John, who habitually "thinks too much", has insomnia again. www.biquge.info He spent the whole night in bed pondering the future cooperation with the Pan American Department, so much so that he woke up in the morning with a dizzy head. Originally, John and the others were going to fly back to Washington early in the morning, so he could take the opportunity to sleep on the plane. But yesterday it was still sunny and it rained heavily in the "City of Angels" early in the morning, and their flights were canceled.

God wants to give them a holiday, so what else is there to say. Vandenberg and the others went to visit Hollywood, and John was not interested in any of that. After catching up on his sleep, he decided to visit FedEx's Los Angeles Operations Center.

Recently, Wolf has mentioned to him more than once that McNamara and others have been conducting a pilot project of management system reform in Los Angeles, and he has been quite emotional. John also expected that with the support of systematic data quantitative analysis, the work of the operation center would be greatly improved. But after all, seeing is believing, and he still has to see it for himself.

FedEx's Los Angeles operations are not far from Union Train Station, which is under construction. The new station, in the style of a Spanish church, will be put into operation next year, so that FedEx goods can be loaded directly on the rails that connect the freight yard of the operation center to the station, instead of having to be delivered to the station by truck.

John had been to Los Angeles Union Station in his previous life, and although the "old train station" was still in use at that time, its biggest function was to rent it to film companies. It is said that business is very good, and he can take on at least two jobs a week.

To the north of Union Station is New Chinatown, which was recently built this year (Los Angeles' old Chinatown was built in the late 19th century and has been demolished), and to the south is "Little Tokyo," where FedEx's Los Angeles operations center is located between Union Station and Chinatown. Walking through the company's sprawling yard, John found McNamara's office at the end of the hallway of a small two-story building.

McNamara was not at all surprised to see John uninvited. "I've wanted to go to Detroit to see you for a long time, but Wolf always says you're not in the company." He moved the stack of reports piled on the couch and sat John down.

"What, did you encounter any problems?" John thinks McNamara is looking for him because of some resistance to the pilot here in Los Angeles.

"Not really, it was difficult at first. But with Wolff's support, it's been much smoother. McNamara handed John a thick stack of newly revised corporate governance norms. John flipped through the pages, hundreds of pages thick, densely quantifying the operations of all types of work and all businesses in the company.

"So fine?" John has a big head, and although he knows the benefits of quantifying data, he doesn't have computers now. If you want to implement this new management system in the whole company, it is not enough to give him another 10 McNamara. "It's too difficult to operate this set of norms, how many managers are needed, and you have to have a foundation in mathematics and statistics."

"That's what Wolf said, too." McNamara himself knew that the new management system was a bit too far from reality. "I consulted with Wolf and was going to pick a few key parts to make a simplified version. At that time, Los Angeles will still use the current one, and the other branches will use the simplified version first. ”

"That's all there is to it for the time being." John knew that there was no way out, no matter how good the system was, no one would be able to enforce it. But he still thinks it's a pity to only promote the simplified version, "In this way, starting next year, people will be selected from various branches to study in Los Angeles, and strive to train a group of qualified managers within two years." You work hard and grasp the training. ”

"What, what's the problem?" Seeing McNamara's pause, John asked.

"Well, I'm graduating soon, and I have to go back to school to prepare for my thesis defense." McNamara didn't say anything, and John forgot that he was a graduate student at Harvard Business School. "I came to you to tell you that I have to go back to school after Christmas."

McNamara's reasons were so open-minded that John couldn't say anything if he wanted to refuse. But he won't let go of a talent like McNamara easily. John thought for a moment and asked, "How are you feeling at FedEx this year?"

"It's quite fulfilling." McNamara's answer was sincere. Being able to apply what he has learned in practice and change the face of a large company like FedEx is still very satisfying for McNamara.

"You see, you've only just begun this work, and there's still a lot to do. Don't you want to finish it? John began to "fool" McNamara again, "I plan to set up a systems analysis office in the company next year, and you will be in charge of continuing this work." ”

Without waiting for McNamara to speak, John continued: "You can go back to school after Christmas, and when you're done with your graduation defense, how about you come back?" As long as you are willing to go back to work for FedEx after graduation, I can sign a contract with you now. ”

McNamara was a little tempted by John's invitation. He is very satisfied with his current job at FedEx, and it would be good to be able to decide where he wants to work in the future before graduation. Anyway, he is familiar with the working environment here, and his boss Walter and John are also very easy to get along with. However, McNamara did not immediately agree: "I had an agreement with a few classmates that we would travel abroad together for a period of time after graduation. ”

It's not uncommon for children from families like McNamara to choose to travel abroad for a few months instead of working immediately after graduating from college, to open their eyes and gain a long insight. John didn't think much of it, and agreed to him. As long as you can retain McNamara, a few months later, it's not a big deal.

John called Wolf on the spot and explained his work arrangements for McNamara. Next Monday, McNamara will sign a contract with FedEx and will start work when he returns from a trip abroad.

Having got McNamara done, John was in a good mood. In his vision, this young man will be one of the pillars of FedEx in the future. As a result, John was happy to be patronized, but he forgot something very important.

McNamara said he will travel abroad after graduating next year. Where does a master's degree graduate from Harvard Business School usually go when traveling abroad? Europe, obviously. It wasn't a big deal, but next year it's 1939. When McNamara graduates next summer, won't he be running to Europe just in time for World War II?

Historically, when World War II broke out, McNamara was indeed actually traveling around Europe. And he didn't realize it at the time, until the cruise ship back from Germany was canceled, and he realized that war had broken out.

At that time, poor McNamara and his classmates were trapped in Europe until all the money on them was spent, and with the help of well-wishers, they boarded a merchant ship from Italy to the United States. Had it not been for the captain's consent to clean the deck and peel potatoes from the galley to deduct the ticket money, McNamara would have barely returned.

The longest-serving secretary of defense in U.S. history was in the midst of the world's largest war without realizing it. It's ironic to think about!