‘My second day as chairman, a plane I lease, flying with engines I built, crashed into a building that I insure, and it was covered by a (news) network I own.’ (GE’s CEO and Chairman, Jeff Immelt commenting on the events of 9/11) Who or what is General Electric – and why should I care? It is almost impossible to explain the influence, power, and mystique of General Electric (GE) to those born after a certain year, who have not lived in the US or studied its great companies. Before Microsoft, Apple, Google, and Amazon there was GE. Its brand stood for all that was successful about 20th century industrial America. GE was America, and America was GE. The love affair was mutual.

Deng: a man of unresolved contradictions. Folksy grandfather, pragmatic change agent, communist ideologue, cunning international negotiator, beloved family man, autodidact, brutal militarist, godchild of Marx and Lenin, relentless promoter of economic development, persecuted leader and lover of science and technology.

Almost every human being, and just about all organisations, want to be in control of what goes on around them –even if some won’t admit it. Without a degree of control there will be varying degrees of chaos. Chaos can be fun, but not when we do not want it. Contrary to some management writers, I believe that there is nothing wrong with exercising control, particularly if we are going to be held accountable by a boss or a board or where safety and well-being is at stake. But the fact is, control is often more a comforting illusion than a concrete reality.