“A couple of Fridays each month, Jeff Immelt hosts a sleepover. The CEO of GE invites one of the 185 officers of his company, and only one, to his home in New Canaan, Conn., for a leisurely meal. After a few drinks, some laughs, a plate of pasta, and a wide-ranging discussion of what’s going on in the world, the two executives part. Immelt, 54, stays home while his guest heads to lodging at GE headquarters in nearby Fairfield.
“When they reconvene the next morning, things get personal. ‘We spend Saturday morning just talking about their careers,’ says Immelt. ‘Who they are, how they fit, how I see their strengths and weaknesses -- stuff like that.’
“‘The personal connection is something I may have taken for granted before that I don’t want to ever take for granted again,’ he says.
In addition ...
• He’s holding monthly dinners with ten executives and an external “thought leader” to debate leadership.
• He launched a pilot program to bringin in personal coaches for high-potential talent.
-- Fortune magazine