Snippets from Jack Welch

Unfortunately, I didn't arrive early enough in New Orleans to hear Jack Welch, the former CEO and Chairman of General Electric, speak in person, but I did see him walk by right after I took this picture in the exhibition hall.

Thankfully SHRM posted the video from Jack's session with Claire Shipman on their website. I hope that you'll be able to click on the link to view it, but you may need to be a SHRM member. It's worth joining. He had some solid advice that told it like it is, but he said it in a nice way. Think of it as "a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down."

Here are some snippets I grabbed from watching the video and from reading other people's interpretations of his talk. I definitely see the value of having him as a keynote speaker this year and the interest of the 7000+ HR professionals and 3000 exhibitors who may have listened to him live.

Some basic advice.

• Don't be a victim. He repeated this message three or four times. He meant that you shouldn't complain about your state of affairs at the company. If you're not valued at the same level as the CFO, prove your worth. Get angry. Win.
• Find the place in your company or another company where you can make an impact.
• Get a voice.

When asked about how HR professionals can be helpful during this down economy, he said the following.

• Communicate all the time.
• Act smarter and faster.
• Know if your employees have a voice. Can you tell if they are contributing to the greater good of your company? Or, are they just hunkering down, fearful of what might come down the pike?
• It's important to say the same thing to everybody. There shouldn't be a different story being told to investors, your employees, your board, et cetera. Be consistent.
• Be informal. How do you do this? Walk the floor. Tweet. Be sure that you are working for the people...the employees...as well as those above who are making the decisions about those employees.

I probably enjoyed the next piece the most when he talk about work / life balance. He said that that is a load of crap (I think those were his words). There is only work / life choice. How true is that? Each person makes decisions along the way that impact how his or her life is balanced. Personally, I've known workaholics and I've known slackers. I've also known those in the middle who seem to be balanced regarding their work and the life, or should I say life and work. In each scenario, it all comes down to personal choice. Having kids, not having kids, working your way up to CEO or not, these are all scenarios that involved lots of decisions and choices along the way. For another blogger's take on this, read this.

Another point he made regarded performance goals. He brought up the 10/10/10 theory which stands for planning for the next 10 minutes, 10 months and 10 years. He believed that too many decisions and goals are made for the short term and companies get the results they've asked for. He went on to say that companies get the behavior that they measure and that which gets the reward. He reiterated that managers are paid to manage and make the tough decisions. If people aren't performing, move them on. And, if you have great performers, find ways to make them stay.

Here was his advice to Gen Y:

• Find the job that turns your crank.
• Go for your dreams!
• There's no better time to give an idea a whirl then when you're not tied to the picket fence, your family, a mortgage, et cetera. Go for it!

His thoughts on mentors:

• He hates them.
• The one you're assigned to by your company may not be a good performer.
• Everyone has something to offer.
• Be willing to learn from lots of people.

The word he ended with is trust. As HR professionals, you need to be trusted and inspire trust. This reminds me of a post on Mark Stelzner's blog about Kathy Griffin. Do your employees know that what you say you will do, you'll do? Think about the word trust. Are you earning the trust of your people every day? Do you get excited by their successes? Does your boss know that they can trust you?

Lastly, he closed by saying he wants us all to feel like he does everyday. "Six-foot-five with hair. Good luck!"

It's worth the hour or so to watch it, but I hope this gives you some insight into what Jack shared. You can get more frequent updates from him via his twitter account. He's a big fan. Happy we have that in common.