Chapter One
The New Supply Chain
Motor Freight Management
Learning Performance Development Coaching
Gregory Bodenhamer Copyrighted 2013
Andy Ledger closed the venetian blinds in the conference room for some more privacy. In a few minutes his top six executives would be joining him to discuss their latest client opportunity.
The conference room had a thick glass wall that looked out to the general office executive floor area of "The Ledger Consulting Group" in the heart of Manhattan New York.
The offices were located at the corner of Wall Street and Broadway and often times Andy Ledger would walk across the street and sit on a garden bench at the Trinity Church which he had done this morning. His location was perfect for the business he needed to grab up every chance he got.
Nothing like Wall Street if you wanted to work for big business and the thousands of smaller companies that support them.
The New York Stock Exchange was less than a five minute walk and the director of the exchange, Mr. Madox, told Andy that he would meet him this morning at Trinity Church after his eight o'clock staff meeting. Dave Madox and Andy Ledger have had meetings before and Andy was sure it was another piece of business.
The garden bench Andy selected was one of the few not under the large shade trees as Andy enjoyed the morning sunshine and the warmth it provided. He traveled a lot like most consultants so it was nice to be in the office this week. Andy saw Dave Madox walking in his direction but he wasn't smiling a lot.
Mr. Madox shook Andy's hand. Madox was a tall man and he was looking down on Andy when he reached down to offer Andy a friendly but business handshake.
"Andy, nice morning"
"Hello Dave Madox, how's the street today?"
Andy gave Dave Madox a quick glance but spent some time looking at the director's security detail that also walked to the Trinity church. Madox had two guys with wires in their ears and even in New York City he was sure that they had guns under their suit coats.
"The foreign markets looked good overnight Andy but as you know that doesn't mean shit." Dave Madox sat next to Andy and the coolness of the concrete garden bench felt good almost to the point of dampness.
The sky's were blue and it was going to be a beautiful day and both men seemed to enjoy the thought of sunshine breaking past the tall buildings to their little spot on earth.
Andy Ledger smiled back and agreed on Dave's comments concerning the market because he never had any luck with stocks and the only ones he owned were offered up to him as partial payments for services.
Big companies spend stock like cash and they would give you thousands of $5 shares and tell you they would double if everything worked out. Public markets were just about the same thing as Vegas, you put your money down and spin the wheel.
Dave and Andy had several business dealings in the past and they mostly started on a garden bench so they both relaxed a few minutes as they were comfortable together.
Dave Madox and Andy Ledger were about the same age but they were from very different worlds. Dave was a prosperous millionaire several times over as his family owned several businesses that went back almost a hundred years.
Dave's father held several board seats in many different companies so Dave enjoyed old money, old connections and better yet, old secrets.
Andy Ledger came from the other side of the tracks and did all the right things and didn't get much in return working for the Fortune 500 group for many years. Andy was always paid well, received the bonuses, lived in the nice homes and drove new cars but, never to get rich it seemed.
He could brag just a little now but it took him his entire life to understand the business world and then to be understood within its elite executive management groups.
The Fortune 500 group was much like a country club and to reach the top it took brains, money and the right college and friends. What Andy had found out years ago was that the Fortune 500 executive managers were little better than the guy running a small business on main street.
The executives played the stock, the managers played with the operations and H.R. played with the people.
Andy had developed his own brand of business management and pioneered many new concepts and applications for business owners and executives. His systems could relax the management, change the culture and prime the operations for better performance.
These men together had seen good and bad times and with the changing world they actually needed each other.
Dave Madox the Director of the New York Stock Exchange had called Andy Ledger the founder and owner of The Ledger Consulting Group because Dave Madox had just bought a company that needed some help.
Dave Madox owned a lot of companies, big and small, so Dave having a business opportunity was nothing new.
Dave was kind of like a pressure cooker and would build up steam and then release the anxiety and demands all at once.
"Andy, I paid three hundred and forty seven million in cash last year and the management sucks."
Dave looked at Andy and gave that million dollar smile that appeared on the cover of several business magazines every month. "That's a lot of fucking money but I should have left the money in the bank."
Dave leaned back and then leaned forward kind of like rocking in a rocking chair. "This little company runs a few trucks and terminals but they suck at it."
Dave Madox made it clear that he bought the company cheap but he had more problems than he could handle alone. Their market share had fallen and sales revenue were dropping and the unions were banging on the door.
"Dave, you've got an army of executives and managers." Andy looked at the squirrel hiding a walnut at the base of a trashcan shaking his tail as Dave was starting to shake his finger.
"These goddamn managers of mine don't know shit about transportation and they've got it fucked up even worse!" Dave wasn't really mad he just liked to cuss to make his point and save all the words.
When you first meet Dave in his two thousand dollar suits you expect better language but it wasn't his way.
"Andy you started in Transportation, I remember that." Dave told the story about buying up this trucking company that had sizable operations, lots of trucks and trailers but under the surface it was ripe with problems and the barrel was full of rotten apples.
Dave Madox didn't know about trucks but he knew about money and he didn't like to lose money.
"Andy I need some help with this little beast." The next several minutes was spent with Dave giving Andy the financial picture of the little trucking empire and he was right, it didn't look good. The top sales guy walked off the job last week and the vice-president of operations was threatening to do the same thing.
"Dave I can help you with the problems most likely because they're always the same it seems."
Andy had started his management career in motor freight transportation years ago and had been very successful but the greener grass kept calling him to broaden his experience. Andy gave him a smile but asked the question. "What do you need Dave?"
Dave looked around like he was about to leak to the NSA and almost whispered "This son-of-a-bitch that runs the thing is an idiot Andy but he's the best idiot in the business."
"Just fire him Dave!"
"I can't fire the stupid son-of-a-bitch Andy he's my goddamn son-in-law!" That took Andy Ledger by surprise so he was extremely happy that his cell phone started sounding off. Andy looked at his phone and punched the button labeled "leave me the fuck alone" and looked back at Dave.
"What's the name of the company again Dave?
"It's Better Fucking Living Transportation." Dave stood up abruptly and took the ten or so steps to the concrete trashcan and spit inside it.
"Better Living Transportation" got it.
"Andy I want you to do one of those review things you do and report back with something." Dave looked at his watch which meant the meeting was about over.
"Andy isn't that the dumbest goddamn name you ever heard for a trucking company?" Sounds like fucking Wal-Mart bull shit!" "My son-in-law changed the name because he said it would refresh the image and make it all new again, the fucking idiot." Dave walked back to the garden bench and back to the trashcan several times. Some may call this pacing.
"Andy, go over there to their general offices in Chicago and take some notes and let me know."
Dave waved a little and said he had to go back to work.
"I'll send you a letter by messenger in about an hour to give you authorization as my personal management consultant."
Dave Madox tried to smile and walked back over and shook Andy's hand "Thanks Andy, it means a lot, but it shouldn't cost a lot, right?"
"Standard rates Dave and I'm taking a few people with me so their expenses are yours to pay."
"Sooner the better Andy." "I can't even talk to my wife about this Andy." "My son-in-law is a college graduate from Columbia and a handsome devil, the stupid son-of-a-bitch."
Andy stood up and Dave stopped talking a second.
"Dave, how much money are you losing?" Andy just wanted a rough idea how deep the hole might be because Dave just gave him a glimpse not the entire profit and loss picture.
"As of seven thirteen this morning I lost $57,418.21 yesterday so maybe you should fly and not drive."
Dave turned around again and met up with his two man security team and started his walk back to the New York Stock Exchange.
"Hey Dave! Andy shouted just a little and Dave turned around and squinted against the morning sun.
"Send me the letter and don't tell anybody I'm going out there. I'll hand your son-in-law the letter of authority myself."
"That's a good fucking idea!" Dave turned and continued his walk back into one of the most powerful jobs on earth today. It must be good to be king.
..
Back inside his own general office Andy Ledger asked "Ann" to bring in some coffee for the meeting just about the time his team was arriving inside the conference room.
Ann was his trusted associate and most likely ran the whole company when Andy Ledger was out of town and that was about thirty five weeks a year. Consultants are travelers as they travel to one job and then to the next so his team knew this would be another client coming to surface.
The conference room was one of the reasons Andy leased this office space because the room was twenty four feet wide and fifty feet long and supported all the electronic gadgets a guy could want.
The large conference table was solid mahogany wood and was polished to a shine and his team members were taking their respective seats as Andy stood at the head of the table.
They all talked about baseball a few minutes but the home team lost so the subjects changed quickly. Andy knew that the team in this office was most likely the best consulting group in the United States and he always enjoyed their company, even when they were fighting.
Ann came back with the serving tray that squeaked along when rolling and the hot coffee and Styrofoam cups for the gang. Andy ran an informal business with his group so the group was relaxed and chatting away the morning.
There was a lot of energy in that room and Andy had recruited them and trained them all. Each of them had been successful and they were ready to understand and then to be understood. They were consultants.
They had a couple of donuts left from earlier so they were passed around to the starving consultants. A couple of bad jokes would only allow little bits of real business in the room but Andy was ready to go.
Andy cleared his throat and started the meeting.
The best way to start a serious meeting was to gain attention and then say nothing so that's what Andy did;
"It's time you knew about the I.R.S.!" Andy just stood in front of the group and remained silent for about five second. Andy knew that he now owned or at least rented a tiny spot of their mind as they all waiting for his next words.
"The I.R.S. called today and they had a problem!"
Andy noticed that everybody stopped playing breakfast and stared at him. Just the named I.R.S. scared most human beings and just like fishing he had them hooked and captivated for a few seconds.
"They had the wrong number."
Everybody called Andy a name and sipped their coffee and Ann smiled and brought Andy his coffee and sat down at a chair closest to Andy's position at the front of the table.
Andy had learned a long time ago how to engage another human beings mind and hold their interest and the open mind qualifier was the start. Saying something or doing something to remove what they were thinking about and replacing it with your thoughts or actions is a powerful force.
The Ledger Consulting Group had divisions just like any other company and the department heads were now in the conference room and they were listening to Andy.
Andy could easily remember the days when he worried about paying the rent let alone sending top producers to Aspen as a reward for a job well done.
Andy had on the conference room side wall a giant white board but he couldn't seem to find a black marker with any black erasable liquid for his meeting.
She noticed Andy struggle so Ann slid one marker down the table a bit and Andy grabbed it up with a quick thanks.
Andy started his block letter writing on the white board and with big three inch letters so everybody could see them.
"Client"
"Better Living Transportation"
"Motor Freight Trucking"
"Lost fifty seven thousand dollars yesterday"
"The owner is David Madox"
"Private Company"
"Family Management"
"Chicago"
He turned to his group "What I need you guys to do is research this company and report back to me tomorrow afternoon sometime." When he looked at the dollars being lost you could see why Dave was in a hurry.
”Anything you can find, write it down." Andy took a sip of his own coffee.
"Mr. Madox wants us to visit Chicago and take a look and report back to him very quickly."
Andy paused for a minute to ponder something and then kept writing on the white board.
"You guys pick five people that can travel with me to the Better Living Transportation headquarters in Chicago."
Andy turned away from the board and looked at his group looking at him.
"Pick your best" "This is a Madox project."
"Ann, I would like to travel Sunday for a Monday morning arrival" Ann knew exactly what to do and simply gave the boss an o.k. without looking up.
"We will not announce our arrival to anybody"
"This will be a surprise visit."
Andy made it clear that nobody outside of the room could know about the project. Andy knew that to piss off Dave Madox was never a good idea.
..
Andy Ledger went back to his office and took the half cup of cold coffee with him. He punched his username and password into his computer and logged on to Google and typed in Better Living Transportation.
Not one thing about trucking.
Better Living Transportation didn't live online which was a big surprise and Andy made a note into his file.
Andy knew a lot about motor freight and his entire management career had its foundation within trucking, transportation, distribution, fulfillment and all the supply chain functions.
The industry was tough and the costs were extremely high for trucking companies and the capital costs were enormous and then you had to deal with the government and unions at times.
Andy was sure you could operate a nuclear power plant with less regulations than a trucking company.
Trucking created millionaires and Andy was sure that Dave Madox most likely bought it for cash flow because trucking's center point was cash money and real estate.
..
There is nothing like an airport Sunday afternoon with all the boys and girls flying to their jobs Monday morning. Many were in blue jeans but some were already dressed for Monday morning.
All the managers, sales people, contractors and even consultants saddled up Sunday nights at airports across the country. Laptop computers, baggage, business books, legal pads and candy bars were ready or getting ready to go.
Andy and his crew waited in the long lines but made it on the plane on time and were pleased breaking through the clouds right on time. Andy could hear and feel the jets landing gear being retracted and glanced out the window as the buildings got smaller and smaller as the jet climbed higher.
The General Offices of Better Living Transportation would have a surprise in a few hours as Andy and his group would walk in and asked for the President.
Andy had his paper files open and also his laptop and was taking some last minute notes on the project. It had been a few years since he played inside a trucking company so the more he thought the more he remembered.
Andy Ledger and Dave Madox talked a few times over the phone before they left New York and Andy was carrying his letter of authorization allowing him total access to the company and its records. Andy worked for an hour or so but decided a nap would be more fun.
Andy would take a nap if he could so he closed up his file folder and pushed back his airline seat and shut his eyes. He didn't remember going to sleep but he did in a matter of seconds. He slept all the way to Chicago and the landing gear going down was the sound that woke him up and the bouncing down through the clouds shook him almost awake. It would only be a couple of minutes and they would be landing in Chicago and all the fun it may offer.
The Chicago O'Hare International Airport was busy but not too bad so it wasn't long until their two rental cars were speeding along the Kennedy Highway. They had to collect their baggage at the airport carousel but getting it all inside their rental cars was a different matter.
Andy was one driver and was leading the way following the directions his GPS offered him. Traffic wasn't bad but traffic in Chicago was never good as the road were full but moving above the speed limit.
They drove south on I90 until the GPS barked at the intersection of I90 and I55 and they continued South to the lower West side. They took the exit to South Archer Drive and did a drive by on the Corporate headquarters. The General Offices were easy to find at it sat on twenty acres of very expensive property surrounded by sculptured trees and other landscaping.
Andy guessed he had been out of trucking too long because it sure wasn't a truck terminal it was a first class five story office building. This trucking company had a lot of style but it sure didn't have any profits.
They parked their two rental cars and stretched their legs while they looked upon Better Living Transportation. Not much to see expect it was big and nice and as Andy took out a cigarette and enjoyed his first smoke in about twelve hours he wondered why a trucking company was so extravagant.
The first rule of business was not to be excessive in anything you did with company money. Andy liked the word cheap but used thrifty in all his presentations. The General Office was overstated and way too showy for Andy's style. The General Office of a trucking company should have a few dozen tractors parked around it but this place was executive all the way.
His troops walked around a little glad to be outside of jets and airports and wandered around and talked mostly about nothing.
Andy would lead the charge and all six of them would storm these corporate headquarters and freak everybody out the very next morning. Andy knew the first few minutes on the property would set the stage for the entire week. That first impression handshake could be taken as a greeting or a grip of power. Andy had to be careful to relax the President and his executives.
Consultants have an advantage because the present day managers and executives let their fears run wild because they now know somebody is watching. The vice president of sales walked out and the operations guy was making noise about leaving the company. Andy would make strong recommendations to Dave Madox for the people that should stay or disappear but that would most likely take weeks or months.
The good managers welcome the help and the weak players spend all their time guarding their jobs and income. When you allow a company to fail too long it's like giving people a permit to fail. Failure cannot be allowed even as a good executive and manager would understand situations that may harm success.
In about nine hours they would park again and go inside, rain or shine. One more cigarette and then they could leave for the motel as Andy was in no hurry for the non-smoking motel room.
Sure was a nice building.
..
Andy was up at four thirty and he felt like it. By the time they checked in and got settled Andy and the others might of got five hours sleep.
The Hilton Garden was down highway 50 so at least Ann made reservations close to the clients offices. Maybe next time they could fly into Midway Airport because the jets were so close they vibrated the building and your bed.
They all agreed to meet for breakfast because the Hilton Garden offered a great price for a hot buffet included in the room price. Andy always appreciated Ann taking care of the groups while they traveled including a nice meal and a morning newspaper.
By seven fifty five they were just hanging out and drinking coffee and eating bacon and Andy's cell phone growled good morning.
"Andy, good morning." It seemed Ann was always awake and alert so he tried to sound the same.
"Good morning Annie!" "How's the apple?"
Ann was already at the office and had been checking email including Andy's when he was out of the office. Ann's starting time at work was seven thirty in the morning but she was often there at six and drinking her company coffee by six fifteen.
"You've got a message from Dave Madox and he wanted you to know they lost seventy four thousand three hundred dollars yesterday." Ann kind of waited for a response or reaction of some kind.
"Damn Ann, that's real money." Andy turned away from the group and asked for any more details. He got up from the dining room table and pulled out his financial spreadsheet that Dave Madox had allowed him.
"Ann, it's getting worse it seems." "That's the biggest single day loss in months."
"Dave Madox said that Charlie asked for a million dollar line of credit or cash yesterday to make payroll this Friday."
Charlie Freeman was the President of Better Living Transportation and Dave's son-in-law and was running the entire company.
"What did Dave tell him?"
Ann hesitated just a little.
"Dave Madox told him no, he was going to shut the company down and sell the bones."
Andy knew that wasn't going to help Charlie Freeman feel good or do any better but after all it was Dave's money. The hard cash money needed to operate a trucking company was enormous because of expensive trucks, costly trailers, high wages, medical benefits, government regulations, taxes paid to everybody and their brother and it never ended.
As Andy was about to respond the cell phone dropped the call which upset Andy so he tried to call back. He loved cell phones when they worked and they worked most of the time so he punched in the numbers two more times.
Ann didn't answer the phone and she didn't call back so Andy guessed he would call her from a land phone line from his clients office. They were all getting ready to leave and Andy dropped a ten dollar bill on the table for the self-service buffet waitress that they only saw twice.
That was odd about the phone, September 11th was going to be an odd day for Andy and the rest of America.
It would be several hours before the group would learn about planes hitting the Twin Towers in New York just a few blocks from The Ledger Consulting Group's main office in Manhattan.
Just a few blocks from Trinity Church and the Ledger Consulting Groups offices the terrorists had flew jet liners into the Twin Towers and killed thousands. Andy, Charlie and his staff would watch T.V. in Charlie's Chicago's Executive office as the United States was under attack, or something.
Manhattan was shut down and all the building were covered with smoke and the sirens never ended. Police officers running, national guard troops standing guard, stock market falling off a cliff, fuel and food shortages and everybody running scared.
Andy and his group wanted to get home and they wanted to get home now but everything was shut down. Planes were grounded, buses were parked, fuel was short and expensive but they had rental cars.
Andy kept trying the office but the phones were out and he worried about Ann and all his friends. The T.V. images never stopped and the terrorists had even attacked the building with that unusual and special shape called a Pentagon.
September 11th ended everything, we just didn't know it yet. Business levels would collapse and many systems would cave in under the pressure and go bust.
New York City was falling to pieces and the average American citizen kept their heads down and bought bottled water and three days of food for their basements or food pantries. Everything was different and many discrete things started to happen in board rooms all across America and hunting Muslims was the first thing, buying guns and food was second and moving tens of thousands of body bags to New York City was big business.
They kept their rental cars and drove to New York City and they were in a hurry. They filled up their gasoline tanks often never to be under a half of tank.
The radio news reported fuel shortages along the interstates as folks everywhere were topping off their fuel tanks.
They were held up in New Jersey and not allowed to enter the smoking New York City so they turned in their rental cars. Andy had to pay the three thousand two hundred and twelve dollars for the out of state one way trip and had to drive to Philadelphia to turn them in or pay even more.
You could stand on the Jersey shore and notice that the Towers were gone. It wasn't New York City anymore it was someplace else. The Towers were everything and now everything was gone.
They rented rooms in Cherry Hill New Jersey, just across the river from Philadelphia and watched T.V. and started making some phone contacts again.
The attacks were over and our military jets were flying over major U.S. cities. National Guard troops were everywhere and the typical U.S. citizen spent all night watching the news after work.
Andy connected to Ann and she was terrified but she had walked home through the smoke, cops and fire trucks to the safety of her apartment.
Without Andy she made the decision to send everybody home and told them to stay there as they would be closed until further notice.
It was a good idea and Ann had made the right moves as even the Governor and the Mayor of New York City told everybody to stay at home and off the streets.
They were several more strikes that first and final day of attacks and the world of business came to a stop.
It took two days more before Andy was allowed to cross the bridges that allowed access to Manhattan but he they had no transportation.
Ann chartered a small boat to pick them up off the Jersey shore and take them to Manhattan. It was not a comfortable ride as the city was still smoking and they had no idea what to expect upon their arrival.
Andy shook every hand and the group quickly broke up to find their own way home, walking. They were good men and he would never see most of them again as the world became consumed with survival and most families and business owners would never have enough cash to wait out the storm of fear raging through the country.
Andy made it home and then to the office and the entire area was covered with several inches of debris and the smoke was still bellowing from the towers. Andy was afraid deep down inside and sometimes it showed even as he tried to be brave.
His fear showed a lot when he went to Ann's home and she opened her apartments front door. She just stood there in her blue jeans and community college t-shirt as she started to cry.
She cried for a long time as they sat in her living room trying to talk with the unseen heart that words could never explain.
..
Andy's business did not fail but it did not prosper in the aftermath of the terrorists attacks. His accounts were busy trying to regroup, rearrange their cash flow, reorder supplies that couldn't be transported and recover from the September 11 attacks.
He tried to call Dave Madox several times but they said he was out of the office and was working from home so he was scattered like everybody else.
Dave Madox lived out on Long Island as he had bought the Hodges Mansion several years ago while out bidding the Donald of real estate. The hundred or so acres was the seventh heaven that most men could only dream about and the one hundred and twenty four room mansion was full of extravagant art, furniture and over-the-top belongings that only the super rich could afford.
Dave was a chief player on the showground we all called business and Andy was sure his life was upside down like everybody else because everything started to get smaller like cash balances, credit lines and even big business deals became flimsy and melted away.
The Hodges Mansion was a safe distance from Manhattan and Andy was sure that the thirty miles in distance made Dave Madox and his wife feel a little bit safer.
People wanted to feel safe so they took all their scarce resources and tried to feel better. People had stormed the retailers for guns, flashlights, cooking stoves, knives, lanterns and billions of batteries, gasoline cans, generators and canned foods and anything else for sale.
Business owners did the same thing in unique ways depending on their company. They laid off people by the tens of thousands and closed underperforming offices and facilities always on guard for the next attack.
Andy wasn't sure what to do next as he laid off most of his employees and was planning to run out the lease on his offices and move away from ground zero.
Andy had more or less enough cash to last a year or so but he decided to cut his losses and get off the island of Manhattan. He could look around and see roughly half of everything shut down with only a very few people walking the streets during the day.
Everybody including the President of the United States were taking precautions and Andy was no different.
He was now paying nine thousand dollars a month rent for a building empty of clients.
Andy would keep two consultants and Ann but that didn't last long as he had to tell them goodbye. Their phone stopped ringing and the world stopped going to his business seminars and his last few accounts pulled back a lot of their business.
He now owned a one person company and the cash had stopped flowing. There was talk of war and the country was occupied with the funerals of all the loved ones that had died at ground zero.
There is a time for everything and business would have to wait for better times.
..
Companies were failing by the thousands and then failing by the tens of thousands. The United States was now at war and thousands of troops were in Afghanistan killing the bad guys.
Ground zero was a bad construction zone and hating Muslims might be a good thing. If you had a business within five hundred miles of New York City you lost at least twenty five percent of your gross revenue. People were leaving New York City and the state was raising taxes and soldiers were killed every day over there, somewhere.
Andy had closed up the New York City office when the lease was up and moved to Delran New Jersey and didn't take any employees with him because he didn't have the cash to carry his employees as friends.
He took a couple thousand dollars and opened up a two office business in Delran and the Ledger Consulting Group was open for business at least that's what the sign said in the window.
He did some work for some major retailers and traveled for a while helping them open up new distribution and fulfillment centers. Some of the major companies were making some great deals on property and lower construction costs and took full advantage.
Andy always had work but it wasn't the same.
They mostly wanted to hire him and not pay the consulting fees and Andy knew that being an employee was just o.k. but you would never get rich by digging another man's ditch.
