Brown Corporation, a medium-sized ($70 million sales) materials handling firm located in a small town in the northeastern United

States (Meek, Woodworth, and Dyer, 1988). In 1974 the company faced a severe crisis, and the company president, John

Brown, Jr., decided to bring in a professional manager to turn the company around. The professional manager, Reed Larson, took a number of steps to change the company. He implemented a more efficient inventory control system, set u p financial controls, and fired a number of employees considered "deadwood." Because of his tough, no-nonsense approach, he earned the nickname Jaws. As a result of Larson's actions, sales and profits increased dramatically. However, after a few years, Brown began to recognize that Larson's values and orientation were undermining morale and that the workers were beginning to support a union movement. Furthermore, sales declined sharply in the early 1980s, and Larson layed off over one-half of the work force to cut costs. Conflict between Larson and Brown began to intensify as Brown began to see the company's basic nature changing. As Brown attempted to find a way to change Larson or to fire him, Larson secretly lobbied for support from key managers and the board so he could purchase the company and oust the Brown family. (The stock was publicly traded, with the Browns owning about one-third). Brown found out that Larson was trying to "steal the company" from the family, and he eventually emerged the victor in the power struggle. Larson was fired, and a new professional manager was hired to replace him. This new manager, Phil Olsen, was also fired after only one year on the job. Although Olsen had an impressive track record at a large corporation, he too did not understand the family's values and was unable to develop any rapport with the work force. As one top executive explains, "Olsen brought in all new people and surrounded himself with those he knew at his former company. He used many consultants and had no confidence in the oldtimers." Olsen viewed the local employees as "a small-town bunch of jerks." While not as tyrannical as Larson, Olsen was seen as "more secretive, sneaky, and less trustworthy." During Olsen's tenure, sales rose but profitability declined as costs skyrocketed. Olsen had little feel for the company's product or how to organize effectively to improve productivity. Morale was extremely low, and union organizing continued. Finally, after hearing about Olsen's "misdeeds" from some company oldtimers, John Brown, Jr., decided to fire Olsen in 1985. Olsen's replacement, Brad Adams, has been much more successful than either Larson or Olsen. Adams, a long-time friend of Brown, was a successful distributor of the company's products. He knew the company and its problems as well as the family. After taking the position, Adams spent his first week on the job meeting with groups of employees. He made a conscious effort to be visible and accessible to employees, even to the point of visiting workers on the graveyard shift. He reinstated some of the employees who were fired by the previous presidents, which helped boost morale. Union organizing has virtually stopped, and the company's profits have improved in recent years. Adams' expertise in sales and marketing has helped strengthen the company, and his collaborative approach to solving the company's problems has received broad support.