"Today's niches, tomorrow's big things."
In meditating upon Welch's above comment, it comes to my mind that I think no matter how big or small a company is, we should be exploring some new area to find if there's something there we can serve and build on.
The quote by Welch above was sandwiched between his overall comment: "It's not inconsistent at all with wanting to be No. 1, No. 2. In a big company you'd better be out exploring new niches. Today's niches, tomorrow's big things. Those aren't inconsistent."
I think this is one of those areas that Welch is misunderstood in. He's obviously saying that there should be some tinkering with new areas that are not focused on the No. 1 or No. 2 spots in the market. But he's also saying that those areas won't be connected to the core businesses that made General Electric (GE) the success it was.
He also meant that the niche businesses could be No. 1 or No. 2, but in very small markets to begin with. That's what brings the consistency to his thoughts.
His concern was that they were highly focused on what they were best in today, and keeping those in the top positions, while at the same time putting feelers and experiments out there that gave them hints and ideas of what was going to be big down the road.
To me this is a balance we all need to have within business leadership to ensure that a company stays healthy and grows both today and in the future.
Other Jack Welch Resources:
Jack Welch's advice to MIT Sloan students
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