GE : imagination at work - General Electric
GE : imagination at work - General Electric
GE : imagination at work - General Electric
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
职 业 加 油 站 Career DevelopmentFulfilling Your Professional Ambitions in <strong>GE</strong>— Interviews with <strong>GE</strong> Seasoned Staff“I lost 10 kilos (22 lbs) during the BeijingOlympics,” he rel<strong>at</strong>es, “and everyonethought I was seriously ill. Over thenext year, I regained the weight but theanswers, “th<strong>at</strong> doesn’tmean everyone isjoking and laughing allof the time. It meansexperience and excitement will stay withyou are surrounded byme forever.”smart, talented andWith high turnover r<strong>at</strong>es, many enterprises are trying to answer the question of how to keep staff onboard their corpor<strong>at</strong>e teams, despite higher salaries or good performance. While other companies tryThe second event th<strong>at</strong> stands out inGeoff’s mind is the SARS outbreak inhard-<strong>work</strong>ing peoplewho all have the samelevel of understanding,to solve this problem, <strong>GE</strong> China already boasts promising figures, with about 17,000 Chinese employees2003. An epidemic may not be a highlightall <strong>work</strong>ing towards a<strong>work</strong>ing until 2011, among which more than 2,100 have <strong>work</strong>ed <strong>at</strong> <strong>GE</strong> for 15 years and 680 for more than25 years. So wh<strong>at</strong> unique qualities have kept employees <strong>at</strong> <strong>GE</strong>? Geoff Li, James Liu, Gary Gu, Frank Meng andYang Xuyong - five employees from different departments in <strong>GE</strong> who have served more than 10 years - willreveal the answers for us.for most people but for Geoff, it wasan opportunity to learn two importantlessons. The first lesson: trust yourown professional judgment. And thesecond lesson: <strong>GE</strong> leaders recognize andshared objective.”Strong communic<strong>at</strong>ion skills areessential <strong>at</strong> <strong>GE</strong>. So we ask Geoff, as acommunic<strong>at</strong>ions leader, for advice onThank you Geoff for your 10+ years <strong>at</strong><strong>GE</strong> and showing us th<strong>at</strong> it’s possiblesuccessfully juggle our professionalpersonal lives!respect professional expertise. As PR andhow we can improve in this area. Twice,communic<strong>at</strong>ions director, the ability toGeoff mentions “willingness.” Be willingGeoff Li: Living the “Double Life”“Geoff, tell us your dream salary and we’ll see wh<strong>at</strong> we can do.”If you are wondering if th<strong>at</strong> offer came from <strong>GE</strong>, you’d be wrong.It came from another American multin<strong>at</strong>ional company th<strong>at</strong> wasactively trying to recruit him <strong>at</strong> the same time as <strong>GE</strong>. But GeoffLi, Director of PR and Communic<strong>at</strong>ions for Gre<strong>at</strong>er China choseto come and <strong>work</strong> <strong>at</strong> <strong>GE</strong>. We caught up with the former journalistto ask him wh<strong>at</strong> made him choose <strong>GE</strong> and <strong>at</strong> the same time hech<strong>at</strong>s with us about books, weibo and self-confidence.It was the end of 2011 and Geoff Li was in the airport of XiamenCity after a very successful meeting with executives from DELL.They loved him and they were ready to make him an offer. Keepin mind, back in the early 2000’s, Dell stocks were high andthe PC industry was still booming. By all accounts, choosing to<strong>work</strong> for Dell would have made an excellent choice. But <strong>at</strong> theairport bookstore, he picked up former <strong>GE</strong> CEO Jack Welch’sautobiography “Jack, Straight from the Gut.” On the plane, flyinghome from Xiamen, he read the book from cover to cover andone section struck home to him: “if you like business, you have tolike <strong>GE</strong>. If you like ideas, you have to love <strong>GE</strong>.”Although DELL’s remuner<strong>at</strong>ion package was clearly more<strong>at</strong>tractive than <strong>GE</strong>’s, Geoff chose to come and <strong>work</strong> for “abusiness, instead of just a PC company.” And we are so glad hedid! Thanks to Geoff’s leadership and the hard <strong>work</strong> of his PRteam, the <strong>GE</strong> brand boasts some of the highest favorability andreput<strong>at</strong>ion r<strong>at</strong>ings in China.We take this opportunity to ask Geoff wh<strong>at</strong> his most noteworthyhighlights have been during his career <strong>at</strong> <strong>GE</strong> so far. He mentionstwo key events. The first one is the Beijing Olympics in 2008.Initially, Geoff faced a lack of proper budget for the sponsorship.He tirelessly lobbied for support from headquarters to persuadethem th<strong>at</strong> the Beijing Olympics was an opportunity th<strong>at</strong> <strong>GE</strong>couldn’t afford to miss while the company was trying to build astrong brand for the long-term growth in China. Fortun<strong>at</strong>ely, theglobal advertising and communic<strong>at</strong>ions team shared the sameview. Together as a team, they made a passion<strong>at</strong>e present<strong>at</strong>ionto the <strong>GE</strong> leadership and as a result, the team was able to setup the <strong>GE</strong> Pavilion during the Olympics. The <strong>GE</strong> Pavilion cre<strong>at</strong>edtremendous impact on the brand and reput<strong>at</strong>ion of <strong>GE</strong> in China.stay calm under pressure was never morevital than during the chaos resulting fromthe SARS outbreak. There were rumorsflying th<strong>at</strong> <strong>GE</strong> China CEO’s family wasleaving the country (not true and the CEOwas furious) and rumors being spread th<strong>at</strong>there was a SARS outbreak in the <strong>GE</strong> office<strong>at</strong> Plaza 66 (also not true and the landlordof Plaza 66 was furious). With emotionsand tensions running high, Geoff had totrust his own professional judgment --choosing not to do a press conferencedenying the rumors, despite the CEO’sdesire for one. After everything hadcalmed down, the CEO thanked Geoff forsticking to his instincts and not agreeingto do a press conference.It’s clear th<strong>at</strong> Geoff’s job requires a lot oflong days (he regularly puts in 12-hourdays) and the likelihood for an unlimitedamount of stress. So wh<strong>at</strong> keeps himhere <strong>at</strong> <strong>GE</strong>? “Working here is fun,” hesays. When asked to explain further heto speak up. Be willing to think and talkabout topics beyond your own <strong>work</strong>.And finally, be confident in wh<strong>at</strong> you doand say. Professional confidence comesfrom gaining new experiences, increasingcapabilities, staying calm under pressureand learning the <strong>GE</strong> culture.Besides a very successful professionalcareer <strong>at</strong> <strong>GE</strong>, Geoff Li has a huge fan basenumbering in the high thousands on theimmensely popular weibo site. He creditsthis “hobby” for helping him do a betterjob in his professional capacity. Throughweibo and his fans, he’s very muchconnected with wh<strong>at</strong>’s going in China,wh<strong>at</strong> people are talking about, issuesth<strong>at</strong> are being discussed, new ideas andinspir<strong>at</strong>ions. “It’s important to have a lifeoutside of <strong>work</strong>,” Geoff says, “because itultim<strong>at</strong>ely helps us do our jobs better.”So in this context, we highly recommendleading a “double life” just like Geoff Li.Geoff’s confidence tips• Experience builds confidence- Combine knowledge withexperience to make decisive moves.- Practice speaking up andcommunic<strong>at</strong>ing with peoplebeyond your team or business.- Trust in your professionaljudgment.• Capabilities- Stay willing and committed tolearning.- Think and talk about things beyondyour professional scope.- Constantly <strong>work</strong> on improvingyour expertise.• Stay calm- Don’t show panic!- Be a “clear thinker” (one of <strong>GE</strong>’sgrowth values)• Learn the <strong>GE</strong> culture- Hard<strong>work</strong>ing- Team player- Passion<strong>at</strong>e19 LIFE <strong>at</strong> <strong>GE</strong>LIFE <strong>at</strong> <strong>GE</strong> 20