Here is an interesting hypothetical thread. Hunter Harrison has been canned and the board of directors makes you the CEO of the railroad. What would you do to make the company glad they hired you. What would you do to gain the respect of your employees.
First off, not lay -off any workers,keep ALL the locomotives as active as possible,only retire them when the unit cant be repaired,or it exceeds the budget set for repairing the unit. Next invite people to open houses at various cities,that are on the CN system.Have a policy that can have railfans come to the property,and take pictures,as well as get a tour of the area.(You’d be surprised what you get to see when you ask for permission to be on railroad property). Visit with the employees at various shops and see what they would like to have improved,or bring into the work place to make their job a little bit easier,and comfortable. Have the best benefits,401k, insurance,and everything else for the employees to enjoy. Have rail excursions for the employees and families as well as railfans. But most important making sure that safety is first and that certain situations,gripes,concerns,and suggestions can be voiced, heard,and recommended.
The one that pops to my mind is to either increase the budget for longer sidings on the old Champlain district, (especially between Riviere du Loup and Moncton); or add one daily train in each direction so that the train lengths match the siding lengths.
Buy back company stock, announce massive budget cuts, manipulate stock value for personal gain, and then deploy my golden parachute, and live happily ever after…
One hint: My corporate “growth” strategy rhymes with “village”…[dinner]
1/ get rid of thease gas guzzling units that break down alot and replace them with better more fuel efficient modern engine. Target engines to by are more SD75I, C44-9W and now to start buying SD70Ace, AC4400CW and SD90MAC.
2/ start to replace alot of the 50 foot boxcars with 60 foot highcubes so the trains don’t have to be so long due to alot of shipment from one factory to just one factory
3/ replace management who don’t do their job properly and are confrontational with customers and employees
4/ rehire track gangs for maintainance for every subdivision. replace wooden ties with steel, concrete or plastic where tie erosion is a problem and dig out area of the track that are prone to mud. NO WEEDS. Convert old steam engines into weed killers that spray out steam instead of chemicals. Water is cheaper and environmentally friendly.
5/ lines that don’t operate enough traffic need more. Target industries along the line to increase the line’s profitability. Do not operate small trains with heavy power.
6/ Operate the roadrailer between Canada and the U.S and not just between Toronto and Montreal. Triple Crown shouldn’t be the only roadrailer service available.
7/ Hire more crews for trains, yards and workshops. Some of the workshops closed should be reopened.
8/ Do more advertising and market yourself better. Target Financial and Business oriented television stations as well as newspapers. Ofter 2 for 1 deals or do not pay until 2005 deals to attract more customers.
9/ No more mergers. Cultivate what you have and worry about merging when all other business opertunities have been exploited and exhausted.
10/ Keep an accurate and detailed outlook on the industry and tell them what the company needs to do and how you plan on doing it. Don’t make unrealistic expectations for quarterly that can’t be reached; you’ll screw up the companies investment integrity and you could get fired
One hint: My corporate “growth” strategy rhymes with “village”…
You have hit the nail squarely on the head TheAntiGates. It’s good to see rail-fans not being blinded by the false glow of HH and rest of his supporters. [V] I can add another word. It rhymes with tape. [sigh] Signal Mechanic. Signal Department. Canadian National Railways.
I would likely promote someone like you to a management position because you have first hand information of what needs to be done ( I have read your messages) and you can relate to the workers. piouslion is another one I would promote likely. I don’t believe in hiring thease pencil pushing M.I.T from Yale weenies who are only good and keeping my butt moist and not getting the work done. I want folk who have done the work, have the respect of the workers and not afraid to confront me if I am doing something wrong. That is how you run a business.
Neither do I; having said that the type I was describing seems to be a popular choice in business because the stereotype wouldn’t exist if there wasn’t some truth to it.
To respond to your earlier message; there is nothing wrong with accumulating things and CN is doing it but how well are they doing it is another thing. I am an opportunist and seize on worth-while potential through vision and logic. Thease qualities enable extra long-term profit without sacrifing quality. A fairly good example is Bill Gates and Windows. He wouldn’t have been where he is today if he wasn’t an opportunist and a visionary. Great capitalists think about sustainability centuries from now like Gates, Rockafeller, Disney, Firestone, Ford, Edison…look at their business now. It booms and is as profitable now as it was than. Hunter Harrison is not a great capitalist. He at best is a great budget balancer but not a great capitalist in the railroad industry. CN needs somebody with vision like William Cornelius VanHorne.
The Greedy [:D] will always justify greed. I wi***hey were required to spend at least a month on my gang. Most of them wouldn’t last the term. If they could see, feel and hear what we on CN do every working and non working minute of the day they just might come to see and understand the big picture. And this photograph won’t be one taken by Harrison’s [}:)] [D)] camera. He’s very adapt at manipulating photos just as he is at manipulating the media, shareholders, government, employees, etc. Signal Mechanic. Signal Department. Canadian National Railways.[:(!]
If such a thing could happen perhaps some of my off the wall impossible things that nobody in the railroad industry would dream of or even contemplate be put into effect, I kind of doubt it but here goes :[:)] Numero uno (1). -tangeable- Take inventory (materials, machinery, long and short term contracts, recevables, payment methodology and practice, tax records, properties and right of ways, real estate deeds,contracts, leases and trusts, customer service availabity, sales activity, strategic planning estimates and directions, Maintinace contracts,Track, locomotives, freight cars and service cars and anything else of value), We need to kno[tup]w what we got. Have a full post annum audit of the books and take your time and make it right casuse if your lieing to me,you will be skinned.) 2. Folks, I’m comming to see you with my officers. Theirs and my orders are to sit down to eat breakfast, luncheon and Dinner with you untill everyone on the railroad has met me and them personally (we tell the truth with each other and to each other) and we talk about what is important to get this to be the best road in the world. 3. Safety overall with cost savings, all we can get useing machinery, modernization, computerization, automation, and remote control where practiable 4. Productivity gains will be through standard attrition. 5. I might be tight but I ain’t cheap I’ ll make sure that what we work with is good quality 6. We work together and we play together 7. Sales people we want biz and more biz there is never to much. 8. Be at work on time, clean and sobber, go where your sent and do as you’er expected as a part of your duties and we don’t talk, think or worry about the competition 9. A good days work gets a good days pay 10.We grow together or we die together; everybody earns stock in the company from the end of their first year. 11. Benefits, a professional career deserves professional benefits in retirement plans, disability suppl
I have to agree that the CN results thus far are indeed impressive, the stockholders should be very pleased. I think the CN is likely a good long term investment, I think your investment is quite safe, after all CN owns alot of REAL assets. It’s too bad the CN management doesn’t consider the employees as assets. There are bad feelings between the employees and the management, CN is cultivating the anamosity with threats to the employees almost daily. An example: A locomotive just released from FRA inspection at Chicago was caught by the FRA with federal defects, the CN response was to send a memo to all the shops saying that this will not be tolerated and will result in termination. The Chicago shop has serious problems… they should concentrate on correcting that shop instead of browbeating all the shops, don’t you think? The problem in Chicago is not much different than elsewere… nobody gives a damn!
Ed Burkhardt said that if the employees feel they need a union then there is a problem with the managers. See ,back in the WC days ,we had a friend in the front office. Ed had an open door policy whereas Hunter has bodyguards because he fears for his life. I think THAT says it all !!!
I’m sure that Hunter is not to blame for all the CN problems, I’ll bet that there are alot of eager execs that aren’t being exactly truthful and honest with Hunter, I’m sure alot of things are kicked under the rug and Hunter never knows.
Sure , the numbers don’t lie. The CN is successful… just think how successful they would be if the employees were truely passionate about the CN.
Randy
Wow, how fun! I will give you all the basics of my objectives here sans many details account I don’t want to write a novel!
For starters, I would immediately cut my salary to the basic level as that in the labor crafts. Then immediately do the same for all of the vice presidents and assistant vice presidents. I would have a Zero Tolerance policy set for egotistical and arrogant employees and only recruit and retain those with positive can do attitudes.
My first two long term projects would be decreasing liabilities, increasing train speeds and drastically cutting terminal dwell times in yards.
Decreasing the liabilities: I would have all the scrap/old rail/ties and other previously used derbis etc. hauled off of the railroad and then clear the entire railroad property lines of brush and vegetation. As this was progressing I would spend millions on new overpasses and underpasses of highway-rail grade crossings with total elimination being the ultimate goal. I would invest in heavy duty fencing along potential and previous trespassing areas. I would hire a huge force of railroad police officers along iwth starting a “RailWatch” program to encourage railfans to report suspicious activities along with initiating a ride-along program so those interested could experience railroading up close and personal. With the additional cleared right-of-way I would construct coal slurry pipelines along principal coal corridors to eliminate some of the standard coal traffic over the railroad as coal traffic beats the heck out of the physical plant. In addition I would also fund further study of magnetic levitation trains and dedicate right-of-way along adjacent rail lines between applicable city pairs.
As the liabilities began to decrease I would bring in the engineering folks and add route capacity to the maximum extent possible as in lengthening sidings and massive amounts of double or multiple track territory. This would also include adding more yards along t
I have been in an office before. I know first hand of thease types I’m refering to first hand so to say thease people don’t exist is obsurd. In fairness to myself, I don’t judge others until I get to know them for a long period of time. If they continue to exhibit qualities like being a butt-head than it is only logical that after awhile people will refer to that person as a butt-head right?
This is a hypothetical thread; if I am to play the role of CEO, I need to be an Opportunist visionary of a capitalist don’t you think. In my position I would likely be a shareholer so I would be looking out for myself as well.
Have you
I would start off by instead of abandoning lines, selling them to shortlines close to the area. I would try to gain as many customers as possible insteard of not listen to them. I would also keep what power is there and not get rid of it until it breaks down, enough to send it to the grave. I overall don’t know what I would do with CN. With a little more time and thinking I’m sure I could come up with a bunch of stuff…some good stuff.
I think wcfan4ever said it best. Essentially make CN more like the WC. Shareholders probably wont be immediately inamered by this plan, as it would probably reduce your operating ratio and probably profits. But I think it leads to better long term prosperity and profitability. I think there are some railroads that still have this philosophy too.
I am really with you on cultivating short line spinoffs.
This is a wonderful topic!
Someone once said: A girl can eat out of the palms of your hands. Employees likewise will go to extreme measures to be helpful if they are convinced a CEO has their best interest at heart.
Specifically, I would (1) unify management and labor by proving that everyone must be on the same side of the fence and work together against a common enemy, and (2) show everyone within the railroad company HOW it could beet adverse destiny through time miracles.