Former Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Whirlpool
Search every verified Jeffrey Fettig interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. In a 2012 keynote speech to the FIJI Academy in St. Louis, former Whirlpool Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Fettig offered leadership advice to undergraduate fraternity officers. Fettig described leadership as a privilege that must be earned daily, stating that leaders are "measured and judged" every day. He also discussed the transition from individual contributor to leader, noting that managing a larger group requires a different approach than managing a smaller one. Fettig characterized the current era as a "traumatic period" across economic, governmental, educational, and societal levels. He encouraged the audience to focus on preparation, defining luck as "when preparation meets opportunity." During the speech, Fettig also expressed skepticism about government statistics regarding the number of jobs held by college graduates, saying, "Plus it's from the government, so what do you expect."
“Leadership is a positive catalyst for change. The first word I start with is catalyst: you got to be the person who makes something happen that probably wouldn't on its own happen. Positive: I don't believe in fear or intimidation or leading because you got the big job. I think when you lead you need to be leading both...”
“Leadership is a privilege. It is earned. It is not entitled. And if whenever you forget that or whenever a leader forgets that, that's probably when they go down a path that they shouldn't. You got to earn it every day and people measure you and judge you every day.”
“I think it's absolutely the best definition of being lucky I've ever seen is that's when preparation meets opportunity. And so in my lucky equation, my job was preparation academically and I'll talk about my experience with the fraternity and so on, and I was fortunate I found a company and I was in a time and place wh...”
“The strength of our fraternity is a lot of things, but the continuation of success begins with Rush, pure and simple. Good talent usually beats bad talent. Good talent with good values with good coaching almost always beats mediocre or bad talent. But it's the point: it starts with talent, and that's what Rush starts w...”
This video is of Jeff Fettig's keynote speech at the 2012 FIJI Academy in St. Louis. In his speech, Jeff discusses a wide range of leadership tips. Many of these tips are directed towards undergraduate leaders in fraternities, but many others can be applied to management jobs and life as a graduate.
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