Engage the media during crises - Welch

ACTIVELY ENGAGE: Welch (L) told Gulf business leaders to use the media in a time of crisis. (Getty Images)

Former General Electric CEO Jack Welch on Tuesday advised business leaders in the Gulf to proactively deal with the media during a crisis.

"The usual sign of a crisis is it's less then you think it is, and you think no one will know about it,” said Welch at the ‘Winning Strategies’ forum in Dubai.

“The minute you expose it, talk about it, it moves fast through the system and you're over it. If everybody knows, and everybody knows how you are dealing with it, you take away all the ammunition."

Welch, regarded as the 'CEO of the Century' by Fortune magazine, also spoke to the 150 eminent Gulf business leaders at the forum on comments he made about Jeff Immelt, his successor at GE, missing financial targets, which make international headlines.

Welch described Immelt as having "a credibility issue" after the US company posted an unexpected drop in first-quarter profits, stunning Wall Street.

"I was on television and I was talking about my success and then they asked me about GE's performance,” said Welch.

“I said they were doing a helluva job but they said he [Immelt] missed his number [targets]. I was joking with the host, who’s a friend, and we kept going back and forth, and he kept saying, 'But he missed his number'.

“I then said [Immelt] had a credibility issue, but still said that he done a helluva job. [The host] then asked me what if [Immelt] does it again, [misses his targets] and I said - I'll shoot 'im.

“Front page the next day - Jack Welch will shoot 'im.”

Welch returned to speak on GE-owned CNBC business television on April 17 and described Immelt as "a helluva CEO".

"I go on television the next morning and here's what I said. I tried to respond within 24 hours to a stupid comment,” said Welch.

“My first line in my column in BusinessWeek: 'I stepped in it.’ I was lucky - I had a platform to go on television and also my column.”

Delegates at the two-day seminar, largely Gulf chief executives and senior management, raised the recent issue of Dubai’s third-largest traded property company, Deyaar, where last week the chief executive, Zack Shahin, and two directors resigned, with Shahin detained and facing a financial investigation.

Shahin in an interview with Zawya Dow Jones on Monday said he was innocent of financial mismanagement and that others are to blame for wrong-doing at the company, in a crisis which threatens to tarnish the reputation of Dubai’s ongoing $300 billion real estate building boom and question its regulatory standards.

“The Deyaar CEO has been jailed, so exposing the problem might not be that easy,” said one UAE-based chief executive at the forum. “Perhaps you need one of these major crises in order to make speaking out possible.”

Upon hearing about Shahin’s incarceration and the ensuing financial probe, Welch asked the audience whether “opening up” in the region’s culture was suicide or even stupid.

“We have a situation here in the Middle East when dealing with a crisis to think, 'everything will be okay, let's keep everything hush-hush',” said on Emirati chief executive. “Sooner or later the rumours start to become true."

Welch, in concluding the two-day seminar, advised delegates to still engage with the media, to ensure their perspective is heard.

"It's a game - the media has to fill a blank page everyday," said Welch.

"I happen to believe if you have a story, get out there. Define yourself, define [your] situation - don't let them define you."

ArabianBusiness.com exclusively covered Welch’s seminar showcasing his 21 years’ experience as the head of GE where he grew the company’s market value from $12 billion in 1981 to $400 billion in 2001.

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