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Description of  Hot Seat: What I Learned Leading a Great American Company

A memoir of successful leadership in times of crisis: the former CEO of General Electric, named one of the Worlds Best CEOs three times by Barrons, shares the hard-won lessons he learned from his experience leading GE immediately after 9/11, through the economic devastation of the 200809 financial crisis, and into an increasingly globalized world. In September 2001, Jeff Immelt replaced the most famous CEO in history, Jack Welch, at the helm of General Electric. Less than a week into his tenure, the 9/11 terrorist attacks shook the nation, and the company, to its core. GE was connected to nearly every part of the tragedyGE-financed planes powered by GE-manufactured engines had just destroyed real estate that was insured by GE-issued policies. Facing an unprecedented situation, Immelt knew his response would set the tone for businesses everywhere that looked to GEone of Americas biggest and most-heralded corporationsfor direction. No pressure. Over the next sixteen years, Immelt would lead GE through many more dire moments, from the 200809 Global Financial Crisis to the 2011 meltdown of Fukushimas nuclear reactors, which were designed by GE. But Immelts biggest challenge was inherited: Welch had handed over a company that had great people, but was short on innovation. Immelt set out to change GEs focus by making it more global, more rooted in technology, and more diverse. But the stock market rarely rewarded his efforts, and GE struggled. In Hot Seat, Immelt offers a rigorous, candid interrogation of himself and his tenure, detailing for the first time his proudest moments and his biggest mistakes. The most crucial component of leadership, he writes, is the willingness to make decisions. But knowing what to do is a thousand times easier than knowing when to do it. Perseverance, combined with clear communication, can ensure progress, if not perfection, he says. That wont protect any CEO from second-guessing, but Immelt explains how hes pushed through even the most withering criticism: by staying focused on his team and the goals they tried to achieve. As the business world continues to be rocked by stunning economic upheaval, Hot Seat is an urgently needed, and unusually raw, source of authoritative guidance for decisive leadership in uncertain times.