General Electric Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt
Excerpts from keynote address at GV2004

"The entrepreneurial class failed badly in the late '90s when money became more important than innovation, technology, and building things that last. And we feel the resonance - part of our national lack of confidence today stems from that and I would submit to you that rebuilding this self-confidence that we can compete on a global basis rests in this room. Rests with venture capitalists, rests with entrepreneurs. Rests with waking up the innovative and entrepreneurial spirit in this country."

"We've ended a period where really the tide raised each boat universally. The next ten, fifteen, twenty years, there's going to be a lot of companies that do great and there's going to be some companies that do poorly. There's going to be some states that do great, some countries, some colleges. It's going to be a very differentiating, very discerning era of winners and losers so you've got to figure out how to make yourself a winner in an economy that isn't going to raise each boat universally."

Immelt's five keys to business success:

1. Have a robust business model that focuses on productivity, cash flow, and customer relationships, controlling costs and generating cash. "Cash flow is the foundation of the business. I can tell you how well a business is doing by looking at how it generates cash."

2. "Understanding what you do well" will help you create a strategy that is technically based, has multiple revenue steams, and owns the customer interface.

3. Every initiative should be focused on growth, while still controlling costs. In a competitive environment successful businesses must do both simultaneously. Pushing for a greater focus on technical excellence and services, GE has increased research and development spending from $3.5 billion to $5 billion.

4. Build a culture of innovation, place bets, and drive change through innovative projects. "Make size an advantage and know how to monetize and grow core competencies."

5. Invest in people. Good leaders know how to learn and how to teach both passion and process. GE invests a billion dollars a year in training to produce passionate growth leaders. "Change has a constituency of one - you. Good entrepreneurs are the ones who keep swimming."