I ADMIRE

"I believe through learning and application of what you learn, you can solve any problem, overcome any obstacle and achieve any goal that you can set for yourself." - Brian Tracy, Author

Sanjeev Aggarwal,
The Financial ExpressWith so many benchmark companies to choose from, one is spoilt for choice. It is hard to choose a favourite but if choose I must, then GE it is. This is despite the fact that I have neither worked at GE nor transacted business with them. I have been influenced by the way they have built their globally integrated Indian operations, the leaders they groom and by the writings of Jack Welch. I have taken a number of personal leadership cues from Jack.

If I have to pick one word that I associate GE with, it would be “Execution”. That they have done this effortlessly across diverse businesses, from aircraft engines to financial services, and have done it on a global scale over several decades, is quite a feat.

GE’s people practices… logical, portable and scaleable have greatly influenced me. The culture of candour helps conserve energy and gets issues quickly to the fore. GE’s people engagement platform that includes skip level meetings, a 360-degree feedback, and town halls ensures that each employee relates with the organisational objectives. I am very impressed with the way GE managers go deep into the organisation in a very disciplined way by conducting skip level meetings as a well-oiled process. It reduces the number of surprises that hit you. Deep dives and work outs are some practices that I have used personally while building Daksh and I find that they are very effective in getting to the heart of the problem very quickly and building consensus for resolution.

Differentiating between people is a GE practice, which to my mind is very relevant to the human capital issue that confronts the Indian Economy. Sorting out “A” players and giving them disproportionate responsibilities and rewards ensures that top talent wants to come and work for the organisation. Jack’s quote — “We build great people, who then build great products and services” is one of my favourite business thoughts.

When I think of GE, I think of process excellence built around a culture of six-sigma. Six-sigma was not invented at GE, but has been fiercely implemented there. Six-sigma was used as a universal tool for improving quality, improving processes and eliminating inefficiencies. In my mind one of the best ways to drive initiatives is to wrap them around a six-sigma methodology. As an entrepreneur who comes from the BPO industry, I know that the BPO industry has benefited immensely from the six-sigma practices brought by the professionals hired from GE. The process orientation and analytical skills that a GE trained executive demonstrates clearly stands out.

The author is MD, Helion Ventures