Unless Culp already knows or figures it out quickly that the cancer that has been destroying GE is not basically business-based but an advanced toxic culture then he will fail as the others have.
More than a decade of promoting mostly unqualified sycophants up the management path combined with the long nurtured hubris of convincing themselves that the Crotonville Factory could actually “manufacture” leaders. I-Melt could be a poster child of this cancer along with most of the others of his inner circle. I-Melt’s poor leadership, misplaced focus, and just poor business talents have masked the advancement of the underlying rot in employee trust in upper management. The EB ranks are filled with unqualified talent in regards of both technical and leadership capabilities.
Having spent 30 plus years with GE I have seen the “Leadership” in the company degrade due to the “brilliant” company initiatives like the highly acclaimed but disastrous 20-70-10 from the business Phenom known affectionately as Neutron Jack. This system of terrorizing professionals into back-stabbing, eat- or-be-eaten behavior only ended up driving those experienced people with souls away from ever wanting to man those management positions. This vacuum was quickly filled by those folks whose only goal was to climb the management ladder, and would do almost anything to get there. As this snowball gained momentum the numbers of these folks only ensured that there would be another level of like-minded “go-getters” following their lead… The results of numerous (and good lord there were an unending number of them) company initiatives that did little to give the hardworking technically-driven workforce a feeling that they even mattered but did send highly talented, technology experts running for the doors.
The remaining folks, by circumstance, were either forced or willing to feast on the company BS while washing it down with the company Kool-Aid.
This brief summation should in no way be considered a worthy comprehensive critique of how GE screwed the pooch but a salvo for those who may, wrongly, try to gloss over how it could have gone so wrong.
Good luck to all who have had their life's work and careers put in jeopardy due to the poor behavior of this once great company. It was great while it lasted...