Enron Mail

From:karen.denne@enron.com
To:kenneth.lay@enron.com
Subject:Investor's Business Daily Interview
Cc:rosalee.fleming@enron.com, mark.palmer@enron.com, vance.meyer@enron.com,meredith.philipp@enron.com
Bcc:rosalee.fleming@enron.com, mark.palmer@enron.com, vance.meyer@enron.com,meredith.philipp@enron.com
Date:Tue, 28 Nov 2000 02:56:00 -0800 (PST)

Ken --=20

Investor's Business Daily would like to write a profile of you for their=20
"Leaders & Success" page. The daily feature is a 1200-word profile with a=
=20
top executive about their keys to success and how they motivate people. Y=
ou=20
are scheduled to do a 45-minute telephone interview with David Saito-Chung,=
=20
IBD's markets writer, on Wednesday,=20
Nov. 29 at 1:30 p.m. David said the goal of his story is to not just=20
describe what you have accomplished at Enron, but show how you achieved=20
success. He is looking for specific examples and anecdotes that illustrate=
=20
Enron's vision and innovation. =20

David has submitted the following questions in advance of the interview:

What did critics say when Enron proposed to create a natural gas trading=20
market? How did you respond to their opinions? Why did you see an opportuni=
ty=20
while others didn=01,t?
You debated with people at the FERC on how the natural gas market should be=
=20
run. You also lobbied the government to change its rules that regulated the=
=20
natural gas industry. Was persistence the biggest key to your success in=20
those matters?
Tell me about the planning of EnronOnline. Whose idea was it? How did you=
=20
initially respond to it?
Why do you think EnronOnline has been so successful?
How do you view technology? What role has it played in Enron=01,s success?=
=20
Some publications have named Enron as having one of the best-quality=20
management teams of any company. Why?=20
How do you build and keep foster a strong managing team? How many people at=
=20
Enron have =01&CEO=018 in their official business titles?
Why can you compete with major investment banks on Wall Street to get the=
=20
brightest business school graduates?
How does your company inspire employees to be creative and innovative?
Why was Enron the first to create risk management products for the paper=20
products industry and other industries?

As additional background, I've also attached the Leaders & Success feature =
on=20
GE's Jeffrey Immelt in today's paper. I will come to your office at 1:30=
=20
tomorrow to place the call. =20

Thank you.
Karen



About Leaders & Success
We uncover what turned ordinary individuals into extraordinary leaders. The=
se=20
motivational profiles reveal the techniques, philosophies and determination=
=20
that drive successful people to the top. Learn practical management=20
techniques and methods to move you ahead in your career. These are proven=
=20
models of success you won't want to miss.?



Leaders & Success
Tuesday, November 28, 2000
GE's Jeffrey R. Immelt=20
His Focus On The Customer Boosted Him To The Top=20
By Patrick Seitz
Investor's Business Daily
Jeffrey R. Immelt, the man chosen to succeed the legendary Jack Welch as=20
chief executive of General Electric Co., knows there's just one person=20
keeping him in business: the customer. And that customer is the person Imme=
lt=20
goes all-out to please.
Immelt, 44, was plucked from the company's fast-growing GE Medical Systems=
=20
business, where he had served as president and chief executive since 1997.=
=20
The $7 billion unit, based in Waukesha, Wis., is a world leader in medical=
=20
diagnostic technology and information systems.
Immelt attributes much of his success to his laserlike focus on sales.
"I love working with customers. . . . Sales has really influenced everythin=
g=20
I do. It has instilled in me the important traits of operating with a sense=
=20
of urgency and listening to people," Immelt said.
Immelt on Monday was named president and chairman-elect of GE. He will=20
succeed John F. "Jack" Welch Jr., GE's chairman and CEO, when Welch retires=
=20
at the end of 2001.
When Immelt landed at GE Medical Systems in 1997, he quickly showed a knack=
=20
for squeezing growth from a unit known for sluggish sales. Last year, its=
=20
revenue jumped 23% to $6 billion.
Customers credit Immelt with going way beyond sales. When Chicago's=20
Northwestern Memorial Hospital expanded its scanning services last year,=20
Immelt spent hours helping to manage its work flow.
"That's the kind of collaboration that we find unusual," Northwestern=20
Memorial CEO Gary Mecklenburg told Business Week.
Immelt has proven himself both by turning around troubled GE divisions and=
=20
extracting better performance from thriving units.
Immelt knows how important it is to set the pace, not follow it. To keep GE=
=20
Medical flourishing, he's pushed the unit to expand acquisitions and new=20
product offerings. The division's product line ranges from ultrasound devic=
es=20
used in doctors' offices to multimillion-dollar CT and MRI scanners.
In his earlier work in GE's Plastics division, Immelt stood out by persuadi=
ng=20
hard-boiled carmakers to substitute plastics for metal on some parts.
As vice president of consumer service for GE's Appliances division, Immelt=
=20
deftly handled the fallout from a recall of refrigerator compressors. To ke=
ep=20
workers' morale pumped up during the recall, Immelt would often climb up on=
a=20
forklift in GE's Louisville, Ky., plant and pass out words of encouragement=
=20
and praise. He took time to speak with employees during such sessions,=20
listening carefully to their ideas and concerns.
Immelt believes that open, fast communication with workers is crucial. Not =
a=20
table-thumper, he meets with employees =01) sometimes hundreds at a time =
=01) to=20
discuss where GE Medical is going. Colleagues say he works at=20
consensus-building, urging others to understand different points of view.
After returning from corporate meetings, Immelt distills the latest GE=20
thinking on videotape, and copies are sent to offices around the world.
Understanding that seeing someone face to face helps foster stronger=20
relationships, Immelt also travels often to meet employees and customers.=
=20
Constant contact keeps a company united, Immelt believes. So he updates the=
=20
company's employees once a week via e-mail on the latest developments =01) =
new=20
business, lost sales opportunities and other nuggets about company=20
initiatives. E-mail is sent in five languages, and at times up to a dozen,=
=20
according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Immelt was one of three GE executives who analysts considered possible=20
successors to Welch. Welch, 65, has been at the helm of the Fairfield,=20
Conn.-based finance, industrial and broadcasting powerhouse for the past tw=
o=20
decades.=20
"Jeff Immelt is a natural leader, and ideally suited to lead GE for many=20
years," Welch said. "He brings a keen strategic intellect, a cutting-edge=
=20
technological background, strong leadership characteristics and a unique se=
t=20
of team-building skills."
Knowing that preparation is key to long-term success, Immelt has long been=
=20
preparing himself, says Charles M. Lillis, a former GE executive who hired=
=20
Immelt in 1982.
"Starting in high school, (in) everything he did he was a leader," Lillis=
=20
told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "He played football. He was a student=
=20
leader. He went to Procter & Gamble after college and he did a great job in=
=20
sales. He also had the right balance of self-confidence and awareness that =
he=20
did not know everything."
Immelt has strong marketing skills and helped create the GE slogan, "We bri=
ng=20
good things to life," in his first job at GE.
Analysts and friends say the 6-foot, 4-inch Immelt possesses not only a=20
commanding physical presence but also the intellectual strength necessary t=
o=20
inspire management and workers at GE. Immelt believes that a consistent=20
approach will give the biggest pay off.=20
He's been with GE practically all of his working life, just as his father,=
=20
Joseph, before him. His father spent his 38-year career at GE working in th=
e=20
Aircraft Engine division in Cincinnati.
Immelt has a good sense of humor and the ability to present himself well to=
=20
both Wall Street and the average worker, much like Welch.
Immelt realizes that humor helps ease conversation, forge bonds and motivat=
e=20
people. He saw that as an offensive tackle for Dartmouth College's football=
=20
team in the 1970s.=20
Immelt wanted to keep football practice fun to keep his fellow players fire=
d=20
up. Immelt came up with gags, including a tongue-in-cheek award for the coa=
ch=20
of the week. He liked to loosen up the team with jokes on the sidelines and=
=20
in the huddle, according to teammates.
Despite the fun and games, his teammates could see Immelt's drive. "When th=
e=20
rest of us were feeling our way through college, he took it to the next=20
level," former teammate Curt P. Oberg told Business Week.
Immelt studied just as hard as he played. He graduated cum laude with his=
=20
B.S. degree in applied mathematics from Dartmouth and an MBA from Harvard=
=20
University.
He joined GE in 1982 after a short stint with Procter & Gamble Co. as a bra=
nd=20
manager. His first job with GE was in corporate marketing. That was followe=
d=20
by sales, marketing and management positions in the company's plastics and=
=20
appliances divisions.
When Immelt took over at GE Medical Systems in 1997, one of his first actio=
ns=20
was to oversee an internal management shake-up.
"He is an extremely capable executive leader, as evidenced by his record as=
=20
CEO of GE Medical Systems," analyst Martin Sankey, vice president of Goldma=
n,=20
Sachs & Co. in New York told The Associated Press. "He compiled a strong=20
record of generating growth and moving into new markets."
GE Medical Systems has seen profit rise as demand for big-ticket medical=20
imaging and patient-monitoring gear has grown.
"Immelt clearly runs the best business at GE-GE Medical," Bill Fiala, an=20
analyst at Edward Jones, told Reuters. "He's taken it international, and he=
's=20
done a fantastic job designing new products and capturing market share."
He's a disciple and expert of Six Sigma, the quality movement that has been=
=20
made almost a religion at GE. Six Sigma is a complex, highly statistical=20
quality program that Welch wants as his legacy.
To make sure he understood the program, Immelt immersed himself in the stud=
y=20
of Six Sigma. Relying on his background in mathematics, he worked out=20
probabilities by using solid statistical research.
GE's next chief will replace an executive who has become a poster boy for=
=20
American-style capitalism. Welch's relentless focus on profit and market=20
share =01) and GE's evolution from basic manufacturing to the service secto=
r and=20
technology =01) has been dissected by corporate managers and studied by bus=
iness=20
schools.

, Investor's Business Daily, Inc. 2000. All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction or redistribution is prohibited.
For reprints, call Scoop Media Services (800)=20