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Margaret Heffernan

December 13, 2007

GE: What a disappointment

"I'd rather pick out the stuff between my toes and lick it off a Q-tip than go and work in that place." That was the enraged response from Jane when she went for a job interview. Jane (not her real name) used to work for me as a researcher when I was writing my first book, THE NAKED TRUTH so I know her work. She's smart, diligent, reliable and observant and I trust her response.

The company she was talking about? GE. Yes, the much-awarded, self-congratulatory GE. Being a researcher, she'd done her homework and approached with high hopes. It sounded like such a good fit: a commitment to training, to leadership, even (since Jack Welch) to diversity. But the reality was different.

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Posted by Margaret Heffernan at 9:08 AM | Add Comment

December 7, 2007

Talent is Everywhere (if you know how to look)

I spent last summer working in a laundry. No, I hadn’t lost my mind; I was filming an episode in a reality TV series in the UK, coming soon to ABC in the US. It’s called The Secret Millionaire and, in it, a millionaire goes ‘undercover’ to find great people or organizations they want to give money to. In my case, I went to Nottingham, known as the Gun Capital of Britain. I saw a lot that made me think about a lot but chiefly what I saw left me wondering how much talent we overlook.

The Bright Waters Laundrette, where I worked, is a community laundry. Staffed by volunteers, it is led by one paid manager, Joanne Brodsky. Now, Joanne is not what most people would identify as management material. She didn’t get much of an education, her grammar isn’t gracious, her presentation isn’t brilliant, she’s blowsy, has a rather blue sense of humor, smokes too much and can be quite rude. All of those surface qualities would probably have her out of most offices in the twinkling of an eye.

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Posted by Margaret Heffernan at 12:11 PM | Add Comment