GE, the CEO and Strategy

April 13, 2015 David Blyth

Jeff Immelt, CEO, and GE present a fascinating study on the influence of the CEO vis-à-vis the influence of the environmental context in which they operate, and the pervasive influence of a global corporation’s core competency on strategy.

Immelt followed Jack Welch as CEO of GE. Welch was a celebrated CEO who presided over two decades of growth, creating US$350B in shareholder value (compound annual growth rate of 23% per annum[1]). Asked a few years ago how tough was it to follow Welch, Immelt's advice was ‘plan your career so that your predecessor is a failure’.

But what has been the record of Immelt since becoming CEO?

Making room for passion in business

April 1, 2014 David Blyth

A decade ago the MD with one of Australia’s leading companies suggested ‘there’s no room for passion in business.’ I didn’t take the discussion up with him – I was an MD on trainer wheels at the time – but I was and remain of the exact opposite view. I think business needs more passion.

How much value did 'Excellence' create? Lots!

March 25, 2014 David Blyth

$10,000 invested in the ‘companies that were the exemplars from 'In Search of Excellence’ would have been worth $130k 20 years later … could your organisation match that performance?

The original 'High Performance' manifesto - Excellence

March 16, 2014 David Blyth

In Search of Excellence (1982) identified 8 themes that drove the success of 43 companies that consistently beat their competitors over a 20 year period. What is your mental model for ‘high performance’? Is this model shared and embraced among your leadership team? Do you have an explicit roadmap that is leading you on that journey?

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