Jeff Immelt, CEO of General Electric Company, is committed to creating a culture that sizzles with bold thinking and creative energy. He may have borrowed an idea or two from Tom’s book, Re-imagine! in embarking on his quest for culture change at GE. At BusinessWeek online, Immelt says “the new imperatives are risk-taking, sophisticated marketing, and above all, innovation.” Tom might add entrepreneurship, passionate leaders who are truly dreamers, and talent who can persist through failures in the drive to banish long-cherished traditions and beliefs. And a willingness to let loose all the real disruption that creates a mind shift for re-invention. In true GE fashion, Immelt has engineered a quantifiable and scalable process for coming up with money-making “eureka!” moments. And for folks steeped in Six Sigma, these are scary moments and a stretch of the imagination. “He really feels GE has a responsibility to get out in front and play a leadership role.” Can he pull it off?
