General Electric (GE) is the oldest component in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, transforming itself into a global digital industrial company with over 300,000 employees supporting customers in over 180 countries. Because it understands the importance of great leadership to the company’s success, GE takes succession planning very seriously. Knowing that every chief executive officer (CEO) will eventually need to be replaced, it wants to start planning as far in advance as possible to ensure a smooth leadership transition. It also wants to identify and develop multiple CEO candidates to ensure that the company will be able to choose the best when the time comes. The board of directors understands that it is necessary to be forward-thinking and find someone with the capability to lead the company into the future. The board of GE wants to plan for Jeff Immelt’s replacement years before he is expected to leave the company and so they come to you for suggestions. After reading this chapter, you should have some good ideas to share with them.
In this chapter’s opening Staffing Challenge, you learned how GE combines succession management and career development to ensure a solid talent pipeline of project managers and senior executives. Working in a group of three to five students, reread the vignette. Be prepared to share with your class your answers to the following questions:
a. Why do you think that GE’s internal assessment and development system is so successful?
b. What additional ideas do you have that could help GE fill as many internal positions as possible with its current employees
