Why Showing Interest is so Important
One of the great motivational tools by management is simply showing interest in what your people are doing. There is never a time when I've heard people complain about genuine concern about what's going on. This can take different avenues, but overall it works great.
Welch knew the power of that type of impression can make upon a company, just like it would an individual. He has talked about how everytime he injects himself into a situation in the company, news spread like wildfire that he had done it.
Years ago, about a month before CNBC (GE) and Dow Jones & Co. (DJ) were about to launch a joint-venture cable program, he gave a call to then NBC CEO Robert C. Wright to tell him he wanted to take a look at the blueprint for the launch.
Less than a day later a bunch of managers and programmers went to Welch's office in New York to give him a detailed presentation of what they were going to do.
"They had a month before the launch, and I think that's an important moment," says Welch. "That [request] will create a frenzy, and we'll have a discussion about it. Not that I'll add a helluva lot of value, but I'll be there banging away at it."
What Welch understood was that his request would create a beehive of activity as the planners think about what it is he wants to see. The result is that they intensify their focus on the project to look at it from all angles to ensure that it will pass Welch's gaze.
Welch self-consciously did it to provoke a new intensity and bring it an even better chance of success.
Any managers interest in a project or initiative is appreciated by workers who work hard on what they're trying to accomplish. The other side is it also brings a check to any type of letdown in the process and keeps people searching for ways to improve what they're doing until launching the product, service or initiative.
Simply showing interest is more important than we could imagine.
Other Jack Welch Resources:
Jack Welch's advice to MIT Sloan students
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