“It’s a nice idea, but it strikes me as wishful thinking at best. Why would GE, with so much opportunity in its businesses around the world, and so many headaches from Wall Street (GE shares are barely unchanged from when Immelt took over six years ago), take on a high-profile gamble such as electric cars?”

answers itself.

Intel succeeds on the scale it does because its pace of innovation is world leading. When I was there at Intel Livermore Fab3 in the beginning of the 32bit 80386 in 1984, it was well known among Intel management that its secret sauce for success was world class rate of learning. Challenging itself continually.

Is it possible that GE’s stock problems are at root cause – from a kind of internal complacency? Supporting strongly a counter to your thesis of why they and other industrial behemoths SHOULD and MUST Innovate in substantive and significant ways, to thrive and succeed, not merely exist. One leads by doing good.

Self defeating attitudes, satisfaction with the status quo are self fulfilling recipes for mediocrity.

Realize this – Grove has it right, and he is a far bigger success than you care to acknowledge in your weak criticism of his brilliance, and amazing track record at Intel.

Easy to poke holes in your weak thesis, a recipe for complacent mediocrity.

American engineering at its best, is amazing, and has lead the world in this recent new industrial age of microtechnology (and other areas), and why not we go forth and lead in a cleantech revolution?

Laggards (irrespective of size) hardly profit without a change in vision and actualization of a positive and profitable future.

Every segment of the economic spectrum will be profoundly affected by the macro trends of the 21st century, and every segment will need to respond in the ways that it is best equiped to. And Bill… stop lecturing Andy Grove on the untapped capability of big companies. He has earned his stripes.