Pros
GE was my only past employer whose employ I was unreservedly happy to come back to. And I did. GE inspires with its vision and its leadership, its willingness to enter difficult markets where there is a real need for critical services. The word integrity has great resonance for me. Jeff Immelt spoke of investment in Green before it became wide spread and fashionable.
Cons
I have now left GE's employ for the second time. GE was unable, for me, to translate its values into actions in my small part of its enormous business. For me integrity means honesty 1st and foremost. It means other things to other people, and I had great difficulty seeing certain behaviours as having integrity without better insights being shared or communicated. GE is focused on the numbers first and foremost, and are very tactical within short time horizons. As yet they seem to lack the true strategic and visionary DNA needed for it to be a star in the software industry. This has far reaching impacts into a small vulnerable country where our future is always uncertain, and we need a long game to survive. Software customers also need a long game, as they invest heavily and become shackled to their suppliers. GE recruits highly capable and resilient people, and then disempowers them with US control and command, PR-based communications and messaging, incongruence between word and action, and a lack of effective local leadership, tools and resources. It becomes just about being a survivor in a difficult environment.
