Where Would they Be Today Without Services?

Outside of pure services companies, corporate success – even survival – appears to be strongly correlated to success in services. At a recent in-house seminar, Dr. Stephen Brown of Arizona State University asked a group of senior vice presidents: “Who is the world’s biggest services company? He offered the following hints: American Express, Citigroup, GE, IBM and Marriott. Of the 60 or so in attendance, only two people guessed IBM or GE. People are surprised when they find out that among the world’s largest services giants, more than a few started out as product companies. Services at IBM