I always wanted to be a leader who saw everyone; and tried to learn their story. When I was CEO, so many people helped me. I never got a chance to say “thanks.”
One of them was Ed Galanek. Ed provided security for me while I was CEO. He died last week of esophageal cancer that he contracted while he served as a New York police officer after 9/11. Ed was a great partner and friend.
I met Ed at NBC where he led security for Saturday Night Live and CNBC. Early on, Ed joined me on a few global trips. We hit it off and he became my main man.
I never took security for granted. GE was into a lot of activities, some risky. I received more than my fair share of death threats and went to a few challenging places. It was nice to have guys like Ed around.
I spent a lot of time with Ed. I traveled constantly, frequently outside the U.S. This is a vignette from my book, “Hot Seat.”
“Colleagues of mine who traveled with me to Bangladesh will laugh that I’m touting the virtues of patience. Because while I truly believe that a lengthy time horizon is essential when doing business in emerging markets, I was often anything but patient while actually visiting those markets. Ed Galanek, my trusted security guy who traveled everywhere with me, loves to tell the story of how, one morning in Dhaka, we found our driver and set off for a high-level meeting. Our destination was less than two miles away, but suddenly, our vehicle was at a standstill. I looked out the window to see five lanes of traffic squeezed into three lanes of road.
“Hey, Ed,” I said from the back seat. “What’s going on?”
To understand Galanek’s and my dynamic, you have to know that Eddie is a former cop who could have easily been a stand-up comedian. The son of a hotel doorman from the Bronx, he talks with his hands, and he’s impossible not to like. On 9/11, Galanek was among the first responders, but when I met him, he’d been manning the door at Saturday Night Live for years. If Eddie had a dollar, he’d give you fifty cents. But he also loved to give me a hard time. So when I asked why we weren’t moving, he rolled down his window and craned his neck.
“Huh,” he said, milking it. “It looks like we’re in traffic.”
I was itchy. I like moving forward. “You think we can walk from here?” I asked. Eddie turned around. It was his job to keep me safe. He’d seen this movie before.
“I want to advise you, Jeff, that we are currently in a safe and secure vehicle,” he said, his voice dripping with condescension. “Outside of this vehicle in Dhaka. I will support you in your endeavor to walk. I’ll point you in the right direction. I’ll try to keep an eye on you, and you’re taller than all of these cars, so I’m pretty sure I’ll see you. But here’s where you and I go our separate ways.”
All right, I grumbled. “Enough already.”
Let me tell you about Ed.
Ed was smart. He was quick to read situations and people. He took the time to understand the GE businesses. Further, we would occasionally hire other NYPD alums...they too were smart, and very much fit our culture.
Ed could “rep.” As we traveled, Ed would meet GE sales teams, customers, and government officials. He reflected my character: friendly, hardworking, and curious. We traveled to dozens of countries together, sometimes seeing hundreds of people in a day. He would always play his part.
Ed added capacity. Because of Ed, I could work harder. The role of your support team isn’t to shrink the load; it is to free up capacity for even more work. He was one step ahead and I trusted his judgment.
Ed was loyal. Loyalty is underrated. There is this school of thought that you should surround yourself only with “agnostics”...the so-called “truth tellers;” and that makes sense. It is also nice to have problem-solvers who don’t pass judgment. Most times, as a CEO, you are more vulnerable than powerful. What is loyalty? The best people around you respect your intentions, but don’t expect perfection. I knew Valerie Jarrett when she supported President Obama. She always protected him, even when he made a mistake. Leadership is hard. It is nice to have a few people who care only about the enterprise, not themselves.
Ed was fun. He had a million stories and knew sports statistics. In 2010, my daughter graduated from college and we climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro. My lead director said I could only go if I took a security person. I paid for Ed to go. This became one of the great times of our life. Ed was a basket-case physically, but by night would tell jokes and dance with the sherpas.
Ed knew people. He was a great judge of character and could spot phonies. He had a nickname for everyone. They were meant to be fun, but were also descriptive and relatable. He called Joe Mastrangelo “The Answer,” because he was so well versed in the power business. Ed meant this as a compliment to Joe, and a way to connect him to the global team. Keep someone close who can watch others when the spotlight isn’t on.
After retirement, we remained close. We would always compare fantasy football teams or talk politics. Ed was one of the most interesting people I ever met.
I will miss Ed.
TLV Tips
1. Get to know (all of) the people around you. Judge substance and not title. Go places without a big crew of handlers so that you can meet more people. Respect the people in your life who volunteer to serve, not looking for credit. I am lucky; I was surrounded by people who allowed me to work.
2. Surround yourself with culture. When you are on the road, others judge your group before they see you. If you are surrounded by jerks, you look like a jerk. But if your group is open and friendly, more doors will open.
3. Repay loyalty. Ed stayed loyal even when others trashed me. This probably cost him some work. I tried to repay his grace.
4. Find space and safety. Being a CEO is a lonely job and you are always on. Ed allowed me to have moments where I could be a “regular guy”...talk sports, laugh...things I needed to recharge.
A few days before he passed, Ed and I had this text exchange. He was in hospice. They were feeding him through a tube.
Me: “Ed, are you getting any sustenance?”
Ed: “If you call a rash on my balls sustenance, then yes.”
Edgy and human to the end.
I am a Christian and believe in everlasting life. Our destiny is a combination of faith and deeds. Ed had plenty of deeds; he touched a lot of lives. Aspire to “say thanks” to all the people who helped you. “Thanks, Ed...I love you.”
Let’s keep exploring.
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