Nothing is as changeless as change itself. By 1953 - Elfun's 25^th year - the Company had expanded tenfold and Elfun membership sixfold. Decentralization, if not complete, was in rapid motion. The Company no longer looked to, or could afford to look to, voluntary or spontaneous techniques for improvement; where a job needed doing, a manager or contributor was to be assigned responsibility and authority for doing it.

Elfun needed a new charter to guide its way through new conditions now prevailing. This was provided in a "Charge to Elfun" delivered by Ralph Cordiner, former Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, in a message to the Administrative Committee in September 1952.

"Elfun," he said, "is not an instrument of management - but it is an instrument of the individuals who comprise its membership. The real tradition of this Society, nourished by every Elfun, takes root in three kinds of performance: first, in doing one's individual assignment as well as possible; second, in cooperating with other Elfuns in our various geographic locations to achieve the highest degree of teamwork among chapter members - and, finally, in having an awareness that in every act and statement the Elfun is the responsible custodian of the character and reputation of the entire General Electric Company.

"Many have stated that Elfun's most important contribution lies in its being the keeper of the General Electric spirit. To say that is not enough. Together we share a tradition of integrity and public service some 60 years in the making, and its imprint is so deep upon our lives that it has constantly impressed itself upon our neighbors and fellow citizens."

Another former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Fred Borch, stated at the annual meeting of Chapter Chairmen in 1965 that:

"This climate or this environment, I would suggest to you, is General Electric's really most valuable asset. Sure we have good people, but we were all taken from the same pool as the people of all other companies, and yet I think we have something unique. And our uniqueness, I think, is due to this matter of climate; respect for one another and working at our jobs to have as much darn fun out of it as we possibly can. To this end, I again suggest to you that Elfun does make and can make a tremendous contribution.