[PEN-L:30028] Consolidated Freightways

[Michael Perelman <michael@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

In the early 1960s, I was manager of Market Research for Consolidated
Freightways.  Since the business was regulated, I actually had nothing to
do, which was fine.  At 3:00 my secretary would give me a piece of paper
that added up the telex reports from each of the terminals, to give the a
daily summary of the "sales".  Sales would be driven by petty bribes that
the salesmen would give the shipping managers -- $, whisky, women, ...

My boss, the sales manager, would congratulate me or ask me what we should
do, depending on the results.  I never met any of the sales managers nor
had the slightest inkling, but I would say something that he could not
understand, and everone would be happy.  I had a beautiful office with a
patio.  I could read most of the day, but I would have to look busy at
times.

The higher up you went in the company, the more incompetant people seemed
to be.  The person who became president was a complete boob, but probably
less so than the president at the time.

It wasn't Enron, but still ....
 --
Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
Chico, CA 95929

Tel. 530-898-5321
E-Mail michael@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx