Winning at Service - JPS Video Quote

This book reveals the Secrets to Service Success by analysing four service companies that grew from small beginnings to the leaders in their industries. Interviews with the four CEOs who guided the companies to their success reveal the three basic principles they all share.

Two of the CEOs interviewed are Thomas Berglund of Securitas and J. Philip Sorensen of Group 4 Falck.

by Waldemar Schmidt, Gordon Adler, and Els van Weering.

Tribute by Waldemar Schmidt (English & Danish)

(This tribute has been written in English and Danish, which can be seen further below)

Jorgen Philip Sorensen is no longer amongst us.

The Sorensen family has lost their patriarch and his wife Susse Philip Sorensen has lost her beloved husband. And the Service Industry has lost its Grand Old Man.

I have had the great privilege to know Philip for a generation. First as a cunning and highly respected colleague in the service industry. Later as a board member of his beloved security company and as a good friend.

Philip was a born self made global entrepreneur with vast interests. The creation of the world’s largest security company. G4S (Group 4 Securicor) with more than 600.000 employees in more than 100 countries was undoubtedly Philips master piece. Something that would have made his father and grand father proud. They were the service entrepreneurs of their time and founded ISS and “Swedish Securitas” respectively.

While Group 4’s major competitors acquired security companies at high prices in Europe and America, Philip established Group 4 subsidiaries in many fast growing new world countries with his cunning strategy. Philip achieved his  life’s ambition through the mergers with Falck and Securicor: to become chairman and largest shareholder of the world’s largest security company.

Philip was rightly very proud of all his subsidiaries. In October last year I had the pleasure of visiting G4S in India together with Philip on the occasion of the subsidiary’s 20th anniversary. G4S India has experienced an explosive growth and is today a very professional company with about 130.000 employees, something I saw that Philip rightly was really proud of.

The ability to attract competent people all over the world at all levels and the courage to give them responsibility, is among the explanations of Philip’s quiet success as a global entrepreneur. But also the combination of “sense of the detail” and “we must have fun” was among Philips secrets.

While Philip preferred to stay out of the lime light, his deeds have not gone unnoticed. In 2001 he was thus bestowed with the British CBE order (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) and in 2008, Queen Margrethe awarded him with The Order of Dannebrog.

Family, friends, colleagues and business associates will all miss Philip. But his very unique spirit will continue to live wherever he has been active.

Honoured to be his memorial.

Waldemar Schmidt

Ex Group Chief Executive of ISS 

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Jørgen Philip Sørensen er ikke mere.

Familien Sørensen har mistet sin patriark og hans hustru Susse Philip Sørensen har mistet sin elskede mand.

Og servicebranchen har mistet sin "Grand Old Man".

Jeg har haft det store privilegium at kende Philip i en menneskealder. Først som en snu og højt respekteret kollega i servicebranchen. Siden som bestyrelsesmedlem i hans elskede sikkerhedsselskab og som en god ven.

Philip var en gudsbenådet self-made global entrepreneur med mange interesser. Skabelsen af verdens største sikkerhedsselskab, G4S (Group4 Securicor) med over 600.000 medarbejdere i mere end 100 lande var uden tvivl Philips mesterværk. Noget som hans farfar og far ville have været meget stolte over. De var datidens service-entrepreneurer og lagde grunden til henholdsvis ISS og "Svenske Securitas".

Mens Group 4's store internationale konkurrenter opkøbte sikkerhedsselskaber til høje priser i Europa og USA, startede Philip med sin snu strategi Group4-datterselskaber i mange hurtigtvoksende lande i den nye verden. Gennem fusionerne med Falck og Securicor opnåede Philip i 2004 sit livs ambition: at blive største aktionær og bestyrelsesformand i verdens største sikkerhedskoncern, G4S.

Philip var med god grund meget stolt af alle sine mange datterselskaber. I oktober sidste år havde jeg den store fornøjelse at være med Philip paa besøg hos G4S i Indien i anledning af datterselskabets 20-års jubilæum. G4S Indien har oplevet en eksplosiv vækst og er med sine ca. 130.000 ansatte en højprofessionel virksomhed, som jeg oplevede at Philip med rette var særlig stolt af.

Evnen til at tiltrække dygtige medarbejdere overalt i verden paa alle niveauer og modet til at give dem ansvar, er blandt forklaringerne paa Philips stille success som global entrepreneur. Men ogsaa kombinationen af “sans for detaljen” og "vi skal have det sjovt" har været blandt Philips hemmeligheder.

Selvom Philip helst levede udenfor rampelyset, er hans gerninger ikke gået upåagtet hen. I 2001 blev han således tildelt den engelske CBE-orden (Commander of the Order of the British Empire)   og i 2009 blev han tildelt  Ridderkorset af Dronning Margrethe.

Familie, venner, kolleger og forretningsforbindelser vil alle savne Philip. Men hans helt særlige ånd vil fortsat leve overalt, hvor han har haft sit virke.

 Æret være hans minde.