He Created Something Unique at a Big Company: Informality
There are still a lot of people that scratch their heads and look surprised that informality had such a big impact at General Electric (GE).
Jack Welch lived to nuke the nine layers of management that existed at General Electric when he became CEO. It was said that everyone in the company would call him by his first name: Jack. It didn't matter if you were a secretary, janitor or worker at a factory.
Welch felt so strong about its importance that he said, "The story about GE that hasn't been told is the value of an informal place. I think it's a big thought. I don't think people have ever figured out that being informal is a big deal."
What was he getting at? Why was something like that so important? Some people don't understand why having days of casual dress and things like that can mean a lot to a company. It has to be more than that, but it's a start.
To me the secret is the reason why Welch could do so much across such a vast company. It was informality that was the key. But what was it that informality produced? Open communication. People being willing to say what they thought about and issue and consider nothing sacred and untouchable.
If you aren't approachable, it will filter throughout an entire company. The loss is unrecoverable, as people will keep to themselves the answers they have for the company if they don't believe they can speak out on things.
It is far more important than can be imagined. Don't be afraid to let it go and release people to say anything to you and others in the company. More answers are tied up in our people than we could ever know. Informality is one of the key tools to tap that deep gold mine.
Other Jack Welch Resources:
How Jack Welch Runs GE
Jack Welch Defends
Jack Welch's advice to MIT Sloan students
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“The CEO who misleads others in public may eventually mislead himself in private.”In the last post we talked about Jack Welch and the power of informality that was one of the secrets of the great success of General Electric. Along... [Read More]
Tracked on: March 8, 2007 11:36 PM | Permalink to Trackback