Make a Big Company Small
Build human connection until people see one another instead of abstractions
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 97%
Making a large company feel small requires deliberately strengthening its human connections. Immelt created recurring, distraction-free time with individual leaders, then reworked training and communication systems to encourage more fluid relationships throughout GE. The mechanism is straightforward: sustained personal contact replaces abstract perceptions of roles, reporting lines, financial metrics, and corporate messaging with direct knowledge of other people. That visibility strengthens trust, makes communication easier, and helps employees feel attached to leaders and colleagues. The practice works through repetition rather than a single retreat or announcement. Leaders model the desired depth of connection, while organizational systems make it easier for similar relationships to form across levels and boundaries.
Origin
Extracted from Masters in Business. After the financial crisis, Jeff Immelt began meeting one leader for dinner and an uninterrupted Saturday session every month, maintaining the practice for eight years.
Core principles
- 01Connection sits at the core of culture
- 02Uninterrupted time creates deeper communication
- 03Leaders must relate to people rather than organizational abstractions
- 04Repeated personal contact makes a large institution feel navigable
- 05Training and communication systems should reinforce connection
How to run it
- 1
Establish a Connection Cadence
Create a recurring schedule for direct conversations with people across the organization. Protect the time as seriously as an operating review.
Pro tip Rotate across functions, geographies, seniority levels, and perspectives.
Watch out Only meeting familiar high performers will reinforce existing blind spots.
- 2
Remove Operational Noise
Hold conversations without phones ringing or routine interruptions. Give participants enough time to move beyond rehearsed updates.
Pro tip Use a meal or informal setting before the deeper working session.
Watch out Do not turn the session into another performance evaluation.
- 3
See the Person
Explore the leader's experiences, concerns, ambitions, and view of the organization. Relate to the individual rather than treating them as a box on an organizational chart.
Pro tip Ask what they see that senior leadership is missing.
Watch out Connection fails when the executive dominates the conversation.
- 4
Retool Organizational Systems
Adapt training, leadership forums, and communication channels to create similar connections across the company. Make connection a system rather than an executive privilege.
Pro tip Design cross-boundary programs around shared work instead of passive presentations.
Watch out Do not confuse more corporate broadcasting with more connection.
- 5
Sustain the Practice
Repeat the cadence long enough for trust and communication patterns to change. Use what is learned to improve how leaders and teams interact.
Pro tip Track recurring themes and close the loop when conversations lead to action.
Watch out A short-lived initiative can deepen cynicism about leadership accessibility.
In the wild
Once a month, Immelt invited a leader to dinner on Friday and then spent five or six uninterrupted hours with that person on Saturday. He continued for eight years and paired the practice with changes to GE's training and communication systems.
→ The sustained contact strengthened connection and encouraged more fluid communication inside a very large company.
A CEO of a global software company schedules one monthly deep session with a regional or functional leader. The conversation excludes slide decks and focuses on the person's experience, hidden organizational friction, and relationships needed to solve it. Themes then inform leadership training and cross-team forums.
→ Remote leaders gain access and trust while executives receive richer information than dashboards provide.
Common mistakes
Treating Connection as an Event
One retreat or listening tour cannot create durable relationships. Connection becomes cultural only through a repeated leadership practice.
Substituting Corporate Messaging
Announcements and advertisements communicate at people but do not allow people to see and understand one another.
Leaving Systems Unchanged
Personal access to the CEO has limited reach unless training and communication systems spread connection across the organization.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for senior leaders in large, distributed, or rapidly growing organizations where employees feel remote from decision-makers.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal as a substitute for fixing structural problems such as poor incentives, unsafe conditions, or unclear accountability.
From the transcript
“At the core of any culture is connection”
“That's how you make a big company small.”
“You make you make a big company small by by having people see other people and not or charts or financial metrics or advertisements or…”
From the episode
Jeff Immelt on Crisis Management and Leadership (Podcast)
Jeff Immelt