If We Knew How Good
This was Going to Be
Jessie Leisten
Global Project Director,
Top Companies for Leaders,
Aon Hewitt
Radhika Gopalkrishnan
Partner and Practice Leader,
Leadership Consulting,
Aon Hewitt
Urvija Ghurye
Consultant,
Talent & Performance,
Aon Hewitt
An attendee at Aon Hewitt's Top Companies for Leaders
(TCFL) Winners Think Tank Event was overheard
saying, "If we knew how good this was going to be,
we would have brought more colleagues with us." This
was a common theme amongst the almost 90 client
contacts representing 35 winning companies being
honored - of which, 22 were global winners - at the
recent event held at the Crotonville (NY) campus of
GE's world-class Management Development Institute.
The goals for the event include providing participants
with a forum to discuss best practices from the Aon
Hewitt TCFL research, sharing lessons learned along
their talent journey, and energizing them to continue
raising the bar for their organization's leadership.
One of the most anticipated sessions was the fireside
chat, where Jeff Immelt, Chairman and CEO, General
Electric (GE) and Kristi Savacool, CEO, Aon Hewitt, shared
personal industry and leadership insights, perspectives and
experiences with a captivated audience. Kristi encouraged
attendees to participate in open discussions with the
prestigious academic and organizational thought leaders
who were serving as event speakers. She also highly
recommended that they engage in conversations
with their peers in attendance.
Attendees wasted no time, following Kristi's guidance
as they let their guard down and were open with one
another about the challenges they faced. Participants did
not have reservations about sharing too much information
and weren't concerned about revealing intellectual
property. Instead, they eagerly engaged in an open
dialogue about their struggles, as well as humbly talking
about their successes - all in the spirit of collaboration,
learning and networking.
Hot discussion topics included Performance
Management (PM), as a number of attendees talked
about ways their companies are modifying traditional
PM systems, as well as high potential identification
and development strategies, and how to implement
sustainable succession planning systems. Participants
felt encouraged by each other, with one gentleman
commenting, "This is the best think tank event I've ever
attended. The caliber of people here from the top leading
organizations far exceeds those who have participated in
similar events hosted by competitor firms."
After two full days of collaborating, learning and
networking, attendees departed having gained invaluable
industry contacts and with a profound appreciation for
ways to create and execute more impactful solutions
within their respective organizations. TCFL Think Tanks
take place periodically. For more information on Aon
Hewitt Top Companies for Leaders, visit www.aon.com/
topcompanies or reach out to Jessie Leisten, Global
Project Director.
"The common trait of CEOs
and business heads is that
they are learners. If you had
dinner with Warren Buffett, I
guarantee you, he is going to
ask you more questions than
he answers. You have to force
the Oracle of Omaha to answer
your questions because he is
so curious about the world."
Jeff Immelt, Chairman and
CEO, General Electric
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