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Welch is candid about his interest in striking some sort of deal involving NBC. While he refuses to comment on reports that GE is considering the sale of a 49% stake in the network to Time Warner, he acknowledges that "we've had discussions about every combination with everyone." That includes Walt Disney chairman Michael Eisner, who also has been eyeing NBC. Welch described his conversations with executives like Time Warner chairman Gerald Levin as "two guys groping, to see what fits." But he strongly hinted that he intends to keep at least some control of the network. "The outright sale is not something that is high on our priority list," Welch says.
The lessons of NBC and Kidder might suggest that GE does best when it sticks to markets that it already knows. But allegations directed at the company's industrial-diamond and jet-engine businesses show that GE has been unsteady there as well. Insisting that GE had done nothing wrong, Welch refused a Justice Department offer in February to settle the diamond probe with a plea of no contest. "We think our chances of winning are good," he says, "but you never know before a jury."
With regard to jet engines, Welch said GE notified the Federal Aviation Administration about an employee's safety concerns in 1992, before the engineer went to the FBI as a whistle-blower. The FAA and the Defense Department investigated, Welch said, and found no problem. "So far on this one, everything appears fine," he adds. "Air Force One has those engines. The President is flying everywhere with them. And everyone feels comfortable."
That is how Welch wants everyone to feel about GE, which often appears to be his lengthened shadow. "The biggest tests in business are not about how great men handle success but about how good men handle crises," says G.G. Michelson, a longtime Macy's executive and an 18-year member of the GE board. As Welch makes his case and marshals his papers in GE's executive conference room, this highly celebrated corporate manager knows he is certainly facing one of those times of testing. +