A
30 AMERICANWAY
OCTOBER 1 2008
ILLUSTRATIONBYDAVIDPLUNKERT
B U S I N E S S
AspARtofgENERAlElECtRIC’sCoRpoRAtE-CItIzENshIppARtNERshIpWIththEuNI-
vERsItYofMIChIgAN’sRosssChoolofbusINEss,
the company’sCEO, Jeffrey Immelt,
regularly journeys to Ann Arbor to participate in the school’s MBA orientation session.
During that session, there’s one thing professor Noel Tichy can count on hearing Immelt
say: “IfGEwants to stay the same, theydon’t needme.”
“Youhave todrive change,” recitesTichy, the director of theGlobal LeadershipProgram
at theuniversity andahigh-profilemanagement guruwho recently coauthored,withWar-
renBennis, the corporate-leadership tome
Judgment: HowWinning LeadersMake Great
Calls
. “Change startswitha constituencyof one, anddriving change ismy job.”
By the accounts of top image consultants, Immelt hasmet his own high standard. He’s
firedoff a seriesof strategicnew initiatives thathavehelped transform thecompany’s image
from environmental laggard—muddied in an embarrassing pollution fiasco— to green-
business leader.
The image surgery has required years of
effort and millions of dollars in commit-
ments, but the payback is tangible; GE is
now known for offering some of the most
environmentally friendly products on the
market. Immelt has taken a company long
lauded as one of the best-run in the coun-
try — its track record is notable for Jack
Welch’s take-no-prisoners corporate revo-
lution— and achieved an evengreater can-
do reputation.
When it comes to a company’s image,
change is a constant, whether you like it or
not.There isnosafemiddleground tooccu-
py anddefend. Today’s number onemarket
mover is tomorrow’s stale has-been; bright
becomes faded seemingly overnight. And
whetheracorporationcaters topeopleor to
other businesses, it has to run just to keep
upwith customer expectations.
But that’s always been the case. The new
twist is this: Remaking a corporate image
used to revolve almost entirely around a
carefully crafted mass-market advertising-
and-promotional campaign. These days,
that’s impossible. Consumers are moving
into new spheres, their collective attention
migrating to social-networking sites, online
news and information, and virtual commu-
nities. Finding those consumers, andmak-
ing a company’s case to them, demands a
muchmore personal, one-on-one style that
challenges every imageguru tohelp rewrite
the rules for abrand-newgame.
“Peers’ opinions and individuals’ opin-
ions about a company are seen asmore be-
lievable than a company’s perception about
itself,” says Michael Thibodeau, managing
partner of Verse Group, a brand consul-
tancy. “Today, in search of true statements,
people go to blogs and other online sites to
Extreme
Makeover
In thebusinessworld,
image is everything,
and corporate face-lifts
canbebillion-dollar
questionmarks.
ByJohnCarroll
