Leadership Matters: Appreciate GE's Immelt

Further, Immelt has never been one to try to hide his concerns with the ethics of corporate American leadership. He was one of the first to give up his bonus, nearly $12 million, although many have argued it was a publicity stunt. If so, it was a pretty expensive one since there was no pressure from anywhere to force the bonus refusal. (By the way, the other guy who used to run GE has not offered to give back any of HIS bonuses because of the situation he left behind.)

Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, just got back from a trip spending a week in a distribution center in Kentucky. Bezos claims that, when top management is faced with a difficult, complex or controversial decision that has to be made, they ask "What's better for the customer?" And of course, who better to have a feel for what the customer may want than the workers who spend their time fulfilling customer orders. Afterall, Amazon doesn't actually write the books, they distribute them. That's what they do.

Bezos in a warehouse? Clearly a publicity stunt? Maybe, except for the fact that (a) every new Amazon.com (AMZN Quote) employee has to spend time in fulfillment center in their first year and (b) all employees must do two days of service every two years. In the Harvard Business Review (2007), Bezos said he has to fulfill this requirement as well. While this is interesting, note this -- no interviews or photographs were granted during this one-week stint in Kentucky. None. It could actually be that he was there because he felt it was the right thing to do, not because he cared what the columnists would say.