GE : imagination at work - General Electric

职 业 加 油 站 Career DevelopmentFulfilling Your Professional Ambitions in GE— Interviews with GE Seasoned Staff“I lost 10 kilos (22 lbs) during the BeijingOlympics,” he relates, “and everyonethought I was seriously ill. Over thenext year, I regained the weight but theanswers, “that 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 rates, many enterprises are trying to answer the question of how to keep staff onboard their corporate teams, despite higher salaries or good performance. While other companies tryThe second event that stands out inGeoff’s mind is the SARS outbreak inhard-working peoplewho all have the samelevel of understanding,to solve this problem, GE China already boasts promising figures, with about 17,000 Chinese employees2003. An epidemic may not be a highlightall working towards aworking until 2011, among which more than 2,100 have worked at GE for 15 years and 680 for more than25 years. So what unique qualities have kept employees at GE? Geoff Li, James Liu, Gary Gu, Frank Meng andYang Xuyong - five employees from different departments in GE 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: GE leaders recognize andshared objective.”Strong communication skills areessential at GE. So we ask Geoff, as acommunications leader, for advice onThank you Geoff for your 10+ years atGE and showing us that it’s possiblesuccessfully juggle our professionalpersonal lives!respect professional expertise. As PR andhow we can improve in this area. Twice,communications director, the ability toGeoff mentions “willingness.” Be willingGeoff Li: Living the “Double Life”“Geoff, tell us your dream salary and we’ll see what we can do.”If you are wondering if that offer came from GE, you’d be wrong.It came from another American multinational company that wasactively trying to recruit him at the same time as GE. But GeoffLi, Director of PR and Communications for Greater China choseto come and work at GE. We caught up with the former journalistto ask him what made him choose GE and at the same time hechats 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 towork for Dell would have made an excellent choice. But at theairport bookstore, he picked up former GE 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 GE. If you like ideas, you have to love GE.”Although DELL’s remuneration package was clearly moreattractive than GE’s, Geoff chose to come and work for “abusiness, instead of just a PC company.” And we are so glad hedid! Thanks to Geoff’s leadership and the hard work of his PRteam, the GE brand boasts some of the highest favorability andreputation ratings in China.We take this opportunity to ask Geoff what his most noteworthyhighlights have been during his career at GE 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 that the Beijing Olympics was an opportunity that GEcouldn’t afford to miss while the company was trying to build astrong brand for the long-term growth in China. Fortunately, theglobal advertising and communications team shared the sameview. Together as a team, they made a passionate presentationto the GE leadership and as a result, the team was able to setup the GE Pavilion during the Olympics. The GE Pavilion createdtremendous impact on the brand and reputation of GE in China.stay calm under pressure was never morevital than during the chaos resulting fromthe SARS outbreak. There were rumorsflying that GE China CEO’s family wasleaving the country (not true and the CEOwas furious) and rumors being spread thatthere was a SARS outbreak in the GE officeat 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 that Geoff’s job requires a lot oflong days (he regularly puts in 12-hourdays) and the likelihood for an unlimitedamount of stress. So what keeps himhere at GE? “Working here is fun,” hesays. When asked to explain further heto speak up. Be willing to think and talkabout topics beyond your own work.And finally, be confident in what you doand say. Professional confidence comesfrom gaining new experiences, increasingcapabilities, staying calm under pressureand learning the GE culture.Besides a very successful professionalcareer at GE, 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 what’s going in China,what people are talking about, issuesthat are being discussed, new ideas andinspirations. “It’s important to have a lifeoutside of work,” Geoff says, “because itultimately 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 andcommunicating 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 work on improvingyour expertise.• Stay calm- Don’t show panic!- Be a “clear thinker” (one of GE’sgrowth values)• Learn the GE culture- Hardworking- Team player- Passionate19 LIFE at GELIFE at GE 20