Casey's Law : If Something Can Go Right, It Should

A former chief executive at several top companies draws on his fifty years in the business world to challenge the idea that what can go wrong, will, showing how to gain the advantage in negotiations and decision-making. Tour.

An agreeably upbeat and anecdotal memoir from the corporate executive who kept American Airlines flying during a period of notable turbulence. A Boston Irishman and proud of it, Casey (who turns 77 this year) worked his way through Harvard, returning after WW II service as a US Army officer to earn an MBA. Beginning his apprenticeship in Southern Pacific's Wall Street office, the author eventually moved on to what was then the Railway Express Agency; in the demanding post of chief financial officer, Casey gained first-hand knowledge of crisis management as the cash-strapped freight forwarder struggled to survive. Resigning over a matter of moral principle, the author joined Los Angelesbased Times-Mirror, the Chandler family publishing firm he helped make a multinational media colossus. Blocked from the top job (for lack of blood ties to the Chandler clan), the competitive Casey accepted an offer to become CEO of troubled American Airlines in 1974. Piloting the global carrier through an eventful era marked by deregulation, an oil embargo, and allied challenges (including the controversial move of corporate headquarters from New York City to Dallas/Ft. Worth), he bequeathed a prospering enterprise to an impressive successor (Robert Crandall). If anything, the author's retirement has been more active than his business career. Following a stint as postmaster general during the Reagan administration, he was recruited to head the Resolution Trust Corp. (the federal agency that liquidated busted thrift institutions). While not one to advance himself as a role model for aspiring captains of industry, Casey offers a wealth of low-key guidance on tricks of the managerial trade. As a recurrent theme, moreover, he details how, in both the private and public sectors, he has made it a point of honor to reverse the thrust of Murphy's Law. A good-humored account of an uncommonly productive life, which belies the notion that nice guys finish last. (16 pages photos, not seen) (First printing of 75,000; $50,000 ad/promo; author tour) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

It is refreshing, in days of pessimistic forecasts, to find a former CEO as positive and optimistic as Casey. He proffers common-sense observations about the pursuit of business as well as a great story-telling aptitude. Who could forget, for instance, how he made good on his promise to the Lew Wassermans to turn off a Helmsley hotel's lights at 11 p.m.? Or when he was forced to make small talk with President Nixon and Reverend Billy Graham? Underneath the spinning of tales and celebrities, though, lies an astute head for business; good lessons can emanate from the turnarounds he effected at American Airlines, the U.S. Postal Service, and Resolution Trust Corporation. Perhaps his last chapter is the best exemplar of Casey's wisdom--here are 50 corollaries to last through any environment, any situation. Barbara Jacobs

Casey is a former CEO of Times Mirror, American Airlines, and the Resolution Trust Corporation who currently teaches at the Edwin L. Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University. Here he recounts his life as it has affected his widely diverse business career while offering advice for business leaders and managers. The major piece of advice is Casey's Law (as opposed to Murphy's Law): "If something can go right, it should." He also espouses a strong sense of personal and business ethics for anyone in the work force. Several biographies by business executives have appeared recently (e.g., James A. Autry's Confessions of an Accidental Businessman, LJ 10/1/96), and though Casey's work is not as revelatory as some, it is entertaining and should be included in most business collections.?Kathy Shimpock-Vieweg, Muchmore & Wallwork Lib., Phoenix
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.