1. How difficult was the task facing Immelt assuming the CEO role in 2001? What imperatives where there to change? What incentives to maintain the past?

2. What do you think of the broad objectives Immelt has set for GE? Can a giant global
Conglomerate hope to outperform the overall market growth? Can size and diversity be made an asset rather than a liability?

3. What is your evaluation of the growth strategy (a strategy for a giant global conglomerate with a portfolio of mature industrial businesses) Immelt has articulated? Is he betting on the right things to drive growth?

4. How does this case illustrate how strategic intent needs to be matched by both organizational capability and managerial competence; and show how such
• Acting on the momentum created by the new marketing emphasis, Immelt formed Commercial Council in 2003 to bring together GE’s top sales and marketing leaders. Immelt chaired that council himself.
• GE began to work very closely with their customers to improve their customer’s business (focus on providing service for GE). In 2002, GE completed 6,000 Six Sigma projects with their health-care providers alone.
• Immelt wanted GE service to be a critical part of their customer’s operations.
- Driving for Growth: New Platforms, New Processes
• GE’s top leaders identified 6 business growth platforms that would lead to way for GE’s growth opportunities over the next few years:
1. Health-care information systems, security and sensors, water technology and services, oil and gas technology, Hispanic broadcasting, and consumer finance.
2. These businesses were averaging a 15% annual organic growth rate.
- Aligning Management: New People Profiles

• As GE’s growth strategy began to take hold, Immelt worried that some of GE’s traditional managers may not have the skills to be able to succeed in the more entrepreneurial environment that he was trying to create.
• Acting on this, HR developed new career paths for managers, focusing on more in-depth job experience as opposed to job rotations.
• HR also developed 5 action-oriented leadership traits that they would require all leaders to possess:
1. External (customer) focus
2. Think Clearly