'I was just sad': Immelt pens Substack about post-GE struggles

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Or sign-in if you have an account.In a sea of self-serving leadership advice from ex-executives, Jeff Immelt’s missive is unusual in its candidness about a vulnerable period. Photo by Christopher Goodney/BloombergFormer General Electric Co. boss Jeff Immelt is not the first ex-CEO to grapple with the loss of prestige and power. But an essay he posted this month about how he bounced back from feeling adrift stands out for its raw depiction of the sudden anonymity of post-corporate life for someone used to being a big shot.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman, and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.Exclusive articles from Barbara Shecter, Joe O'Connor, Gabriel Friedman and others.Daily content from Financial Times, the world's leading global business publication.Unlimited online access to read articles from Financial Post, National Post and 15 news sites across Canada with one account.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an Accountor“People looked at me differently, avoiding eye contact, as if someone close to me had died. Others just ignored me. My phone calls went unanswered,” he wrote in a 1,900-word Substack post detailing how he engineered a “turnaround” from a “bad personal cycle” that left him feeling sad and unmoored.Immelt, who stepped down in 2017, also threw some barbs at his predecessor Jack Welch and accused former GE colleagues and members of its board, whom he did not name, of refusing to defend his performance. Immelt’s time as chief executive was marred by a drop in oil prices after he paid US$10 billion in 2015 for Alstom SA’s energy business, considered by some critics as one of his biggest mistakes in a tumultuous tenure that also included a near-blowup of GE Capital during the 2008 financial crisis.Breaking business news, incisive views, must-reads and market signals. Weekdays by 9 a.m.By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.The next issue of Posthaste will soon be in your inbox.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again“In some cases, the GE team turned its back on me, including some who knew the truth, but refused to speak it,” he wrote. (Immelt previously defended his record in his 2021 book, Hot Seat: What I Learned Leading a Great American Company.)In a sea of self-serving leadership advice from ex-executives, Immelt’s missive is unusual in its candidness about a vulnerable period. “I was just sad,” he confessed. “I felt like I had let some people down, including my family.”Suddenly, the man who led GE for 16 years and walked away with a package calculated at the time to be worth at least US$112 million was unsure what to do with himself.“Importantly, I had to rebuild my confidence, to find someone who says, ‘you don’t suck,’” he wrote. He wanted to find a new purpose.The catalyst for Immelt’s personal pivot, he said, was moving to California to join New Enterprise Associates as a venture partner, where he could “be anonymous, but still busy” advising startups while perched in an office that was, he confided, “the smallest I had had in 25 years.”Immelt doesn’t like everything about the Golden State — “the government sucks,” he asserted — but working with Silicon Valley startups “was a better pursuit to create the future than private equity. There is a huge difference between thinking ‘growth first’ versus ‘cash first.’” Welch, notably, went into private equity after he stepped down from GE, becoming a senior advisor at Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in 2001. (He died in 2020.) Immelt also took a dig at Welch launching a for-profit management institute.“For retired executives,” Immelt said, “it turns out that making money is easy; having a purpose is hard.”Other leaders have acknowledged this. In an interview last year, Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio said it was “a big change” when he stepped back from day-to-day management of the hedge fund he had run for decades and recounted talking to another recently retired business leader who called him for advice. Dalio didn’t name names but said the former executive reported walking through a grocery store wondering whether anyone else in the store knew how important he was, or used to be.“I think that we all are gonna be totally forgotten,” Dalio said in the interview with Bloomberg’s Francine Lacqua. “If you’re working to be remembered or to be relevant in the spotlight, I don’t think that’s a good idea. I think the question is, are you having what you want?”Immelt, for the most part, said he now has what he wants. He sees himself as a “helper” to startup founders, and his personal Substack, titled The Long View, promises to appeal to “those seeking to pivot, to learn, and to serve.” The inaugural post, dated May 18, reminds former masters of the universe that “there are new ‘wins’ in your second life.” But achieving them can be as gruelling as any hard-fought victory in the boardroom. It might require a change in scenery and a redefinition of success, two of the steps that Immelt says helped him regain his own sense of purpose.The long process of self-reflection Immelt detailed wins kudos from leadership coach Lisa Zigarmi, who has counselled executives at Microsoft Corp., Intel Corp. and Nike Inc. “Meeting the parts of yourself you don’t yet know, your shadow, is uncomfortable work,” she said. “But it’s wildly fruitful for living your purpose. Jeff’s second act may carry more legacy than his first, or at the very least, more personal meaning.” Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.