To get a feel for how broadly Workout has spread, visit the consulting firm Web site at http://www.developingpeople-business.com/

workout/index.htm and look at the names of the firms for which it has conducted Workouts as well as the type of standardized material it makes available for firms that want to conduct a “do-it-yourself

” Workout.

There is a high likelihood that members of your class have participated in a Workout or Workout-like activity. If so, their experiences can add to your understanding of what happens at these sessions and how effective they are (or are not) in changing the organization and building its members’ leadership skills. One of the most widely copied innovations from Jack Welch’s tenure as CEO of General Electric (GE) was the “Workout” session.

Although generating ideas was an important objective, these sessions were intended to achieve other outcomes as well, including those of helping managers learn how to effectively serve as mentors for those working for them and as facilitators for effective actions on the parts of their employees. The sessions were designed to induce managers’ commitment to and ability to work in a bottom-up, fast-action organizational culture. This type of culture requires well-trained personnel throughout the firm for it to be effective both in generating innovations as well as in implementing or executing them. Thus,Workout is a process that amplifies the human capital in an organization by building creative activities around every person in the firm.

In this exercise, you will learn more about the GE Workout sessions and will discuss the ability of this concept to be used in all types of organizations.