N( IIUII~IEUII~ !IIPI~IEIIIIINews and Information for G.E. Informalion Services People

Just over 90 top performers of G EInformation Services worldwide,together with their spouse orcompanion, flew into Barhahos toallend Markmakers X on Tuesday 24March. This select group of people hadearned their place to attendMarkmakers by delivering perfor-mance during 1986 which was wellbeyond their own personal objectivesand targets both in quantitative andqualitative terms. They new into thesunshine of Barbados to receive anappropriate reward for theircontribution to the organisation duringthe preceding year.

As many of them came across theapron at Bridgetown Airport, theybegan to realise the inappropriatenessto most of them of their heavier clothingbrought from home, because thesteamy climate of Barhados wasdelightfully-HOT! They werewhisked away to Sam Lord's Castle, thehotel on the southern coast of the Island

MAR K M A K E R S

I.'~·~IIIIISam Lord's Cas lIe - Barbados

CIIIIIIIIIFIIIII(August 1987

where the Markmakers event was held.The hotel, unquestionably the top

hotel on the Island. is laid out across alarge area, with virtually all of therooms having ocean views. The Mark-makers could see from their bedroombalconies. the beautiful translucentblue of the Caribbean sea crashingagainst the pure white sand of theBajan beach. After arriving at thehotel, many quickly changed into lightclothes, and, with a Planters Punch intheir hands, began to adiust to the verydifferent environment of palm trees,exotic flowers and fine weather. withremarkable rapidity.

The hotel is built around theoriginal house owned by SamLord,whowas a famous 18th century pirate andwhich still stands in the grounds of thehotel containing many fine rooms stillused by guests. Following the Welcomedinner, which was held by the lawns ofthe castle building on the Tuesdayevening. Tony Craig. President and

Markmakers X - Bardados

CEO G E Information Services,welcomed the entire group.

At a presentation the followingmorning. he introduced Tom Whidden.Tom was the tactician for the USAmericas Cup Team who recentlysucceeded in returning the famoustrophy to the United States fromAustralia. Tom talked to theMarkmakers and guests giving a veryinteresting slide presentation of theevent itself but with some underlyingmessages he reviewed the previousAmericas Cup contest with Australiawhere for the first time in history, theAussies wrested the cup from theStates. He explained what it had beenlike for them in the US team to sufferdefeat at the hands of the Australians,and then to have to deal with theprocess of coming back from behind. Hedrew many analogies between theexperiences that he had as theirtactician. and those often experiencedin business. and indeed, experiencedby G E Informa tion Services. Hestressed the necessity to deal with newsituations, to accept that they hadfailed to win the Cup previously, but tofocus on winning in the future. Hestressed the need for cohesive teamwork. but above all, the necessity ofhaving that winning vision, becausewithout that, there can be no winning.Through their competence in delivery.he felt the US team had been able towinthe Americas Cup back from theirAustralian friends dmYn.Wlder.

Following Tom's fascinating talk.the Group drove to the Western coastand then boarded the Jolly Roger, anoriginal five masted sailing ship for acruise along the shoreline of the Islandwhile they had lunch and generallymade the most of the SWl and sea torelax and enjoy themselves.

In the evening. following the pira tescene set by the Jolly Roger trip in theafternoon. the Group attended ashipwreck party held on the beach bythe hotel. Everyone a ltending the partycame dressed in shipwreck costume.some looked decidedly more wreckedthan others! There was Caribbeanentertainment during the evening withlimbo dancing which left most of theaudience breathless. The limbodancl;rs invited the more plucky ones tocome and give it a try and many foundout that their kneee joints were notquite so supple as they had thought!Nevertheless, it provided a good deal ofamusement for everybody there.

The next day saw a significant testof intelligence and driving skills,con:tbined with navigational expertisefor the Group. In fours, the Group tookmini makes. a small jeep. on a drive

Mr & Mrs Jack Griffin on board the JollyRoger. MAR K M A K E R SJackGriffin was honoured by thePresident & CEO.Tony Craig during themeeting when he was presented with acommemorative signet ringacknowledging Jack as the only person tohave won a place on all10 Markmakersevents. A very special award for a veryspecial man - you can just see the ring inthe picture above.

Jamie Graham following Louis Lampe- not looking like bankers!

Jack Mulford showing a little legin the background.

First night reception at Sam Lord's Castle.

Claudi Santiago - getting in the mood.

Daniel Schultz captain of the Jolly Roger.

from one end of the Island, right to theother. Each Group was given a set ofclues to help them find their way alongthe route, All the clues had to beanswered correctly in order to win theFunfari contest, as it was called. Fiftycars set off over a period of an hour anda half and journeyed their way alongthe tiny roads of Barbados, somefinding the answers to the clues, othersnot caring too much but just generallyenjoying the beautiful scenery and thegood weather. The end of the Funfariwas lunch at a seaside restaurant righton the northern tip of the Island, theopposite end from Sam Lords Castle.Many people felt that the Funfari initself was perhaps the highs pot of thewhole Markmakers event, providing asit did, a very relaxed way for the entireGroup to take a look at many parts oftheIsland which they would not otherwisehave seen, but to do so in a totally non-touristic way, and at the same time tohave fun answering the questions set tohelp them navigate.

Friday morning saw a range ofoptions availa ble to the Group to take inseminars on such things as selfdefence, Bajan cookery, drink mixing,or just simply to play any kind of sportthat they might wish. Many indeed,decided to play the sport of sunbathingwhich by this time had become verypopular! Fridaywasa day of relaxationand many people felt that they weregetting into the Bajan lifestyle to theextent that relaxation was the thing todo by this time on the trip.

On the Friday evening came themain spectacular event of Mark-makers X. A formal Gala Dinner washeld that night with all of the ladies inbeautiful evening dresses and thegentlemen wearing black tie anddinner smoking jackets. Entertainmentwas provided at the dinner by WayneCOvington and his 20 man Big Band,with cabaret being provided by thehumourous juggler, Michael Davies.Michael Davies whose internationalreputation has been growing in recentyears, amazed the audience with thevirtuosi ty of his juggling which includesjuggling with a knife, a cleaver and anegg, together with his very sharp witand humour. The evening finished verylate, and for some, the sun had alreadyrisen before they wended their waytowards their rooms.

Saturday morning saw departurefor most people from Barbados and ahappy conclusion to what had been anenjoyable and pleasurable event for allconcerned. A fitting reward to thosewho helped make 1986 a strong year forthe Company.

International Communication Workshop ...

Europe's leading change agent, theLeadership and CommunicationWorkshop broke new ground in May. Ajoint EuropeanlU.S. Workshop tookplace in Verona, Italy, led by Larry DeMonaco and Angus Reynolds andsupported by Vice Presidents JohnSirlgmore and Giuliano Venturi. Theevent heralded another step towardsthe Company's vision of one globalorganisation and led to the notsurprising conclusion that the twoareas are not that different when itcomes to viewing the Global Informa-tion Services Business. Whilst theparticipant's of both Areas found itmore difficult to identify with the goalsand direction of the others' VicePresident, they had little difficulty inachieving open, frank and valuablecommunication with each other,

John Sidgmore.

particularly in the four consultingsessions where Company leadership,its vision and direction. and the changeneeds the organisation as a wholefaces. were debated. The workshop'sobjectives of lateral and verticalcommunication were fully realised.The significant difference was the easewith which the two cultures merged toseek one identity. To quote one USparticipant:

"In the sessions with the VP'sindividually, I saw them respond toissues and take action items; in thecombined session I saw clear signs thatwe might be all pointing the same wayafter all. This has not always been so."

The leadership and communica-tion workshop is a process of inter-active communication designed toencourage people to openly communi-cate with each other in a team

Mirko Bassetti andMarie Noelle Gibon.Franco Dell-Dca in pensivemood.

Giuliano Venturi.

Lending Support to Integration and Change

Herbert Steinbach. Larry de Monaco. Lin Register. Claudi Santiago. Giuliano Venturi. John Sidgmore, Mirko Bassetti, SilvioCangiano. Franco Dell-Dca, Marie Noelle Gibon. Manfred Berner. Jere Maciain, Angus Reynolds, Caroline North. Janice Orcutt.Maurizio Ammannato. Izzy Franco.

environment. to take ownership inraiSing issues which are too oftenignored or misunderstood and as agroup to openly speak up to the VicePresident on issues of concern or whereclarification is sought. It also serves asa forum for ideas and creativity fromthe field.

The process begins by seeking todevelop the meaning of leadership andhow different styles of leadership areeffective or ineffective. The workshopgoes on to encourage people to seektheir own vision of their's and the.company's future and ends with astrategic analysis of the organisationusing the Noel Tichy strategic analysisrna trix as the basis for communica tingissues to Giuliano. At each stage of thetwo and half day workshop maximumuse is made of team consultation andobtaining consensus views.

The European organisation hasnow run eight workshop~ and the ninth

is planned for October this year. Theextended group consulting session inVerona proved so successful thatfuture workshops will become orien-tated to team approaches - buildingtrust between groups, invitingownership of issues and the breakingdown of individual and organisationalresistance to change.

"The workshop has evolved sincewe first started in August 1985", saysAngus Reynolds. "The module remainsflexible in order to respond to shiftingpatterns of issues and constant changerequirements. It is only recently wehave seen the team building oppor-tunity float to the surface as a naturalingredient for future workshops usingthe advanced techniques developed inCrotonville ...

It is the communication need thatexposes lack of teamwork andcommunica lion remains the primarygoal of the workshop. across all

borders. In this particular workshop itseems that progress was made:

"If the objective was to movetowards a common goal or vision, Ibelieve we made good progress, to theextent that those participating in theclass could see a commonality of pur-pose and direction - and can clearlypass that word on".

The continued use of the workshopas a unifying and issue-raising vehiclewas more than justified in anotherstatement from a member of the class:

., - overall very worthwhile frommy point of view - purely from theaspect of being forced to stop and thinkabout issues which normally are eitherignored or, worse. misunderstood".

All things being equa!, the samegroup will reconvene in 9 months timein a follow-up program in the UnitedStates.

Executive Briefing Centre

Principal Meeting Room.

The Amstelveen Executive BriefingCentre, conceived by Tony Craig,opened its doors during the autumn of1984 and has hosted over 150 high levelmeetings since then.

The Centre provides an idealenvironment for senior level clientcontact with its high quality decor. itscomprehensive audio-visual equip-ment and its co-location with theAmstelveen Supercentre.

"The availability of SupercentreOperations and Network Communi-cations Centre staff adds considerablevalue to our meetings," says JohnDeacon. ESC Manager. "These peopleput on a very professional show forvisiting clients and I've been impressedby their ability to adjust the content oftheir tours of the Supercentre facility tosuit the level of visitor."

The EBC has been used for avariety of events ranging from G.E.Information Services capabilitiespresentations. through press briefings.to detailed proposal presentationsinvolving decision makers, key recom-menders and influencers.

"We try to make it easy for fieldsales staff to conduct these meetings byspending time discussing and refiningmeeting agendas. by orchestratingpresenters and their material and byena bling the hosting country to specifymeeting logistics and presentationequipment using one simple QK11 file:'John comments. "Above all. we try to beflexible and that flexibility can take theform of changing clients' flightarrangements during a meetingthrough to organising a professionalphotographer at 40 minutes noticewhich was requested by the Presidentof a visiting French client company."

The EBC has proven to be a"barometer" for the changing natureof our business. The subject matter oftoday's meetings reflects the market-place's growing interest in DalaCommunications technology in theform of Managed Network Services.Electronic Data Interchange and,among our banking clientele. aburgeoning interest inG.E.InformationServices as a vehicle for their sales ofCorporate Banking Services. Seniorlevel managers visiting the Centre areseemingly united in their quest todevelop the reflexes of their respectiveorganisations through the applicationof Communicalions technology. During

a recent visit to Amstelveen membersof the senior management of a majorEuropean airline shared with us theirfears regarding the then loomingspectre of airline de·regulation inEurope. In their collective view thesurvival of their business dependedupon improvement in customer servicelevels, especially in the air freightmarket. They recognised that theyneeded to invest heavily in their DataCommWlications capability in order tocompete effectively with the U.S.airlines in a de·regulated Europeanmarket. Similarly, the management of alarge European bank explained thatinternational electronic bankingservices formed a major part of theirstrategy to offset Sovereign Debt lossesin Third World countries. In each ofthese cases G.E. Information Serviceswas being examined at close quartersas a future business partner.

Client meetings of this type in theEBC have contributed to our closingsome very large sales. Clients such asSNCAR in France, Caterpillar inSwitzerland and Belgium, ICCH in theU.K. and GBA in the Netherlands haveeach been hosted in the Centre. In JohnDeacon's view: "The Executive Brief·ing Centre saves a number of sales callsthrough our being able to assemble

Seppo Auvinen - Nokia.

expertise covering our full range ofservices. This results in few questionsremaining Wlanswered and objectionsbeing overcome on the spot. If you addto that our ability to project image in afacility which includes a briefing roomequipped with an impressive array ofaudio·visual equipment and a relaxedhospitality area capable of providinghaute·cuisine, you've got a highlyeffective formula:'

In recognition of the effectivenessof the Amstelveen Executive BriefingCentre, a similar facility was opened inthe Rockville Maryland Centre in Mayof this year. This Centre was conceivedand built in under six months and itscurrent occupancy level is due in nosmall part to the energy and resolve ofJohn Roeder who is the Manager of theRockville Executive Briefing Centre.Each of these Centres represents theresponse of G.E. Information Servicesto the need for a venue where expertcommercial and technical minds maymeet.

Nokia Information Services (Nokia)annoWlced recently its plans toestablish a proceSSing centre inFinland with operations currentlyscheduled to commence during thesecond half of 1988.

This centre will enable Nokia toprovide domestic electronic datainterchange (EDI) services to Finnishkey industries such as distribution,trade, transportation, electronics,chemicals and paper manufacturing.In addition, it is proposed that Nokia'scentre will be interconnected to the GEInforma tion Services worldwide tele·proceSSing network thus providinginternational access to Nokia Finnishclients.

In supporting the plan of itsdistributor in Finland, GE InformationServices has expressed its willingnessto make available to Nokia, Wlderlicence and on terms and conditions tobe agreed upon between parties, thesame software curently used by GE

Using the AmstelveenExecutive BriefingCentre

As soon as a visit to the EBC is con·side red appropriate for a given salesopportunity, please contact theAmselveen EBC Administrator, SandyLunter or EBCManager, John Deaconand check availability.

The EBC telephone number is(Country code: 31) 20 5471531 andSandy's Quik-Comm address in 'EXEC:

Once a booking has been made andmeeting content decided John andSandy will usually organise additionalpresenters, Supercentre tour guides,Executivegifts, transport, catering andpresentation equipment.

For first time users of the facility,a rehearsal session the day prior to themeeting taking place is stronglyrecommended.

Information Services in providing itsEDI*Express Service to its worldwideclient base.

This is the same ED! service thatNokia will market in Finland Wlder itsexisting distribution agreement withGE Information Services, Wltil suchtime as its domestic proceSSing centreis commissioned.

EDI*Express Service is designedto enable companies to electronicallyexchange documents in a secureenvironment quickly and reliably. Suchdocuments include invoices, purchaseorders, freight bills, bills of lading,order acknowledgements, and othertrading partner documents. Thiscapability is especially important inany trading rela tionship where largenumbers of documents must changehands. For example, a typical inter-national trade business transactioncan require the exchange of more than40 different documents among over twodozen trading partners.

Markmakers is the premiere recogni-tion event for GE Information Services-Worldwide. As such, the aim is for itto be an elite recognition for a limitednumber of people who have contri-buted in a significant way beyond theirpersonal objectives, to the success ofthe organisation.

Markmakers XI is going to be heldfrom 22-26 March 1988 at the PierreMarques, Acapulco, Mexico. Now isthe time for you to give of your very bestin order to be there as part of that groupnext year. The Markmakers rules arevery simple and are laid out below;

There will be two steps in theprocess of winning a place onMarkmakers Xl:L Qualifiers

Qualifiers are all individuals whomeet or exceed their assignedtargets for the year 1987.

2. WinnersSelection of winners will be madeby senior management from thequalifiers and based not only onthe target achievement. butalsoonthe quality and difficulty of thisachievement. A very limitednumber of non-targelted peoplewill be selected based onoutstanding contributions to theoverall business results of theCompany.Markmakers is an event for the top

top contributors and as such. only thebest of the best should get to go.

See you in Acapulco. Go for it!

General ElectriC Information ServIces Companyfib. FOR G.E. INFORMATION SERVICES LTD. EMPLOYEES ONLY International Updata is published by

GENE RA L W' ELEe T RIC G.E.INFORMATlON SERVICES LTD. ShorUands. Hammersmith for International employees." S A Editor: Peter Maxam. Printed [n England by Finsbury Printing Ltd-London