direction. According to Vice Chairman David Calhoun, “We decided that if this is what our customers want, let’s stop putting our heads in the sand, dodging environmental interests, and go from defense to offense.”3 Following GE’s announcement of its new strategic initiative, analysts raised questions regarding the company’s ability to make Ecomagination successful. They not only questioned CEO Immelt’s claim that green could be profitable as well as socially responsible, but they also wondered if Immelt could transform GE’s incremental approach to innovation to one of pursuing riskier technologies, such as fuel cells, solar energy, hydrogen storage, and nanotechnology.4 Other companies had made announcements of green initiatives, only to leave them withering on the vine when they interfered with profits. For example, FedEx had announced in 2003 that it would soon be deploying clean-burning hybrid trucks at a rate of 3,000 per year, eventually cutting emissions by 250,000 tons of greenhouse gases. Four years later, FedEx had purchased fewer than 100 hybrid vehicles, less than 1% of its fleet! With hybrid trucks costing 75% more than conventional trucks, it would take 10 years for the fuel savings to pay for the costly vehicles. FedEx management concluded that breaking even over a 10-year period was not the best use of company capital. As a result of this and other experiences, skeptics felt that most large companies were only indulging in greenwash when they talked loudly about their sustainability efforts, but followed through with very little actual results.5 CEO Immelt had put his reputation at risk by personally leading GE’s Ecomagination initiative. Skeptics wondered if the environmental markets would materialize and if they would be as profitable as demanded by GE’s shareholders. Would a corporate culture known for its pursuit of the Six Sigma statistics-based approach to quality control be able to create technological breakthroughs and new green businesses? If Immelt was correct, not only would GE benefit, but other companies would soon follow GE’s lead. If, however, he was wrong, Immelt would have led his company down a dead end where it would be difficulttorecoverfromthedamagetoitsreputationandfinancialstanding.Accordingto a25-yearveteranofGE,“Jeffisaskingustotakeareallybigswing...