"And a big part of the service GE is selling is itself."
The vision that Jack Welch saw for General Electric (NYSE:GE), and to this day is paying huge dividends for the company, was the need to build up its service business across a number of disciplines.
What was remarkable, is he basically mined the efficiencies and strengths of the company, and developed services based upon the skills they applied to their own businesses, and brought them to companies outside their targeted markets.
Why he could do this is because it dealt with issues related to any type of business. For example, the company would take the ways it boosted efficiencies in all their businesses, and teach other companies how to do the same.
This is the type of differentiator that very few companies are willing to take on and offer to another; it's outside their purpose and vision. In the case of Welch, he took General Electric fully into the services industry because he knew what was sold in the box alone would no longer make it.
Businesses they've worked with said General Electric had become a part of their team through the effort. They were almost alone in the field, and had few with their track record that could offer other companies the same.
It's similar to the Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS) offering customer service training to those outside their field, and creating huge streams of income by simply becoming consultants and packaging and selling what they already know.
There is still a huge market for this type of strategy across the world waiting to be tapped.
What is even better, is the profits in this are huge, as once things are put together, they can be repeated over and over again for very little cost. It's another reason why Welch was one of the greatest business leaders of all time, as he was always far ahead of those he competed against in seeing where the business world was headed. General Electric is still benefitting tremendously from his leadership.
Other Jack Welch Resources:
Jack Welch's advice to MIT Sloan students
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