Railroader: The Unfiltered Genius and Controversy of Four-Time CEO Hunter Harrison
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-09 11:57:21
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Howard Green
- ISBN：1989025048
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Summary
The prospect of a weekend on the French Riviera was an attractive one。 Yet most of the nine people whom Major Mark Auty invited to join him hesitated before accepting his invitation。 Each of them knew something about Auty's past - and because of their knowledge， had good reason to suspect some sinister intention。
Their doubts were not unwarranted。 Before the flight took off for Nice murder had been committed - and one of the nine guests had to be guilty。 But it was Major Auty himself who was the victim and it seems he was killed just in time 。 。 。
Their doubts were not unwarranted。 Before the flight took off for Nice murder had been committed - and one of the nine guests had to be guilty。 But it was Major Auty himself who was the victim and it seems he was killed just in time 。 。 。
Reviews
Denis
，
When I read a book about a great leader I expect to learn some tips on management and to get to know the thinking behind the CEO's decisions。 There was virtually nothing of that here。 All I've learned is: Hunter Harrison came to a railroad， improved its running costs by cutting unnecessary jobs and selling unnecessary property， then moved to the next railroad to do the exact same。 While it's clear it wasn't about just that， the rest is barely explored。 When I read a book about a great leader I expect to learn some tips on management and to get to know the thinking behind the CEO's decisions。 There was virtually nothing of that here。 All I've learned is: Hunter Harrison came to a railroad， improved its running costs by cutting unnecessary jobs and selling unnecessary property， then moved to the next railroad to do the exact same。 While it's clear it wasn't about just that， the rest is barely explored。 。。。more
Jesse
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Hard to believe sometimes just how many important and influential people there are out there that you've never heard of。 Hard to believe sometimes just how many important and influential people there are out there that you've never heard of。 。。。more
Paul Kanning
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The subject of the book， Harrison， is fascinating。 From an entry level job in Memphis， he went on to become CEO of 4 railroads with an impact on an industry and on North America that will last for generations。 I particularly enjoyed learning about his leadership style， which was abrasive， nurturing， cut-throat， and caring all at the same time。The book， however， is slow。 The author had great insight into his subject， but was very repetitive。 If the book length was cut by a third， he still could h The subject of the book， Harrison， is fascinating。 From an entry level job in Memphis， he went on to become CEO of 4 railroads with an impact on an industry and on North America that will last for generations。 I particularly enjoyed learning about his leadership style， which was abrasive， nurturing， cut-throat， and caring all at the same time。The book， however， is slow。 The author had great insight into his subject， but was very repetitive。 If the book length was cut by a third， he still could have covered every aspect of Harrison。So while I thought Harrison's story was enthralling， the author was not。 3 Stars。 。。。more
Vincent Houghtaling
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A fun and humanizing look at everyone's favourite terrifying railroad millionaire， Hunter Harrison。 An inspiring commitment to efficiency， and success coming from effort。 A fun and humanizing look at everyone's favourite terrifying railroad millionaire， Hunter Harrison。 An inspiring commitment to efficiency， and success coming from effort。 。。。more
John
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Hunter Harrison is important because the majority of things you buy travel on one of the Railroads that he was recruited to reorganize， Illinois Central， Chessie， Canadian Pacific， CN。His basic management idea was that running to timetable is more efficient ， especial on single track railways than running when cargo presents itself。 Like Herb Keller at South West， setting aside extra capacity for peak periods instead of just charging more， is a bad thing。 It assumes a purely freight system。 His Hunter Harrison is important because the majority of things you buy travel on one of the Railroads that he was recruited to reorganize， Illinois Central， Chessie， Canadian Pacific， CN。His basic management idea was that running to timetable is more efficient ， especial on single track railways than running when cargo presents itself。 Like Herb Keller at South West， setting aside extra capacity for peak periods instead of just charging more， is a bad thing。 It assumes a purely freight system。 His style was as a old time preacher and one episode， positively quoted， was of demoting a staff member who asked the 'wrong' question; another of knocking down his childhood home to build a condo。This book claims to be "unfiltered" and cannot make up its mind whether to be a hagiography praising Hunter beyond what he claims for himself， or a management manual。 Ultimately， it fails to be either convincingly， which is sad。It is difficult from this book to discern what Hunter Harrison said or did that had not already been done better by Fred Smith at Fedex or Richard Branson。 。。。more
Sa6331
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A good read profiling one of the most CEOs in corporate America。 Hunter Harrison has been heralded as the best railroader ever， who understood the business from ground-up， rising to the top and leading as CEO of 4 different North American railroads。 This book provides a window of how he operated and provides both the good and bad of his day-to-day activities。 It was also interesting to read about the boardroom battles endured during the activist investor moves into CP & CSX。
Douglas Murray
，
Knowing nothing about Hunter Harrison going in I wasn't sure what to expect。 If you are a fan of business， learning about how different industries operate， and stories of people who run them， you will like this book。Portrayal of the subject felt fairly balanced。 Praise for the good， acknowledgement for the bad/grey。 Knowing nothing about Hunter Harrison going in I wasn't sure what to expect。 If you are a fan of business， learning about how different industries operate， and stories of people who run them， you will like this book。Portrayal of the subject felt fairly balanced。 Praise for the good， acknowledgement for the bad/grey。 。。。more
Danny Allen
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Great objective book about a controversial figure
Rick
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First full disclosure – I worked with the subject of this biography for nine months in 1989 at his first “success” story … the Illinois Central。 I remained from the old management team， and he came in on the new team。 As to the book: I give it four stars … it was an entertaining read， a bit more hagiography than biography， but an engrossing tale about a guy who generated a lot of shareholder value in three different companies in the railroad industry。 If you measure a man’s success by the amount First full disclosure – I worked with the subject of this biography for nine months in 1989 at his first “success” story … the Illinois Central。 I remained from the old management team， and he came in on the new team。 As to the book: I give it four stars … it was an entertaining read， a bit more hagiography than biography， but an engrossing tale about a guy who generated a lot of shareholder value in three different companies in the railroad industry。 If you measure a man’s success by the amount of money he made for shareholders … then Hunter was a big success and he didn’t have many peers。 Green’s book captures all the moves and mayhem in Hunter’s interesting career at three major railroads。 While the story gives short shrift to the Illinois Central puzzle piece， it dwells on the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific parts much longer。 As to the subject: Hunter was one of those guys who burned brightly and both ends of the candle。 He drank a lot， he smoked a lot， and he cussed a lot … all to say he was one of those characters who came across larger than life。 On his way to reforming three companies， he trod on a lot of toes。 Lots of people got fired and lots of people made millions。 Hunter was a man of his times and landed at these companies at the right time in the right circumstance。 He generated billions of dollars in shareholder value at the two Canadian railroads。 He did not generate as much windfall at the Illinois Central because previous management had already done a lot of the heavy lifting … thus I disagree with the author’s notes that the Illinois Central was on the brink （46） and on the verge of bankruptcy （253）。 But the Illinois Central was important to the tale because it was Hunter’s jumping off point。 All in all this is an intriguing biography of an achiever， and if you like railroads and corporate interplay you’ll like this tale 。。。more
Peter
，
Good readVery interesting read。 I’ve spent my career in transportation but NER s railroader。 Fascinating stories。 Read if， there is something to learn here。
Brahm
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What a surprisingly good book。 No expectations other than it was on Bill Gates' list， which is usually well filtered。1。 Learned a lot about railroads。 2。 And business。 3。 Great writing。 4。 Very interesting subject。 5 stars！ What a surprisingly good book。 No expectations other than it was on Bill Gates' list， which is usually well filtered。1。 Learned a lot about railroads。 2。 And business。 3。 Great writing。 4。 Very interesting subject。 5 stars！ 。。。more
Oakland
，
Howard Green captures the subject of his book -- serial railroad CEO Hunter Harrison -- in all his rough-edged， larger-than-life glory。 The book is exhaustively researched and stuffed with vivid anecdotes that make reading a pleasure。 Green has an easy-going， transparent prose style that serves both the reader and Harrison himself perfectly。 You don't have to love trains to love this book， but you're certain to be dazzled by them -- and the people who run them -- by the time you put this epic bi Howard Green captures the subject of his book -- serial railroad CEO Hunter Harrison -- in all his rough-edged， larger-than-life glory。 The book is exhaustively researched and stuffed with vivid anecdotes that make reading a pleasure。 Green has an easy-going， transparent prose style that serves both the reader and Harrison himself perfectly。 You don't have to love trains to love this book， but you're certain to be dazzled by them -- and the people who run them -- by the time you put this epic biography down。 。。。more
D Sibilant
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v good
Chiso
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Decent biography。 Given that Harrison is legendary for his roles in railroad efficiency， there was not as much information on railroad operations as I would have liked
Mary
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Howard Green has hit the nail directly on the head， and as diplomatically as at all possible， in this biography of one of North America's most controversial CEOs。 The transportation industry post-NAFTA needed a change agent。 North American railroads became， when 'hunterized'， global leaders in managing freight operations and are a key factor in North American competitiveness。 This book does an admirable job of managing to tell both the story of the person， and the story of the railroads he ran， Howard Green has hit the nail directly on the head， and as diplomatically as at all possible， in this biography of one of North America's most controversial CEOs。 The transportation industry post-NAFTA needed a change agent。 North American railroads became， when 'hunterized'， global leaders in managing freight operations and are a key factor in North American competitiveness。 This book does an admirable job of managing to tell both the story of the person， and the story of the railroads he ran， and paint an accurate picture of Canadian-U。S。 business cultural differences。 An excellent read no matter what side of the border you live on！ 。。。more
Tomek Cz
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Very enjoyable book about one of the greatest railroad operators in history
Tyler
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The author does a pretty good job being neutral about such a polarizing character， though I imagine many railroad employees will find it too flattering to Harrison。 However you felt about him though， he led a fascinating life and this book captures that life well。
John
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This book is an outstanding review of the life and career of arguably the most influential railroader of the modern era。 It is a great read for anyone interested in business， but especially those of us interested in railroading。 This book is a must-read。
Earl Jackson
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