Welch Understands Better Than Most the Value of Surprise
Another one of Welch's strategies and habits he had for General Electric (GE) was his to do the unexpected. He would arrive at various businesses and offices unexpectedly to look at what was really going on. Not those prepared meetings where everyone put everything in outward order to make sure it looked like they were on top of things. You know what I'm talking about.
Other times he would schedule luncheons with managers way down in the company that had to be attended quickly so that they wouldn't have time to prepare for his visit.
Then there were the endless amount of notes he would personally write to GE people that would quickly appear on their fax machines.
Why did he do things this way? All of it was to make his impact and influence the huge organization at all levels. An extraordinary feat that he pulled off like very few have ever been able to do.
The difference with Welch is that he did show up. How many times have you seen the old ploy of the district or regional manager is going to come to the store, plant or office so you need to get things in shape used? It's so old that few people pay attention to it or it becomes a joke to workers.
The point wasn't to try to catch someone doing something wrong, the point was to keep the purpose of the company always before the workers. Showing up unexpectedly, or writing personal notes to people all over the organization was one method that Welch used to let people know that he was aware of them. It wasn't to intimidate, but to encourage.
It was another way he fought against the inclination of the company to bureacratize too much. He simply ignored the layers and contacted and got together with people directly, not through surrogates primarily.
Surprise is a great tool that is vastly underused in the corporate world. It seems to me it needs to be used in a positive way to show people you know about them and are interested in what they are doing and what they have to say. It backfires if all that is done is to try to catch something wrong with the person or company. It's a great tool, but it needs to be used wisely. Welch did know how, and it made General Electric the most respected company in the world.
Other Jack Welch Resources:
How Jack Welch Runs GE
Jack Welch Defends
Jack Welch's advice to MIT Sloan students
Remember to Sign up for my feed, bizzbite and digg this!
Sponsored link: The outsourcing every manager requires - Tampa Locksmith
Comment Preview