Early in Jack Welch’s career at GE he was in charge of experiments with a chemical process. An unexplainable spark set off the explosion. Miraculously, no one was seriously injured. As the boss Welch was clearly at fault. The next day he met with a corporate group executive to explain why the accident occurred. A Ph.D. in chemical engineering from MIT, his boss concern was what Welch had learned from the explosion and how he could fix the reactor process. His reaction made a huge impression on Welch. “When people make mistakes, the last thing they need is discipline”, says Welch. Later in his career Welch made encouragement one of the key parts of his strategy of producing new leaders at GE.
