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At that time, Jack was famous for his personal leader’s notes. In business, Jack Welch was the most famous advocate of cvs2bvs in the US.
Jack used cvs2bvs at GE to help him change the culture of a 100-year-old manufacturer to the most valuable company (at the time he left it) in the history of the world!
I was invited to GE soon after he became chairman and CEO. In the 1980s I spent several years, at his request, installing the cvs2bvs brain software at GE. He wrote to me saying,
“I would love to have a management team that really understood the cvs2bvs algorithm. It’s the ‘value-added’ role in the management process”.
In his book about his time at GE called, Jack (Warner Books 2001), he wrote, “It would make each of us wake up with the goal of “Finding a Better Way Every Day”. It was a phrase that became a slogan, put up on the walls of GE factories and offices around the world”.
Jack also used cvs2bvs in crisis management situations and on one very serious occasion involving a crisis between GE and President Reagan’s Defense Secretary, Caspar Weinberger, Jack asked me to meet with him privately, in Manhattan, to apply cvs2bvs to finding a solution.
He also told me that it helped him design new concepts like ‘Boundarylessness’ and ‘Work-Out’. He wrote, “Suddenly, “Finding a Better Way Every Day” wasn’t just a slogan. It was the essence of boundaryless behaviour, and it defined our expectations”.
As my Dad used to say, “Nobody’s perfect!” and Jack had his share of setbacks but he was a genuine strategic thinker and one of the most accomplished business leaders of his time.
Jack was famous for the little hand-written notes he would send to people. He sent me several and the one I prized the most was, “Michael, you are a friend of our company”.
Hand-written notes are a very personal and powerful communication. I have known several leaders who use handwritten notes with great effect.
I first was taught to use ‘The Leader’s Note’ in the Army and I saw recently where the Duchess of Cornwall (who is Royal Colonel of the 4th Battalion The Rifles) sent handwritten notes to all the soldiers in her regiment who were wounded in Iraq.
Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Sanders, commander of 4 Rifles, said,
She bled with us throughout the tour. She wrote by hand to all the wounded and the families of those killed. She gave each of the wounded presents – whisky or hampers. We feel incredibly lucky to have her as our Royal Colonel. At a time when people in England did not really know what we were going through, she did.
DFQ #20:
PTO: Write a Leader’s Note!
On a postcard, engraved writing paper or special paper for the purpose (not email), write a short personal note of encouragement (around 10 to 100 words) to someone who sees you as their leader or mentor.
Post that you have completed this PTO within the next 24 hours saying who, when, where etc:
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To Janice,
You are able to see your own progress, and you have overcome. Keep it up, and continue to march forward.
Progress always
Lawrence
PTO completed. I gave a Leader’s Note, written on Special Paper, to a female friend who has been struggling with (red wine) alcoholism = 2 bottles per day. I Encouraged her to “Keep On Keeping On”, to remain Free, Liberated and Focused on her Strengths and Fortitude in the face of several emergencies in her immediate family circle. I Blessed her and assured her I AM Available should she so require my assistance. I Led her to the Fountain, she drank (NO, NOT THE RED WINE), She Helped Herself and Now Sees and Understands Clearly CVS2BVS …
Congratulations, Dear Friend!
feel actually uncomfortable thinking of myself as someone elses leader, my main aim at the moment id to master leading myself.
Still i will send a personal note to a friend saying thank you for inspiring me to be a better human being by how she lives her life.
I have sent a hand written note to another teacher detailing that it was good to see her back at work, full of life and hoped that her recent family crisis situations had strengthened her resolve, her family and her will to make the most her own opportunities as they develop. The note concluded that as a middle years team we all respect her positives, her perspectives and her friendly working partnerships.
Theres no one I can really write this to just now – I’m in a bit of a backwater period of my life. But I’ll be sure to use it later this year when I roll out a new training program within my company. I’ll make a point of writing a note to each of my trainees as part of the feedback process
To a family member who has moved from one profession into a more demanding one. When ? Well; straight away, as soon as your inspiration arrived. 090109. 100 words follow..
You know my learned principle of CVS2BVS and you are making it easy for me. Because you in your steady improvement are in fact presenting to me a Better View of your Situation as time goes by. One hears of the value of ‘the whole’ being greater or less than the value of ‘the parts’. May I say, that the members of ‘the whole’ appreciate the increase in their value because You, are increasing the value of the ‘part’ that you are. Enjoy the journey. As I’ve said to you before about sailing: it’s better to journey than to arrive.
Today I gave a beautiful card to a student of mine who has (over the past 9 years) transformed his life from being a heavily medicated schizophrenic facing institutionalisation for the rest of his life to being virtuallly drug free, married, planning a future, continuing his education and training, community work etc
The cover of the card said “congratulations” Inside I wrote: “There is an order and rythmn to each day. The order of today – Congratulations!.. Well done, what courageous magnificent things you have done; beyond that extramile..achieving your goals, creating dreams come true..such wondrous places we’ve been; as always I do so believe in you..congratulations are the order of the day jj x He smiled a very big smile and was still smiling half an hour later. Thank you Michael 🙂
hello
My leadership note goes to my younger brother who has just Hosted a show in his college which was fabulous and great success.
I liked Leigh’s idea re: purchasing nice stationary to have on hand for the lovely task. Thank you Michael for great initiatives, passed on to my children also.
PTO completed and was addressed and given as a collective note to my three daughters while we are staying for small holiday in queensland. I delivered it to them this afternoon. The content concerned their current growth and dealing with anxieties associated with changes, holiday being quite a change for them. Briefly, I praised them for their dealing with their anxieties in a different mode using the knowledge I have supported them with regarding the insidiousness of anxiety and their coping mechanisms, flailing at times, but overall an excellent feat achieved as their approach to conquering it is maturing. they were chuffed, thought was slightly unusual but, all the same proud.