GE is a good example of how a strategy can look good at first but cause problems later.

GE Capital became a big problem during the 2008 financial crisis, and the company became too complex to manage well. Poor performance led to a loss of investor confidence and a sharp decline in market value. This mix made GE harder to manage and less stable.

I also agree with Jim Collins' idea that you only really see how good a leader is after they leave. Jack Welch was seen as a great CEO, but some of GE's long-term problems didn’t surface until later.

The sources of value creation are financial services, home appliances and energy.

The GE lost $507 billions due to bad corporate strategy that was caused by 9/11 terrorist attack and 2008-2009 worldwide global financial crisis.

Diversification in the same type of industry is practical, however diversifying in the different industry is completely different business model and the fact that financial market completely crashed.

Yes, I agree with Collins’ hypothesis that greatness of the leader is known only after leader has departed. With Welch being a CEO, GE was most valuable company globally.  However, after two major market crisis the company was unable to recover with several different CEO’s, it was only going down and down.  By Collins it is not only matter when a CEO is running the company, but also after the CEO leave, that is why Welch said on interview he gave himself A for the operation of GE, but an F for the choice of successor.

I also think GE made some poor strategic decisions over time, especially with expensive acquisitions and growing too fast in too many industries. The company ended up with a lot of debt and lost a huge amount of market value.

For Immelt’s statement, I think he meant that mixing industrial businesses with financial services created too much risk for one company to manage. I agree with that because when the financial side struggled, it affected the entire company.

Finally, I partly agree with Jim Collins’ idea that leaders are judged after they leave. Jack Welch was seen as a great CEO for many years, but some of the long-term problems in GE only became clear later on.

GE lost so much market value because the company became too complex and risky. GE Capital made GE heavily exposed to financial markets, which hurt the company badly during the 2008 financial crisis. GE also made poor acquisition decisions, including Alstom and Baker Hughes, while carrying too much debt and struggling with cash flow. Instead of protecting GE, diversification made the problems harder to manage.

When Immelt said combining financial services and industrial companies was a “uniquely bad idea,” he meant that GE Capital made the company too dependent on financial markets. I agree because GE’s industrial businesses should not have been so tied to financial services. It helped during good times, but it made the whole company vulnerable when the economy weakened.

I agree with Jim Collins’ idea that a leader’s greatness is best judged after they leave. Jack Welch created strong results while he was CEO, but some risks he left behind hurt GE later. His comment about giving himself an “A” for operations but an “F” for choosing his successor shows that his leadership legacy is mixed. He was successful, but GE was not as strong long-term as it seemed.