How did 3M in one year pass the likes of GE and IBM in leadership development?
Infrastructure was already installed when I arrived. But I didn’t always agree with Jim (McNerney, now Boeing CEO). He moved senior people around a lot. They hopped from job to job every year or year and a half. I slowed the pace. They have to be in the job long enough, not only for their successes to visit them, but for their failures to visit them. We all have both. When people move too often, there is more thought given to the next place, not to developing people and developing relationships. I didn’t like the merry-go-round. I changed that immediately. Q: How long should talented people stay in one job? A: There’s a point somewhere around four years where you need to get refreshed.
