GE : imagination at work - General Electric

职 业 加 油 站 Career DevelopmentFifteen Years at GE: Gary Gu Tells Us WhyAfter being persuaded by a university classmate’s father in 1995,James Liu who was then in his third year at West Virginia WesleyanCollege, joined GE’s summer internship program. After a successfulinternship, he was invited to join GE Capital. At that time, what struckJames was his leader’s emphasis on attracting talents. The leaderalso invited employees in the same department to meals, includingJames who was then just an intern. James was impressed by GE’srespect and emphasis on employees, and has come to know andembrace this spirit in his work for GE.Learning at HarvardIn 1999, James joined GE’s Audit Department. As his dutiesbecame more challenging, James knew he’d need furthereducation and began looking into studying at Harvard to pursuean MBA. His plan was approved by his leader who even retaineda modest remuneration package for James while he studied atHarvard. After graduating, James returned to GE. Even today,James is grateful for his leader’s generosity and trust. “I wasreally lucky to have leaders appreciating me in each phase of mycareer. Their guidance and support encouraged me to fulfill mypotential, and keep moving with no fear for difficulties,” he said.Career LeapUpon his return to GE, James joined GE Healthcare as a MasterBlack Belt for sales and marketing. In 2005, James came back toChina at the invitation of the President of GE Healthcare GreaterChina. The boom in the Chinese economy at the time inspiredJames’s morale, and GE offered him a broad platform to give fullplay to his talents. Due to his high performance, he was soonappointed General Manager of Commercial Operations andQuality. After only one year in the position, he was put in chargeof three departments.Respecting Employeesand Valuing Talents— Getting to Know James LiuSuccess in Life and CareerJames is not only a committed leader at work, but also a caringand loving husband. When he announced his intention to moveto Shanghai to live with his wife, GE offered him a job at GECapital Shanghai. In Shanghai, James applied the knowledgeand experience he had acquired over the years on projects hehad previously led and took up various positions, such as ChinaIntegration Manager, General Manager of NPL JV with Orient, andManaging Director of Sales and Marketing.Having worked for GE for 15 years, James witnessed GE togo through the 2008 financial crisis, successfully integrate itsoperations with the Internet, and continue to develop newmarkets. James has created a deep connection with GE, andmeanwhile, has high expectations for the company and his futurewith it. He hopes GE would implement the policies and strategiesit has made in the past, and continue offering quality productsand services for China and the world.Congratulations to James Liu for his 15 years at GE! Thank youfor showing us that trying some new areas will benefit our careerdevelopments.Based on his career development, James came up withthree reasons about why he was able to adapt to manydifferent positions at the company.• You must have good professional working capabilities.• You have to make an effort to enlarge your network ofpeople.• You need to improve your abilities by takingcourses offered through GE’s many trainingopportunities.The sourcing team’s job seems ideal. GE is the customer andthe sourcing team works to find the best products and services.With our global reputation and volume of orders, not surprisingly,almost any company in the world would love to have us as a keyaccount. Are Gary and his team regularly wined and dined bycompanies vying for GE’s business? Flying all over the world onprivate jets with Fortune 500 company executives? Not quite.We meet Gary Gu, General Manager of Asia Sourcing (Energy)with over 15 years of experience with GE, and he tells us why.When Gary first joined GE, the sourcing team for Energy only hadseven employees. Today that number is well over two hundred.Gary has overseen huge business successes for GE over theyears. “I was in the right place at the right time,” he says humbly.Fifteen years is a long time to stay in one company, let alone thesame department. But as Gary speaks about his job at GE, it’sclear he’s still very passionate about what he does. When we askhim why he’s stayed at GE for so long, he answers, “when I firstjoined GE I realized that this company culture aligns with my ownpersonal values.” He explains that there’s no traditional hierarchyor bureaucracy. All personality types are represented and allvoices are heard. And that kind of company suits him just fine.We ask if there’s anything else that keeps him at GE, he explains,“I love working for a company that puts so much emphasis onintegrity. Especially in this line of business, bribes and under-thetabledeals are commonplace. But our suppliers know we meanwhat we say when we tell them, “we don’t accept gifts”, “you don’tneed to ‘entertain’ us”. Maybe the first few times, they’ll still try tosend an expensive gift but we make it clear: our employees will getfired for accepting this gift and GE will refuse to do business withyour company. But at the same time, our suppliers love working withus because integrity makes it easier to do business on every level.”Gary is a very busy man but we would be remiss if we didn’t takethis opportunity to ask him for some career advice. With theentire company’s reputation for integrity at stake, we asked himto describe the key qualities he looks for when hiring someonefor his team. “They need to have personal integrity, be ‘down-toearth’and have potential leadership skills,” he responds.Once hired at GE, what advice does he have for new employees?The first sounds simple enough: Do your job well. By that hemeans stop worrying about your “score” or career path. Instead,try to think differently from everyone else. Be creative. Whateveryour role is within the company, constantly be thinking andchallenging yourself, “What can we do to improve efficiency and/or have more impact?”Next, be open-minded. It’s very easy to say (or think), “That’s notin my job description” but this narrow minded way of thinking willnot lead to success. Invite other people’s suggestions. Help otherpeople learn.Finally, toughen up! Don’t obsess about whether you are (orare not) being recognized by your manager. Not everything youdo will be recognized or noticed but be aware that if you applythe first two tips (do your job well and be open-minded) successwill follow. “Take the job seriously but don’t take yourself tooseriously”, he wisely reminds us.Congratulations to Gary for his 15 years at GE! Thank you forshowing us that maintaining integrity can lead to career success.Gary’s Top 3 Keys to Success• Do Your Job Well: Stop calculating your career path.• Be Open-Minded: Take the phrase “it’s not in my jobdescription” out of your vocabulary .• Toughen up: Don’t fret over every negative feedback;accept it and move on.21 LIFE at GELIFE at GE 22