And You Call This F-Ing Leadership?

Book excerpt: FedEx Freight's bungled $780 million acquisition of the assets of Watkins Motor Lines as related by Steven H. Newhouse, a company officer who lived through it, is a unique case study on leadership that chronicles the calamitous demise of the company that became FedEx National LTL. This narrative provides many pertinent examples of and valuable insights into leadership and relevant perspectives on the importance of valuing workplace cultures. Newhouse shares a poignant story of how not to lead in juxtaposition to the insights of a successful leader who understands the importance of valuing workplace cultures. What happened to the Watkins Motor Lines workforce once it became FedEx National LTL should never have happened, but it did due to a combination of inadequate leadership and a bad economy. This is the story of how a journey down a highway that began with high hopes and aspirations became littered with broken promises, countless disappointments and a final disastrous end: the demise of a 74-year-old highly successful and profitable nationwide trucking company that employed 10,000 employees and had over $1 billion in revenue the year it was acquired by FedEx. Steve Newhouse is a retired vice president and managing director of Human Resources from FedEx National LTL and FedEx Freight Corporation. After obtaining his BBA and MBA from Western Michigan University, he spent 43 years in Human Resources management with seven different corporations after serving as an Adjutant and Personnel Officer for an Air Defense Artillery Battalion in the US Army. He spent 24 of those years as a vice president of Human Resources at four different corporations. This case study will provide you with a meaningful perspective and deeper understanding of what it means to be an effective leader to your workforce and what it takes to become the leader for whom you yourself would want to work.