Jack Welch on motivation

Motivating employees is an important job for leaders. While leadership experts disagree on many issues, there is consensus on this one. For example, Harvard professor John Cotter believes that the leadership of a complex enterprise organization is divided into three processes-determining the direction of business operations, uniting the masses, and motivating and encouraging.

And there are few organizations in the world more complex than General Electric (GE). Jack Welch, known for his leadership as GE's chairman and chief executive, spoke to The Wall Street Journal about how he motivates his employees. The original text was published in the book Boss Talk (the Chinese translation is "Principles of Top CEOs").

Your first time in management, how did you motivate your employees?

I was fortunate enough to be one of the first employees in a new division of GE, Plastic Products. When I hired my first employee, we were a two-person team, and I never saw myself as a boss but as a colleague. Then we hired one new employee after another.

We have everything we need to get started. Everyone went to my house for dinner, spent weekends together, and worked overtime on Saturdays together. We don't have any grand spectacles, we don't use memos, and the whole department is like a family grocery store, with everyone coming together to make ideas without hierarchy. This is what we often call "our business".

I think that's how a business should work. It is a gathering place for ideas, not a place for jobs.

Is it still like a grocery store?

With the business on track, there will inevitably be some hierarchy issues, but our team spirit and atmosphere are still there. When you succeed, you should celebrate. We used to have a "Hundred-Pound-Order Club", and whenever we achieved something, we would stop the production line and we would all go to the "Hundred-Pound-Order Club" to celebrate. That spirit lives on today across GE's divisions.

Did setbacks help you improve your management style?

When I first started, like several other new hires at GE, I was in charge of a small project. The reward system was unreasonable at the time, and by the end of the year everyone got a $1,000 raise, and I felt like I deserved more than that, so I planned to leave, but my boss asked me to stay. A similar situation never happened again.

This experience made me realize that in a large company like GE people often experience such setbacks. You're going to pull your car into the big parking lot, park between rows of cars, walk into the office, and some idiot tells you what to do and how to do it. It's not at all what you expect from life. It's really scary if your grades are not recognized and you are treated badly.

What advice do you have for employees?

I let them know that they can't be idle at this company, because many people have been idle all their lives. They don't have a job that suits them, or they're sluggish, and they don't even have the mind to make trouble.

I encourage them to be brave enough to present themselves, to speak their minds, and to gain recognition from their bosses. I tell them, "If GE can't make you feel like a jerk, you should look elsewhere." I'll fire managers who make people feel that way and managers who don't fit in with them.

How much time do you typically spend dealing with employee issues?

At least half of the time, you see (he pulls out a large notebook full of graphs, each department has a graph related to each employee), it's a dynamic assessment, everyone Everyone knows where they are.

The first category accounts for 10%, and they are top talents; the second category is the second category, accounting for 15%; the third category is the middle-level employees, accounting for 50%, and they have the greatest flexibility to change; The fourth category of 15% needs to sound the alarm bell to them and urge them to make progress; the fifth category is the worst, accounting for 10%, we can only dismiss them.

Based on performance reviews, every employee will know which category they are in, so no one will say to me, "Hey, people used to say I was great, now you're the only one saying I'm bad."

Your evaluation will determine whether to give them stock options as an incentive, yes?

The first category of employees will receive stock options, approximately 90% of the second category and 50% of the third category will receive stock options. The fourth category of employees is not rewarded.

Charts are the best tool. Who should be rewarded, who should not be rewarded, who should go home, and how do you reward these people? If you love your employees hug them, kiss them, nurture them, give them everything!

Is it too much pressure for employees to compete with each other and risk being eliminated?

No. There is a lot of room here, such as third-class employees, and there will be no penalties. I don't know if it's more brutal here than other companies, but it's our way.

As you said, employee status is always uniform: 10% in the first category, 15% in the second category, 50% in the third category, 15% in the fourth category, and fifth category 15%. Have you been using a curve to rate employees?

Each category has different standards, as each category of employees desperately considers themselves a first-class employee. If I have 10 employees, there must be one in the first category and one in the fifth category.

How do you determine when to fire an employee?

It's the fifth category of employees to be fired, that's pretty obvious. It's good for everyone to do so. They go to a new place, start a new life, have a new beginning.

There is a big gap between a first-class employee and a third-class employee, but the real difficulty lies in the fourth. The results and impact of the 10% category 1 employees are much higher than the 15% category 4 employees.

How did you mobilize the general staff?

Let them understand that they may move up to Category 1 or Category 2, have the opportunity to choose where to go, and the best of them will be rewarded with stock options.

Do you set goals for your employees to improve their business capabilities?

Making employees aware of their potential for continuous improvement is more important than setting goals. It is our goal to make the company develop at the fastest speed. I hope that employees can take the initiative and work together to promote the development of the company.

Some companies contract their employees, and I don't like that. If I sign with you, I'll be your boss, so what are you going to do before you come to see me? You'll make 50 charts to prove to me that you've done your best, and I'll be sure to ask you to do more, and in the end you'll have to compromise.

To put it another way, I want you to reach your full potential and give your best advice - I would ask: "What do you need? Do you need more people? More research and development?" ---You're going to give me a lot of advice and plans that I didn't think of, and I might say, "I don't like the idea, I don't want to do it, but that idea is very good." This kind of communication is more productive .

In terms of employee rewards, which do you think is more important, material rewards or spiritual rewards?

Rewarding an employee for good performance is an important part of the management process, and I advocate for greater promotion. I don't want people's noses to hit the glass and can't get through, I want them to get what they deserve.

Both spiritual encouragement and material rewards are necessary. Money alone is not enough, and symbolic praise is not enough. Both are indispensable. I've met bosses who give only medals to their patented employees, and I'll give them more money. This guy has a lot of money, but he thinks it's stupid to give more money, so he only gives medals. And I think money and spiritual encouragement should be balanced.

How would you rate your top management? Do you also encourage them to compete with each other?

I encourage them to compete with each other at work, but not to have personal grudges. Our approach is to divide the reward into two parts, one for his performance in his own business unit and the other for his contribution to the development of the company as a whole. If the performance of your own department is good, but it is not good for the development of the company, the bonus will be zero. If the skin does not exist, how can the hair be attached?

How important do you think it is to have a good relationship with your subordinates?

You can stay away from your subordinates all day long, not socialize with them, play baseball with them, go to the library, visit museums, go to the opera, or dress differently from them, it doesn't matter. However, if you and your subordinates have differences in business concepts, or are unfair to others, or do not agree with the culture of the company, there is a problem, and everyone must reach a consensus on these matters.

This article is excerpted from the book "Principles of Top CEOs" with permission. CITIC Publishing House registered Simplified Chinese copyright in 2002. The book was published in January 2003.