Hot Seat Quotes

“Even good ideas rarely seem to work right the first time. But that’s how you learn: facing failure, absorbing fear, making and owning your decisions, and keeping your cool as the story plays out.”
― Jeff Immelt, Hot Seat

“Morieux and his cowriter Peter Tollman lay out in their 2014 book, Six Simple Rules, employees of overly complicated organizations feel like they are stuck in a labyrinth. They lose meaning and satisfaction as they become burned-out and stressed by the overwhelming requirements of servicing the bureaucracy. So what to do? Of their six rules, the first three are about making it easier for people to use their judgment and take ownership: (1) understand what your people do; (2) reinforce integrators—the people who get tasks done cross-functionally—and empower them with resources and authority; and (3) increase the total quantity of power available—when creating new roles, empower people without taking power from others. The second three rules were about making sure that this enhanced autonomy was used to face complexity and improve performance: (4) increase reciprocity by setting clear objectives that stimulate mutual interest to cooperate; (5) extend the shadow of the future, by which they meant: expose people to the consequences of their actions; and (6) reward those who cooperate and blame those who don’t.”
― Jeff Immelt, Hot Seat

“They bring a clarity of thought—what some in the industry call “the rule of 40.” In other words, you have forty months to hit cash and operational targets. Nothing else matters. Teams can relate to this simple message.”
― Jeff Immelt, Hot Seat

“Praise for HOT SEAT “Jeff has delivered the most insightful perspective on GE over a remarkable period of change and growth with the same intellectual energy, self-reflection, and bold leadership that he used in running the company for more than sixteen years.”
― Jeff Immelt, Hot Seat

“Inaction is bad leadership, but it can feel safer than action because to act is to open yourself up to criticism.”
― Jeff Immelt, Hot Seat

“It’s not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles… The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.”
― Jeff Immelt, Hot Seat

“The hardest decisions are the ones that don’t maximize upside, but merely avoid a greater loss.”
― Jeff Immelt, Hot Seat

“In your career, you meet only a handful of leaders who have the trifecta of being able to innovate, execute, and develop talent.”
― Jeff Immelt, Hot Seat

“Leadership is an intense journey into yourself. If you can go to bed feeling beaten up and rise the next morning ready to keep listening and learning, then I believe you can lead.”
― Jeff Immelt, Hot Seat

“Leaders own their truth, particularly in a crisis.”
― Jeff Immelt, Hot Seat

“I knew that GE’s people wanted to follow their leader. If a new leader was merely critical and denounced his or her predecessor’s legacy, a couple of things would happen. First, a culture of blame would infect people at all levels of the company. Second, accountability would evaporate. Those associated with the predecessor’s “mistakes” would come to work feeling unmotivated. GE’s people wanted to be led forward with confidence, not to look backward in shame.”
― Jeff Immelt, Hot Seat