{"version":"https://jsonfeed.org/version/1.1","title":"Stephen Braunius","home_page_url":"https://stephen.braunius.org","feed_url":"https://stephen.braunius.org/json/","description":"<p>Seek | Do | Share</p><p>I have always loved to learn new things and put that knowledge to use. This is where I share what I’m learning.</p>","icon":"/media/production/images/item-03dca25ffbbc24c77ac4bc2c4d97c965.png","favicon":"/media/production/images/item-03dca25ffbbc24c77ac4bc2c4d97c965.png","authors":[{"name":"Stephen Braunius"}],"language":"en-us","items":[{"id":"iGI-vUoaj6F","title":"Session 2B: Positioning Your Organization for the Future – Jeffrey Immelt","url":"https://stephen.braunius.org/i/session-2b-positioning-your-organization-for-the-future-jeffrey-immelt/","authors":[{"name":"Stephen Braunius"}],"content_html":"<h2>2014-08-14 11:59 AM – Interviewed by Bill Hybels</h2>\n<ul>\n<li>How do you decide to empower? - “when it is the most important thing the company is working on, you don’t delegate it”</li>\n<li>this protects your team</li>\n<li>the leader has experience</li>\n<li>have to “go with your gut”</li>\n<li>“there’s never been any moment where any job has been beneath me”</li>\n<li>When became self aware as leader? - grew up participating in athletics which gave a chance to be accountable to self and team</li>\n<li>“never lost sight of who I wanted to be”</li>\n<li>“never feared accountability”</li>\n<li>How did you differentiate self in big company? - had fun jobs and loved the people</li>\n<li>“It was always about the work and not the career” Your peers determine how far you go”</li>\n<li>Feelings when in a challenging assignment feelings? - People learn a lot about leaders in a crisis</li>\n<li>How long in CEO before 9/11 crisis? - started 9/7</li>\n<li>we live in a more volatile time now</li>\n<li>the best leaders keep the company safe and then go forward</li>\n<li>people want to know what to be working on and where the company is going</li>\n<li>GE has a leadership development university - $1 billion in leadership development</li>\n<li>“Leadership has a shelf life” – “you need to constantly be tuning your leadership”</li>\n<li>takes away the layers</li>\n<li>brings oneness</li>\n<li>What about when people leave? - “leave fear out of the workplace”</li>\n<li>“you want people to be on fire when they come to work”</li>\n<li>“we want people to live their dreams”</li>\n<li>GE is about the institution…it is not about any one individual</li>\n<li>When you see “x” quality in someone? Positive OR Concern - Willingness to stand apart. Willingness to buck the system. – “You want someone who understands the tapestry, questions authority, drives change”</li>\n<li>Excuses turn everybody off</li>\n<li>Hardest person you’ve ever had to fire? - Watch for individuals who don’t quite fit with the team</li>\n<li>“You are in the business of giving self-confidence” “When you see someone losing confidence in themselves you have to ask them to leave”</li>\n<li>Diversity? - “If you believe in talent and meritocracy, then all people can get ahead”</li>\n<li>The best ideas should win</li>\n<li>Lack of diversity shows that you don’t believe in a meritocracy</li>\n<li>Laser-like focus on best people and the best ideas</li>\n<li>Serving on a task force under Obama? - “A confident society is a competitive society”</li>\n<li>Simplification? - We live in a complicated society</li>\n<li>4 ideas - less management</li>\n<li>market rules become hyper-competitive</li>\n<li>Test &amp; Learn quickly</li>\n<li>Use internet to connect organization, be transparent, and empower</li>\n<li>be willing to throw out the old</li>\n<li>Succession plan? - work with the Board as a team</li>\n<li>the matters of corporate governance can/should be less public</li>\n<li>Refusing to take a bonus for 2 years? - “was a way to be accountable for what was happening in the company at the time”</li>\n<li>the constituency you play to the most is your own team</li>\n<li>“over time you might question my decisions but you will never question my intentions”</li>\n<li>Work ethic? - “play to win and no one will out work us”</li>\n<li>What would you hope to experience in a church? - “leadership is an intense journey into yourself”</li>\n<li>ability to sit for an hour, be at peace, and hear someone else talk…that is priceless</li>\n</ul><p><em>Categories: Leadership · Originally published on stephen.braunius.org</em></p>","content_text":"2014-08-14 11:59 AM – Interviewed by Bill Hybels\n\nHow do you decide to empower? - “when it is the most important thing the company is working on, you don’t delegate it”\n\nthis protects your team\n\nthe leader has experience\n\nhave to “go with your gut”\n\n“there’s never been any moment where any job has been beneath me”\n\nWhen became self aware as leader? - grew up participating in athletics which gave a chance to be accountable to self and team\n\n“never lost sight of who I wanted to be”\n\n“never feared accountability”\n\nHow did you differentiate self in big company? - had fun jobs and loved the people\n\n“It was always about the work and not the career” Your peers determine how far you go”\n\nFeelings when in a challenging assignment feelings? - People learn a lot about leaders in a crisis\n\nHow long in CEO before 9/11 crisis? - started 9/7\n\nwe live in a more volatile time now\n\nthe best leaders keep the company safe and then go forward\n\npeople want to know what to be working on and where the company is going\n\nGE has a leadership development university - $1 billion in leadership development\n\n“Leadership has a shelf life” – “you need to constantly be tuning your leadership”\n\ntakes away the layers\n\nbrings oneness\n\nWhat about when people leave? - “leave fear out of the workplace”\n\n“you want people to be on fire when they come to work”\n\n“we want people to live their dreams”\n\nGE is about the institution…it is not about any one individual\n\nWhen you see “x” quality in someone? Positive OR Concern - Willingness to stand apart. Willingness to buck the system. – “You want someone who understands the tapestry, questions authority, drives change”\n\nExcuses turn everybody off\n\nHardest person you’ve ever had to fire? - Watch for individuals who don’t quite fit with the team\n\n“You are in the business of giving self-confidence” “When you see someone losing confidence in themselves you have to ask them to leave”\n\nDiversity? - “If you believe in talent and meritocracy, then all people can get ahead”\n\nThe best ideas should win\n\nLack of diversity shows that you don’t believe in a meritocracy\n\nLaser-like focus on best people and the best ideas\n\nServing on a task force under Obama? - “A confident society is a competitive society”\n\nSimplification? - We live in a complicated society\n\n4 ideas - less management\n\nmarket rules become hyper-competitive\n\nTest & Learn quickly\n\nUse internet to connect organization, be transparent, and empower\n\nbe willing to throw out the old\n\nSuccession plan? - work with the Board as a team\n\nthe matters of corporate governance can/should be less public\n\nRefusing to take a bonus for 2 years? - “was a way to be accountable for what was happening in the company at the time”\n\nthe constituency you play to the most is your own team\n\n“over time you might question my decisions but you will never question my intentions”\n\nWork ethic? - “play to win and no one will out work us”\n\nWhat would you hope to experience in a church? - “leadership is an intense journey into yourself”\n\nability to sit for an hour, be at peace, and hear someone else talk…that is priceless\n\nCategories: Leadership · Originally published on stephen.braunius.org","date_published":"2014-08-14T16:00:00.000Z","date_modified":"2026-10-28T20:32:00.763Z","_microfeed":{"slug":"session-2b-positioning-your-organization-for-the-future-jeffrey-immelt","authors":[{"name":"Stephen Braunius","type":"Person"}],"web_url":"https://stephen.braunius.org/i/session-2b-positioning-your-organization-for-the-future-jeffrey-immelt/","json_url":"https://stephen.braunius.org/i/iGI-vUoaj6F/json/","rss_url":"https://stephen.braunius.org/i/iGI-vUoaj6F/rss/","guid":"http://stephen.braunius.org/session-2b-positioning-your-organization-for-the-future-jeffrey-immelt/","status":"published","date_published_short":"Thu Aug 14 2014","date_published_ms":1408032000000}}],"_microfeed":{"publisher":{"name":"Stephen Braunius","type":"Person","url":"https://stephen.braunius.org"},"authors":[{"name":"Stephen Braunius","type":"Person"}],"microfeed_version":"1.0.13","base_url":"https://stephen.braunius.org","categories":[],"subscribe_methods":[{"name":"RSS","type":"rss","url":"https://stephen.braunius.org/rss/","image":"https://stephen.braunius.org/assets/brands/subscribe/rss.png","enabled":true,"editable":false,"id":"3ruTYsoZVaf"},{"name":"JSON","type":"json","url":"https://stephen.braunius.org/json/","image":"https://stephen.braunius.org/assets/brands/subscribe/json.png","enabled":true,"editable":false,"id":"5nhVQKje4_K"}],"description_text":"Seek | Do | Share\nI have always loved to learn new things and put that knowledge to use. This is where I share what I’m learning.","copyright":"©2007–2026 Stephen Braunius","itunes:type":"episodic","items_sort":"published_at","items_order":"desc"}}