"When has there ever been a divergence between shareholders and customers?" No one is out saying, "Let's screw this customer today, and if we do, our share price might go up 20 cents. They're just not doing it."
Welch here is attacking the anti-business element that tries to say that because a public company must bring the best value to their shareholders somehow ends up screwing the customer. As he said, "They're just not doing it."
Anybody worth their salt in business knows that to truly serve their shareholders and workers, they must give their customers the best products and services they're able to offer. Anything else would be business suicide.
This doesn't mean there isn't a great need to improve and streamline our businesses, but in the end, it must always help our customers, or someone else in the market will do it instead. Those doing it the best get the most business, it's as simple as that.
The reason I bring this up is to encourage those in business who are always looked upon by many in the dubious press as being some type of swindler to the customer. While I'm sure there will always been some bad apples in the bunch, overall, businesses that are run without integrity are eventually found out by consumers or other businesses, and are made to pay by customers bring their money and their business somewhere else.
When the market is left alone, it will correct itself without interference. This is just another call to offer the very best we can to our customers, as those that don't will eventually fall far behind you. No good business has the attitude that they try to fool the customer so they can get something short term out of them.
If we try that, we'll be on the wrong side of the corrective free market decisions.
Other Jack Welch Resources:
Jack Welch's advice to MIT Sloan students
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