Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric, was famous for his view that GE should be number one or number two in every market they competed in.  Otherwise, they should exit the market altogether.

While this advice has been circulating in the business world for decades, it seemed timely to discuss it again.

At the heart of this sentiment is the idea that even GE, who competed in hundreds of markets, still had to choose.   And that there were markets that even GE, with its vast resources, could not be successful in.

In our experience, most organizations compete in too many markets.  But it takes incredible discipline not to chase every opportunity.

Our advice:  it is better to dominate One Market than dabble in a dozen of them.

Just because you can enter a market, doesn’t mean that you should.  Just because a market generates revenue, doesn’t mean that it generates profit.

Most organizations would be well served to re-examine the profitability of each market they compete in.  Prune the worst, and re-invest in growing the best.

Who knows, maybe you’ll become #One or #Two.

The Shift Points blog is designed for Fast Lane leaders who want to leave their competitors in the dust.

Shift Your Thinking … Accelerate Your Results.