Russell Stokes e-mail on Sunday and subsequent sound bites are nothing less than a condescending message to all those who as typical Senior Leaders blame everyone when things go wrong. He talks about “owning it”... how about he and the other Executives-step up and own it for the decisions made that got us into this mess instead of paying off everyone who made those decisions...claw back the millions and save some jobs. They mention the market is driving the reason for reductions...BS the market was never there... it was the Executives who made the decisions to try and stuff a non-existent market resulting in the consequence of excessive inventory, missed op profit , cash flow etc. He mentions adding heads to Lean...talk about being off mark- how about just leaning out your bloated Leadership staff, cut the redundancy in the Regions where we should have centralized functions to drive consistency and simplification. Next was a lecture on accountability...Mr. Stokes please look in the mirror-I haven’t heard one executive responsible for this mess step up and say I made a mistake or I’m sorry for the pain I’m inflicting on thousands of loyal employees and their families— in our typical fashion it is middle layer management that is the problem- while those that made the decisions stifled any sense of constructive dialog about reality and were all allowed to “retire” with millions. Any apathy for employees losing their jobs is superficial at best...even within HR who treat this as a robotic excercise of numbers vs. individuals that are actually real people! You talk about athletes... well first you need to have a great coach; someone who walks the talk and encourages individuals that it is “we” not “ I” who will make a great team. Somehow there is a difference in your rhetoric vs. your actions... wished I had kept count of how many times you said “I” during the investor presentation. You keep building your staff adding layers while we’re told to cut 20-30%...really? And finally your condescending message on ownership and accountability was absolutely so hypocritical one has to question your overall sincerity and your own ego vs. we’re in this together and WE all own it!
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Sad part is this is the best Executive left... no bench!
Stokes, simonelli, jamie miller and rich simpson ruined transportation, be careful with simpson he is a corporate headhunter.
You are so on point. These senior leaders need to give back. Take away the shiny Porsche SUV and their line up of BMWs. It was their decisions that put us in this situation. They let go of seasoned employees who knew what they were doing. They all wanted to kiss up to the big guy and sold their souls. I feel sorry for those of you who are left. Our retirements are now going to suffer because we spent money on paying for a book club and interviewing new people. So much for back to basics.
Very well said. One thing about it their walking papers will be handed to them soon as well. Fortunately for them and their families they will get to walk away financially set while the rest of us get booted out with a crummy 4-8 weeks worth of pay and are expected to just somehow make it, and if not who cares. It's disappointing and hurtful that these mega companies truly dont give a sh$t about their employees. Only the ones at the top win in this game.
Bravo...well said. JI, JB, JF , JR all worked for GE when this sh_t hit the fan. Why is so hard for JF to call a spade a spade.. ? Meaning Jeff Immelt and his former executive team owns all of this ..he was the CEO. Instead , all we get is buzz words that they spout. Cut the bullsh_t and tell your team to go f---ing sell equipment.
VERY WELL SAID! You echo all of us as employees of GE who are done with the same failed leadership BS. Stokes and Flannery continue to painfully embarrass us. The sinking ship is almost submerged and they continue to pump water in. Not out.