Jeffrey Immelt has had a bad week. Last Friday the chairman and chief executive of GE announced a rare failure by the conglomerate to meet earnings expectations, and saw more than 10 per cent wiped off the stock price. This week, he was lambasted for that “screw-up” by Jack Welch, his predecessor and one of the world’s most admired business leaders. Berating Mr Immelt for missing the number is missing the point. A bigger problem is a corporate culture that puts such weight on this guidance.

GE’s plight is particularly severe. Although many US companies may fail to meet forecasts on a regular basis, part of the legend of GE is an almost uncanny ability to deliver precisely what it said it would do. Mr Immelt was also caught out by the implosion of Bear Stearns. He repeated the guidance on profit growth just days before the investment bank debacle so unnerved markets that GE could not execute the asset sales it had planned to use to hit the number.