’t want to work for -- or hang with – dark souls. See potential in everyone; want the best for them.

We live in the social media era and that is ok. But networks are about people. Don’t confuse conversation with connection. Seek to build “trust;” that is the glue that sustains over time. Live your life to prepare for the worst day, not the best. Have your own “circle of friends.” I tell CEO/Founders about their boards: “Picture your board on the worst day ... know who will help.”

My network saved me. I value my friends and never take them for granted. Let’s keep exploring.

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Read Hot Seat by Jeff Immelt

Steve Ballmer once told my Stanford class, “Business is about ideas and people.” Ideas need people who are builders and managers. Builders must come first. I worked with a few great builders at GE ... David Joyce (aviation), Omar Ishrak (healthcare), Joe Mastrangelo (energy), Gary Wendt/Dennis Nayden (Capital), and Bonnie Hammer (media).

Today, it is harder than ever to be a builder inside a public company. CEOs are getting fired at a record clip; one in nine is new this year. Activists rule. PE has raised record funds, despite average returns. What are the chances that legacy boards are saying, “We should invest more”? Not great. I admire and lament: SpaceX and Anduril and Palantir are great companies in the industrial world. Probably 10-15 legacy players could have competed in the same markets. None of us have taken the risk.

Building = Risk + Culture

When I moved to the Valley, I knew that start-up entrepreneurs would fascinate me. I have been even more impressed by “Big Tech” companies like Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and NVIDIA. They always play offense with a culture of reinvention. I think this is just instilled in their DNA. When you see product investors get rewarded, you become an innovator. When you see cost cutters get rewarded, you become a cost cutter.

These companies innovate and execute at scale. They have cultures where everyone serves the product, operators and innovators alike. An executive at Apple will talk about products and customers, not process and functions. A committed builder will become a great operator. The inverse, however, isn’t necessarily true. If you think of yourself as a manager – a generalist – you will become consumed by process. Builders view process as a way to fund what is next.

As companies grow, they either create an “upward spiral” or a “downward spiral.” A culture of reinvention that wins in the marketplace attracts great talent; great talent, in turn, keeps pushing to win in the marketplace. You create an internal network effect. But the inverse is also true. When you don’t build on market leadership, the best people stop coming. Markets are dynamic and tough; you can’t lose the shine!

There is an important difference between a “culture of learning” and a “culture of reinvention.” Lots of companies promote continuous improvement and that is a very good thing. Reinvention is improvement plus investment. VC-backed companies account for 94% of R&D spend across U.S. public companies. Capital speaks louder than words.

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Why could legacy companies get left behind? It requires an appetite for risk. GE Aviation won because it took big financial swings when it was inconvenient. The team was amazing and I helped. But I also made a few mistakes, sometimes not pressing hard enough to bring in the talent who could build the future. I once passed over Omar Ishrak (Medtronic CEO and Ph.D.) to run Healthcare in favor of a more conventional finance leader. So, the issue is not talent. GE has thousands of talented engineers, ops managers and salespeople who can compete with any team from Amazon or Apple. Leaders should push harder for growth.

Fortunately, the right culture can attract builders and managers. In the start-up world, I have seen the power of blending founders with experienced players as companies scale. The right legacy talent brings pattern recognition and a sense for mutual accountability in teams. They don’t panic in a crisis. They value the passion and insight from a founder; they use process to win in the market, not play it safe. Khozema Shipchandler is the excellent CEO of Twilio, an AI/Software company. He also has deep legacy roots. He is a builder; builders can come from anywhere.

From Founder to CEO

I have had the chance to work with a number of great founders. Some are just entrepreneurs, like Jonathan Bush of Athena Health or Mihir Shukla of Automation Anywhere or Chris Turlica of MaintainX or David Rogier of MasterClass. Others are deep technologists, like Gene Berdichevsky of Sila Nano. A few are experienced operators, like Rich Whitney of Radiology Partners or Hayes Barnard of GoodLeap. Many are humble in their success, like Michelle Zatlyn of CloudFlare.

Who wants to go all the way? Some founders have the desire to lead at scale, but not all. There is nothing more heart-wrenching than seeing a founder fail while the company succeeds. There is nothing more satisfying than watching a founder mature and grow. They can change the world. KR Sridhar ... the founder and CEO of Bloom ... offers a pretty good window on how a talented leader grows into a CEO. This is what I learned from watching KR:

• Continue to learn. Some founders make a little money and start thinking they know it all. KR is never satisfied; he is always searching for the next idea. He is incredibly discerning ... who are the right teachers and where? He listens, but not to everyone. He is very disciplined ... new lessons only sharpen his focus. The magic words for a founder becoming a CEO ... “help me” and “never satisfied.”

• Let the product and market rule. KR sustains a deep vision for innovations that change markets. Look, I heard hundreds of energy pitches at GE and in clean tech venture investing. These include every era and power source. But KR thinks in terms of “First Principles” for the industry. What is the system? The economics? The impact? The scale? In 40 years of energy investing, I had rarely seen this depth.

• “Can’t” is not accepted. Bloom commercialized fuel cells, something no one else could do. This required pushing the boundaries of material science, ultimately leading KR to mine dirt in Montana and run a processing plant there. Is this in your DNA? If not, you can’t build.

• Don’t become a “manager” too early: seek to control everything, everywhere ... all the time. Professional managers have been trained not to micro-manage. KR is relentless. The builder and team do their work together. Micromanaging with a builder is not a burden. He is a teacher; the team is learning together.

• Recruit people who make you uncomfortable. KR had TJ Rodgers, an early era semiconductor founder, on his board for 10+ years. TJ has a “brutal user interface,” but is a manufacturing savant. It worked ... the company owns a flexible and resilient supply chain, rare in the energy industry. For a founder to become a CEO, they must realize that talented outsiders add leadership capacity.

• Maintain high standards for people even as you grow. We have churned multiple C-suite leaders since I have been on the board. Most investors preach the continuity and safety that recruiting domain experts can bring. Ultimately, builders need athletes with massive intellectual and physical capacity. A good builder recruits for how fast people can learn, not what they know. A founder doesn’t know good until they see it. Once KR sees “good” he wants more.

• As you travel from founder to CEO, you can still be an optimist. Fred Smith, CEO of FedEx, was my friend; he was one of the great founders who became a CEO .... he was always an optimist. Builders have to say, “here is what can go right.” Frequently, a board will say ... “don’t be so optimistic, what can go wrong?” But to KR, realism is creating a different future. He just looks at failure differently. Sure, missing a quarter is bad; but missing a wave is worse. One you find the wave, you blow the quarters away!

• Stay flexible ... building takes time. I used to say that founders need resilience. But they never think of quitting. Rather, they pivot for the next attack. It is easy to use Mike Tyson’s quote when discussing builders: “Everyone has a strategy till they get punched in the nose.” But KR is more like Muhammed Ali’s “rope a dope.” He keeps his eyes open while getting punched, looking for his knockout.

Helping Builders

I want to pivot from what I have learned about builders ... to what I have learned about helping them. But first, I want you to consider a concept called “founder mode” authored by Airbnb’s Brian Chesky two years ago:

“In effect there are two different ways to run a company: founder mode and manager mode. Till now most people, even in Silicon Valley, have implicitly assumed that scaling a startup mean switching to manager mode. But we can infer the existence of another mode from the dismay of founders who’ve tried it, and the success of their attempts to escape from it.”

Look, he isn’t entirely right. Leaders who know how to manage can accelerate a company’s growth. In the early days of Amazon, Jeff was extremely skilled at recruiting leaders from companies like Walmart and GE to build capability. But the helper’s main role is to accelerate growth, not “govern progress.” Helpers need to fit the culture, not change it.

Boards Help (Sometimes)

The main way to help founders is by joining boards. I joined the Bloom Energy board in 2018. I enjoy my board colleagues and have learned a lot from them. The thought of having tough-minded leaders around a table, challenging founders and holding them accountable makes sense. We act like a team ... we complement each other ... we care. I never had an aspiration to be on a board. I wanted to be part of the building process, and this is the price of admission.

Now, a word of warning. Governance doesn’t always help companies or investors. It can be a box-checking world directed by lawyers, consultants, auditors, proxy advisors, and activists. The entire process begins to look like a toll booth, not an accelerator. Private equity has a great selling point to management: “join us and we will eliminate all of the nonsense.” Start-ups will only go public once they exhaust capital markets capacity. Sometimes a board can screw up a company not help it. An important trait of a board is self-discipline, not winning an “advisor fashion show.”

What is my role as lead independent director and shareholder at Bloom? I bring the intensity of an operator and the spirit of a helper. I allow KR to leverage my experience in the context of building a generational company. Having been a CEO, I know that sometimes boards sound like an orchestra warming up ... discordant, confusing, and out of tune. My job is to make the board’s great inputs fit a theme and be actionable. I can be credible with the board, saying, “don’t worry; building is messy; let’s tolerate uncertainty in the pursuit of growth.” I am accountable to the company and investors in good days and bad.

TLV Tips:

• Have no ego ... none. If you want to be on a board, don’t join one. If you want to serve, you will be awesome. You are an accelerator.

• Open your network and make it personal. Help can’t be philosophical or general. Help can only be specific. You need to take the builder with you.

• Understand what is different. A helper must remain curious, hearing alternative thinking without prejudice. You can’t only provide old recipes from the past; I have never said, “Let me tell you how we handled this at GE ...” Helping requires finding different ways together.

• Make the company smarter, but don’t turn it into storytelling. Know your swim lane. I can’t help an AI or software company build models or write code. But I can tell them, “The CFO is the decision-maker; get there.” Leverage pattern recognition.

• Scale the talent, not the reviews. Focus on people first. Make sure to hire good people before installing complicated processes. Many growth companies have people walking from meeting to meeting like zombies. Encourage builders to embrace only the processes that work for them.

• Help the builder with “when.” They know what to do. But many builders have never seen cycles. A helper can leverage their experience to differentiate “the urgent” from “the opportunistic.”

• Facilitate their push back on time wasting. As companies succeed, more process gets added. Some is good, some is terrible. Listen to the push back. No operator has ever said, “ISS has a good idea...” Help builders keep their eye on the ball.

• Be a contrarian. Bloom was an energy start up founded in Silicon Valley. But Silicon Valley has generally been unsuccessful at building energy companies. Not everything is software. A helper should be a contrarian when the group disconnects from the market.

• Hold them accountable for the entire basket of work. There are a lot of fun parts to building a company. But the mundane details also matter. Helpers tend to both.

• Hold their hand on the worst day. Be a problem solver, not a judge.

This is what a good culture looks like... The CEO says to the board, “You have complete access to the team, without me present. I want you to learn the company and the culture.” The board says to the CEO, “Feel free to push back when we are wasting company time ... you are closer and you care more.” Try it.

We have a lot of work ahead of us at Bloom. Our markets are dynamic ... our customers are demanding ... and our competitors are smart. But, we are all -- in our own way -- builders playing a role to create the future.

It is easy to like KR today. I fell in love with him in February 2019. The company was struggling with the stock at $2/share. Our auditor – in an outrageous move – made us restate previous results based on mistakes they had made. (I guess that is good governance?) KR never blinked. Despite being completely blindsided, he calmly moved the company forward. He was an owner ... a leader ... a builder.

At Bloom, I serve. Let’s keep exploring.

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Read HOT SEAT by Jeff Immelt

There is a connection between learning and teaching. In retirement, I wanted to allocate a chunk of my time teaching: MBAs, CEOs, managers. I felt this was a way to give back. There is no magic transition from the boardroom to the classroom. I have spoken to 20+ retiring CEOs who want to try their hand at teaching. I give them five suggestions:

1. You know less than you think. Teaching reveals what you really understand. It takes a year or two to hone your message.

2. Teaching is not only storytelling. You need to ask questions, build a dialogue.

3. Get thick skin; class evaluations are much tougher than a 360. After my first year, a student wrote, “Were your town halls this boring?”

4. No “Caddyshack” references. Very few students have seen it, and after 40 years, it isn’t as funny.

5. You will learn from watching your guests (in my case, other CEOs). In many cases, they drop their guard, and authenticity shows through.

To teach, you must stay current. My venture firm, NEA, employs 100 people, most of them in their 30s. Seeing new ideas through fresh eyes keeps you “young thinking.” I established a connection with young partners at NEA, becoming a mentor to many. They taught me about new waves of technology and the spirit of founders. Similarly, I learned a lot from my students at Stanford. I enjoy this young generation entering the workforce. They are kind and fun. The best ones don’t want “soft niceness” often associated with this era. They want to be challenged.

I partnered with Rob Siegel, one of the most popular lecturers at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Rob became an important person in my life. Rob had worked at GE, but we had never met. Nonetheless, he understood the GE context. Together, we built a popular second-year MBA class called Systems Leadership, about thriving through chaos. I connected with the students who appreciated seeing the reality ofbusiness leadership, that sometimes you scrape your knees.

We had three goals for the class. First, we taught skills to weather chaos. This included ecosystem analysis, owning a point of view, and managing cycles. Second, they saw leadership in action through the 100+ CEOs/Founders we brought to class. The best leaders demonstrated clarity and courage. Lastly, they could learn how to develop a network. I could teach the power of “relationships” ... bringing an all-star team of my peers to class.

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Teaching is easy to do poorly, but hard to do well. I prepared 12 lesson plans each year. A typical one would be “decision-making.” There are thousands of books on decision-making, mainly written by those who never made one. I would start with what happened, but go deeper into “how and why” decisions are made. I would take them into the locker room on decisions that they had seen in the media; what worked and what didn’t. For an operator, teaching must translate your experience into useable tools. You want them to seek a path to good judgment; judgment won’t be replaced by AI.

Rob convinced me to share the bad things first. Students come for the glamour but stay for the grit. It took me a few years to be completely authentic. My students never tire of hearing my story about raising equity from Warren Buffett during the Financial Crisis. I would go “open mic” on GE stuff, and they could ask any question. In 2018, they would ask: Why didn’t you listen to your team and scrap the Alstom acquisition?By 2024, the question was: How did you have the courage to complete the Alstom acquisition?” This is also a lesson.

The stars of my class were my guests; I wanted to bring my students reality through their eyes. I have a strong network and could bring a wide range of leaders, from Ruth Porat to Roger Goodell to Khaldoon Mubarak. They would show that icons were human and fun. But I also wanted to show that humble leaders like Kathy Mazzarella (of Graybar) and Sam Hazen (of HCA) are just as impactful as any tech titan. My guests not only taught class, but they would host small dinners where we could “open up” for the students.

More experienced leaders should teach. This was an evaluation from my final year:

“This is one of those iconic GSB classes you hear about before coming and it fully lives up to the hype. A must-take. Robert and jeff make an incredible duo: their combined experience and insights really bring this class to life. It’s dynamic, thought-provoking, and packed with top-tier guest speakers from a wide range of industries, each tackling different real-world challenges. Learning directly from Jeff Immelt and his time leading GE is a rare and valuable experience.”

I tried to bring reality. One class featured Jesse Cohn, leader of the activist, Elliott. We had a student from Argentina who accused Elliott of harming her country. Without flinching, his reply, “Pay your bills, then you don’t have problems.” Learning is about facing stark reality.

I conducted 30 minutes of office hours with each student. I spent a lot of time listening. I really got my shit together in business school; I quit partying and committed to a path. I only tried to help them take a positive first step. Sometimes, those sessions would lead to me investing in their start-up. Graham and Michael Topol are brothers and GSB grads who founded an AI native insurance company. I’m an investor and on the board. I tell my network, “I will match you stride for stride; you work hard and I will work hard.” The Topols are working hard.

I looked around my class and the students were amazing! I knew they were developing a great network. But I would wonder: Are we teaching them to compete with China? Solve climate change? Lower the cost of healthcare? Build factories? Leverage AI to make companies more effective? One of my students (who was an ex-GE employee) wrote in the Stanford paper:

“My first week at work as a field engineer in Louisiana, I was put in a fake helicopter, dumped upside down in a pool and forced to swim out the window to practice escaping a helicopter crash. Over a series of four to five simulated crashes, more complexity is added to increase the difficulty. When I took too long on my third escape (after getting my life jacket caught on the seat belt and finding myself quickly running out of air), I was required to get back in and repeat the exercise until I did it right. And the people who didn’t know how to swim? They were right there next to me, held to the same standards.

My first week at the Stanford GSB, a group of my peers complained to the Academic Dean that a three-minute quiz was too difficult. The response? An extra minute on future quizzes and an apology from the instructor that she couldn’t make the questions easier.

One of these experiences taught me to push through challenges. The other taught me that with a little bit of noise, I could avoid difficulty entirely. Stanford is supposed to be a place where people learn to change the world, but my first week gravely concerned me. Changing the world is hard. Why was Stanford letting us off so easy?”

The MBA needs to be re-thought. It is too expensive; there are cheaper ways to build a network. Schools exist in a bubble; two years in Boston or Palo Alto don’t bring you closer to Dayton or Lagos. Students -- many of whom are 30 years old -- are discouraged from saying what they think. All of this can be fixed. However, the bigger issue with the modern MBA is that it is “mis-timed.” The “foundational courses” could easily be taught to 20-year-olds, particularly with AI support. The “electives” lack context because students can’t apply the tools in a timeframe to stay sharp. As a result, they are frequently bored; they aren’t being taught to compete.

Stanford is an amazing place, probably the world’s best university. If you want to launch a tech start-up ... go to Stanford. But I found that in other important areas like globalization, they were behind. Even the best schools can’t afford to be teaching from an old playbook.

MBA programs must refocus on impact. We should be building confidence to take big risk; self-awareness to lead people who are different than you are; and curiosity to see the world. We should be teaching students to: solve problems at scale; leverage the world of technology; and how to cut through the noise in a confusing world. We should be developing “life-long learners.” AI is a tool but will not replace “in person” interactions. They should be learning new tools for motivating others. We don’t need more bankers or consultants. I’m sure Stanford will get it right.

If not with an MBA, how can a founder, or leader, get better? Most companies have abandoned executive development. Start-ups have 20 HR people working on compensation for every one person in training. Silicon Valley has a network of “founder gurus.” But developing a psychological profile of a founder won’t create better execution or engagement.

My experience with MBAs and start-ups convinced me that mid-career training is even more important. In other words, meet people where they are ... when they are committed to skill building. This population needs tools they can use right away and practice. This is also when people can maximize their capabilities and understand their ambition.

Post-COVID, I launched an initiative to fill this gap. My goals:

• Develop leaders in mid-career

• Partner with CEOs to target talent and positions that create organization success

• Emphasize “operator-led” training ... teaching skills and contemporary tools

• Leverage digital tools and content to accelerate learning.

• Fit their workflow ... integrate with their peers

• Build a network with other companies and cultures

• Price at a level where company could get a fast payback

• Be a very hands-on coach

I didn’t have this in mind when I retired from GE but felt compelled to fill a gap that offered no viable substitute today. I do this as a service, not to make money. Together with Kimberly Kleiman-Lee (ran GE’s leadership programs at Crotonville), we launched a 7-month development series for senior leaders at start-ups and public/private companies ... called the Performance Acceleration Journey (PAJ).

Before launching, I interviewed 20+ HR leaders from public and private tech companies. They believe AI will create fewer promotional opportunities, even for the best people.

Therefore, executive development has multiple benefits for retention and culture. HR leaders ... even from digital companies ... didn’t want online learning. They wanted their leaders to develop communication and networking skills. Our goals aligned with their needs: give leaders an immersive learning experience, tools they can use Monday with an expanded peer network to leverage for support. This is from a recent PAJ graduate:

“What stood out most is how immediately actionable the PAJ learning is. I’m already applying these frameworks and practical insights from Jeff’s executive network to how I think about leadership and decision making. Learning alongside such high-caliber peer group made the experience and even more impactful. Thank you!!”

Our target audience is operating leaders, maybe two layers below the “C-suite.” They have the biggest need and the biggest impact on performance and engagement. Our GE backgrounds give credibility to a training model. Crotonville is still referenced byleaders, even those who didn’t work for GE. And GE alums reference this experience as catalytic for their career. PAJ is their Crotonville.

I care about the content and the teachers and want it to feel different than other training. I teach 15 hours to each cohort ... they see my commitment. We bring a collection of academics, operators, founders, CEOs, and investors; and can target the lessons to achieve maximum value. They get to learn from peers and teammates. I have sat in their chair and can identify with their CEOs. I want them to grow their competency and ambition.

Our cohorts include leaders from tech, financial services, healthcare, aviation; they are public and private. We even have a team from the Saudi Ministry of Health. I lean into my network to bring in the best teachers. For strategy, we bring VG Govindarajan, the most popular teacher at Tuck. For operations, we have Jeff Bornstein, former CFO of GE. On leadership, we bring John Donahoe, three-time public company CEO. Kimberly teaches self-awareness, grit, and healthy team dynamics. What good is a network if you can’t use it for others?

In a recent phase, we gave our students a deep dive on AI. We can bring together: academics teaching foundations and data/decision making; founders who outline AI disruption in legacy industries; CTOs from legacy players driving AI outcomes; CEOs driving culture change to leverage AI investment. We ended the day with a fireside chat from a NVIDIA board member. Our goal is to replace fear with competency.

PAJ can be faster than business school and more targeted in delivery. For AI, thousands of managers must be trained immediately. In most professions and industries, new technologies must be applied by people who understand outcomes. In this world, investments in development have immediate impact.

I know PAJ is filling a need. It will also be ever-evolving, by design. We want it to be practical and relevant. I welcome your ideas and help. How can we make it better? So many people helped me. I grew up in a company that valued education in a learningculture. In my second life, I have learned how to teach. I want to find a better way.

TLV Tips:

• Teaching is a great way to give back when you have more time. It is hard to do well. In my case, having co-teachers is important; I learned from them.

• Schools exist in a bubble, so they need operators to bring practicality. This is particularly important in this moment of macro volatility. But operators should learn to teach. It is different than a town hall.

• Business education must be rethought, particularly in the age of AI. Leaders must understand technology and change management. More importantly, we must sharpen old skills like globalization. AI will not solve everything.

• Mid-career (ages 35-45) offers an important window for development ... and is largely unserved. Here, leaders can explore ambition and companies can unlockperformance. Curate content that can be practiced quickly.

• Companies need to position development in the context of a comprehensivebenefits package. In the future, there will be fewer manager roles. Talented leaders should look for companies willing to invest and develop them as part of their overall comp and benefits package.

We tend to believe that the next generation would love to work for ten companies; that they are mercenaries. Both from MBAs and PAJ, I feel like that is not true. They want to work for companies that are trying to win, where human development and culture are prioritized. We need to do better. Let’s keep exploring.

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HOT SEAT by Jeff Immelt

When I walked out of GE for the last time in 2017 after 35 years with the company, it was one of the saddest moments of my life.

I had been CEO for 16 years of one of the world’s largest and most essential companies. I’d earned my share of accolades – three-time CEO of the year, most admired company, even advisor to a U.S. president. I had led the company after 9/11 and the financial crisis. I had followed an icon but carved my own path.

GE was my second family. It still is. Over nearly four decades, I worked with thousands of the smartest and most interesting people in the world. The phone rang constantly with invitations from world leaders, business CEOs, entrepreneurs, investors, journalists, and celebrities. Many became friends.

Anyone who has had a senior position in a big organization such as GE knows how work permeates your life. There are 90-hour weeks and endless decisions to make. Even your “time off” is often spent with peers or customers at dinners, on an airplane, or in a meeting room. One Saturday each month, I would bring a senior executive to my home to explore their career and role in the company. I sacrificed quality time with my family. Work becomes your identity.

But when I left – and in the way I did – it all vanished. People looked at me differently, avoiding eye contact, as if someone close to me had died. Others just ignored me. My phone calls went unanswered. Board offers were withdrawn. In some cases, the GE team turned its back on me, including some who knew the truth, but refused to speak it.

I survived. I put one foot in front of the other. Many people helped me: big CEOs, new friends, founders, students, Bible study, and my family. I also helped myself by staying vulnerable and by trying new things with new people. First, I found sunlight, next I found purpose, then I found my voice, and ultimately, I found joy.

While I was recovering, I realized a few things. No one has a perfect career or dismount; nor is happiness guaranteed. My friend, David Solomon, was doing a terrific job as CEO of Goldman Sachs, but still takes shit from its alumni. Steve Ballmer helped build one of the world’s great companies but receives no credit. John Donahoe was a massively successful CEO with a tough, final run at Nike. Rob Portman had been a long-term public servant from Ohio and a friend. Despite his record, he couldn’t run for a third term as a senator; he didn’t endorse January 6 as a great day for democracy. Margaret Keane, after retiring as CEO at Synchrony, lost her husband to cancer. Sometimes life is hard.

When I was CEO of GE, I would occasionally run into my predecessor, Jack Welch. He was always active and public, appearing on CNBC monthly. But he desperately missed the limelight. Instead of teaching at a university, he launched a “for-profit MBA.” For retired executives, it turns out that making money is easy; having a purpose is hard.

As a CEO, I was known for weathering cycles. I was a respected “crisis leader.” I am an optimist. I taught my team that good leaders thrive in bad cycles. Now, I was in a bad personal cycle. Could I lead my own turnaround? I did, and here is what I learned.

Don’t Be Cynical, No One is a Victim

I never felt sorry for myself or became cynical. After all, I am a very lucky man. I have a great family, and I am set financially. I was just sad. I felt like I had let some people down, including my family.

Don’t expect all of your friends to “show up” for you. If you do, you will lose a few friends. Rather, give special love to those who hung close on the tough days. Life is tough for everyone. People have their own challenges; it is unfair to expect them to understand yours.

When going through a change you must: be anonymous without hiding; be vulnerable, but not weak; accept criticism from some you don’t respect; and seek goodness. It is hard.

Give Yourself Time to Reflect

Writing and launching a book helped me reset my life. Not because it was my story; more because it allowed me to examine myself. I saw my life in complete thoughts, prose versus bullet points. Business – too frequently – speaks in PowerPoint. Beyond business, many of us are so busy that we stop understanding our life. Life is about feelings, stories, and ideas. I tell my students at Stanford to keep a diary ... record what they see. Before I could learn a new trade, I needed to “re-baseline” my skills, my successes, and my failures.

In my case, shining a light on my flaws ignited a decision to get better. For instance, understanding the mistakes I made with my own board helped me be a better board member. Sharing the rawness of my story strengthened relationships with peers. That would serve me well.

Defend your friends and your ideas; not yourself

I had a great comms team led by Gary Sheffer. Through multiple crises, he taught me to treat the media with respect and never be defensive. I generally agree with him. However, when the bullets meant for you hit others, you have the responsibility to defend your friends. And, when lies stand as facts, bad things can happen. Critics said GE had no capability in Life Sciences, but they ran it well. Today Amersham’s bioprocess manufacturing business is worth more than GE Healthcare. In 2018, board members went on CNBC saying, “The Power business is shit...” Now they love it. Critics are always welcome, but frequently wrong. Push back.

Stay Active

I didn’t want to hide, but I desired anonymity: I needed a place where what I knew was more important than who I was. I have always been willing to try new things, without a fear of failure. Importantly, I had to rebuild my confidence, to find someone who says, “you don’t suck.” I needed a platform where I could “show” what I could do. I couldn’t fight my mess with words alone.

It may seem obvious, but changing the direction of your life requires “change.” Think about doing new things with new people in new places. I began by leaning into core values. I am a learner. I wanted to go where I could participate in the future.

Change Your Scenery

My wife, Andy, and I moved across the country to California. This was her 12^th move in 40+ years of marriage. Now that is love. I joined New Enterprise Associates (NEA) as a venture partner. We got a small apartment in downtown Palo Alto and moved our furniture into storage. I wanted to feel like I was starting over. My office was the smallest I had had in 25 years, far away from the firm’s managing partner.

In my case, the West Coast was perfect ... nice weather, interesting people, different priorities. I could be anonymous, but still busy. Silicon Valley is a bubble. Venture people don’t follow New York media. California has great people and a lot to do, both personally and professionally. The government sucks, but you don’t feel it. NEA is a big, successful VC firm. The platform matched my capability ... so did the culture. I formed a special closeness with the managing partner, Scott Sandell. He gave me exactly what I wanted: freedom with a chance to make a contribution, while learning.

Keep Learning

The world has changed. Silicon Valley is now the capital of the global business world. Disruptive start-ups are crushing legacy companies every day. Why? I grew up in an era of professional management, one where GE was in the lead. But we live in a technical age, and I wanted to see the impact. I was convinced that venture capital was a better pursuit to create the future than private equity. There is a huge difference between thinking “growth first” versus “cash first.”

From Silicon Valley, it is easy to see the baggage we carry as legacy managers in traditional industries. We seldom make big bets. I look at the products from my old company that dominate today. They were all engineered in the toughest cycles as a conglomerate; would they be allowed to do it again as free-standing companies? There are dozens of companies launching new systems in space or defense tech, while traditional players are never mentioned. Legacy investors hate investments in innovation. Let Claude analyze annual reports/investor reports searching for “innovate” versus “capital allocation.” You will be depressed.

There are three big ideas where professional managers need to catch up. Focus on growth. Microsoft is a 50-year-old company; they focus on growth. DuPont has divided itself into six companies, who really cares? Learn how to invest. Today, Walmart can compete head-to-head with Amazon, but only because they had the freedom to invest. Other retailers have fallen behind. Regain digital competency. I wish I had spent a year in Silicon Valley before becoming CEO. My era missed a generation of technology. Digital innovation is a technical differentiator, not an administrative program.

Become a Helper

A comment from Scott Sandell of NEA helped set me on a new path. He said venture partners are “helpers.” The role of a public company CEO is multifaceted. I had built businesses and developed hundreds of good people; but I was also the boss. Now, I was a volunteer.

I started working with founders; more than 30 start-ups over eight years. They range from industries I know well, like healthcare, to software and AI. I serve on boards, as a salesman; really, I’m a helper.

Here is what faces a founder, most of whom have never seen a bad business cycle. Every day: economic volatility, uncertain policy, global complexity, uncertain liquidity, rapid technical cycles, and a challenging workforce. In this environment, a guy like me can be pretty helpful. Founders want the toolbox for progress, not perfection. I try to see the world through their eyes, holding them accountable for their own ideas. It takes courage to start a company. The best ones have immense curiosity, and working with them is rewarding.

Redefine Success

There are many ways to measure success in a business career: money, title, and impact. Early on, in my recovery, I decided that people would be my legacy. I will be there for the people I developed at GE ... founders I met ... the communities I cherish ... and my friends. I cheer for their success.

The first pillar of “The Long View” is about executing a personal pivot.

TLV Tips:

• No Cynicism and No Judgment ... No one likes a victim

• Deep Reflection ... Know your story; don’t be afraid to own it

• Seek a Personal Change ... New geography yields new ideas

• Defend Ideas (Not Yourself) ... Trust that time will show the truth

• Stay Active ... Find anonymity, not irrelevance

• Learn ... Don’t hang onto the past; recognize changes to your world

• Become a Helper ... Use your skills for others

• Redefine Success ... there are new “wins” in your second life

My hunch is that with AI, all of us will need a pivot. Let’s keep exploring.

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I ran GE for 16 years (2001-2017), through some pretty interesting times. I survived four recessions, 22 market cycles, and five tail risk events. Since then, I’ve opened a new chapter: investing, teaching, reflecting on what I’ve learned and putting it to the test and sharing my experience with others. I consider myself to be very lucky. I have had the chance to learn and get a little smarter every day. Most days I have capitalized on that blessing.

I enjoy reading Arthur Brooks. I have known Arthur as director of American Enterprise Institute. In subsequent years, he has blossomed as a motivational writer/speaker. To be happier, Brooks suggests focusing on building strong foundations in faith, family, friendships and work. His writing reminded me that reinvention is not a solitary pursuit, but something rooted in community and meaning beyond a job. He prompted me to think deeply about my journey — not just as a professional, but as a whole person. I started paying attention to what truly brought meaning: learning new things, guiding others through uncertainty, being proud of my colleagues’ success, and embracing curiosity in unfamiliar territory.

Premise

My Substack will reflect this journey and will be called “The Long View” (TLV). I would like to examine leadership, contribution, and meaning in my life after GE. I am still in the mix ... both professionally and personally. My experience is unique: I can bridge legacy and new, big and small; I have survived multiple cycles; I am helping to rebuild my high school; I have been a leader, an author, and a teacher. I attend Men’s Bible Study each week. Meanwhile, the world is more volatile ...cycles are more frequent ... and AI will impact every job. I have the benefit of perspective and time to add context, to help others, and to confirm some “truths.” I hope you find TLV to be honest, and personal, and fun. I’m willing to share the good with the bad ... I don’t need to meet quarterly earnings, and I’m not running for anything. My Substack will always be free.

Who Would Enjoy “The Long View”

• Those who enjoy a human-interest story of perseverance and recovery ... particularly one that is “lived” in the first person.

• Fellow travelers experiencing a time of volatility and change ... this could be a big group. AI is disrupting every career and company. It seems that every part of our life is volatile. I will offer some ideas on navigating through disruptive personal change.

• Business students and leaders can learn from my stories. I will share my experiences from the boardroom to the classroom. I have developed 100 public company CEOs at GE and hosted 100+ CEOs/founders in the classroom. My experiences are tough to match. I have developed sharper views on leadership.

• People seeking a broader context on contemporary themes; curious readers building a knowledge base around AI, globalization, energy, healthcare, education and more.

• Those who enjoy “lived experiences.” In a world where everyone can be an expert, there can be value in the experiences of an actual participant.

Why “The Long View” is Relevant Now

Time adds perspective to complicated stories. I believe that Truth = Facts + Context.

Now I would say that:

     Understanding = (Facts + Context) x Time

Time has been my friend. GE businesses – now in multiple platforms – are terrific today. They have great products and dominate their markets. These products were funded and engineered during the most brutal cycles. The businesses have massive market tailwinds (as expected). The current GE teams are doing great! At the same time, the GE culture – that I grew up in and led – has produced more leaders than any other platform. Think about Khozema Shipchandler, CEO of Twilio. After 20 years of growth as a “GE CFO,” he is flourishing as an “AI Tech CEO.” Our decisions and people have stood the test of time. Sometimes the truth unfolds slowly; great companies are patient.

Time allows for personal change. I am more present for the people I love. I have capacity to try new things and meet new people. I have learned new skills. With these, I can help new companies and leaders prosper. I can serve and coach and give back to the communities I care about.

Content Pillars

This is what you can expect from “The Long View” ... five primary content pillars:

• Persevering. Insights from surviving multiple personal and professional cycles... with modern insights

• Learning & Teaching. Being a legacy player developing new tools for the future; bridging eras to teach the foundations of leadership to the next generation

• Leading & Perspective from developing 100+ public company CEOs at GE; observing 100+ CEOs/founders while teaching at Stanford

• Serving. Bringing “big skills” to smaller places in communities that are important to me

• Speaking. Offering a “Point of View” on relevant topics and the environment ... without fear

You can expect good stories told with candor and humor. I will incorporate some guests and video when appropriate. I want you to have fun. I will end each post with some tips.

Look, I’m in a unique place: connected enough to be relevant, but past the point where the haters matter. I can “play free.” So, let’s get started.

Early content (not in order)

• A Personal Pivot

• Teaching Reveals What Leaders Need

• Serving Builders from the Second Row

• Winning the Cycles

• Building a Network

• Making People Your Legacy

• I’m a Proud Globalist

• Taking Big Skills to Small Places

• Importance of Faith

• Techniques to Break Through the Noise

• Optimism is Realism

• The Master Communicator

• The AI Winter

• Reality of Conglomerates

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