GE in the 1990s was all about looking outward. We traveled to other companies constantly to bring back best practices. It is one of the great ways to multiply the intellect in your organization.
Many times a business can get its best ideas from another business; that's one of the tremendous benefits of the information age we live in. All the great managers we talk about here have engaged in this practice.
The reason why this is able to be done with such openness, is with all the information out there, it still must be taken and broken down to be used in our unique circumstances in the business we serve.
It's that cross-pollination that allows such unique and successful ideas to be identified and eventually executed. It simply can't happen without the transfer of ideas across as many different companies and people as it can be done.
There's not that much that can be hidden anymore today, and so rather than try to do this with the illusion that nobody else knows about it, it's better to share information in a way that benefits all parties involved.
Obviously there are a few things that could take away our competitive advantage that we have to be careful with, yet I know of many companies that even announce what they're doing these days far ahead of accomplishing the task, without the fear that it will harm the company.
Again, most the time the majority of information that is exchanged will be adapted to the unique culture and purpose of a business, so it's usually never a problem to offer it.
Today it's more the execution than it is the information, as information flows so freely now, that those that are able to take it and make it into products and services that serve their unique markets are the winners. In general there's no more hiding of information, just those that know how to take it and adapt it to their own circumstances.
In the end, everyone that shares information makes the businesses a much better place, as we no longer live in a vacuum where everthing isn't touched by something else. All business benefits from the flow of information.
General Electric (GE) is one of the great companies, as well as Welch being one of the great business leaders of all time, because of the openness and flow of information and knowing what to do with it.
Other Jack Welch Resources:
Jack Welch's advice to MIT Sloan students
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