Why can't large companies maintain their competitive advantages

Friday, August 26, 2022 Francisco 0 Comments

From Scott Davies book , Lessons from the TITANS


In any event, a few days before the tragedies of 9/11, Welch hit mandatory and turned over the reins to his chosen successor, Jeffrey Immelt

Dallas 2003 

I asked Jeffrey Immelt about his life as a CEO of GM 

"Do you wait in line at the Hotel Check -in?"

"No, my forward team handles it and hands me a key when I walk in"

"Do you use the Hotel Gym?"

"No, my forward team flies my fitness equipment down and sets it up in my room"

There is nothing that destroys a culture faster than wasteful spending and celebrity behavior among the executives. Every example of corporate failure we know about included exactly that. What employees see they start to emulate.


The airplane fiasco reported by the Wall Street Journal in 2017, where a backup jet followed him on business trips in case the main jet had problems, exposed just a small piece of excess. In selling NBC in 2009, for example he had an entire Golf course shut down so he and Brian Roberts from Comcast could negotiate in private while playing. Roberts viewed that as highly unnecessary 


It's human nature: any company that thinks it's special, that the ordinary rules don't apply , will eventually stop doing the exceptional work that brought about it's initial success. The distractions of success and celerity can be overwhelming.










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