Friday, May 21, 2010

BloggeRhythms 5/23/2010

I guess once you start blog reminiscing, all kinds of memories come back. This one's about doing business with a household name.

Somewhere in the late seventies or early eighty's I had the opportunity to visit Turner Broadcasting's headquarters in Atlanta. They were acquiring a forty-foot truck-trailer equipped with every type of state-of-the-art broadcast equipment available on the market. We were asked to call on them because Turner's financial people wanted to examine all alternatives before deciding how to make the acquisition. The equipment manufacturer, located outside Cincinnati, suggested they speak to us and consider arranging an equipment lease.

With the electronic capabilities of this mobile unit, it could not only be parked outside a stadium or arena and produce a live, on-air TV broadcast, it could also create and put out a sale-ready audio tape of a show or concert. It supported a number of TV cameras, audio feeds and relays and in terms of production quality, it's output was equal to any in-studio broadcast or taping.

When the trailer was parked at a remote location, one of its sides could be pulled away about ten feet, like an outer, movable shell. That created covered empty additional space in which producers, directors and crew-members could move around and work with the equipment which was laid out in aisles, grouped by type, and connected as if it were in an in-house studio. In other words, as far as broadcast equipment went, this baby was Star Wars, and priced accordingly so. Let's just say it was very, very expensive.

When I arrived at Hartsfield Airport in Atlanta I flagged a cab and gave the driver the address, which I vaguely recall was 100 Tech Street back then, but I wouldn't swear to that. Anyway, upon hearing my destination, the cabbie said "Going to Turner, huh?" Then he went on, "I saw in the paper this morning that the Braves fired Joe Torre, the manager. Now, why in the world would Ted do that? Everyone down here loves Joe."

Finally reaching Turner's location I was soon introduced to their Chief Financial Officer. As you'd likely expect in a business such as this one this gentleman looked like he took his mid-day meal in the Harvard Club. Tall, trim. dignified, immaculately clad, soft-spoken with a pleasance that you suspected would probably stay the same while he fleeced you like a sheep. In other word's he appeared as if he'd either fallen off the cover of Fortune Magazine's issue on Who's Who in finance, or was a center-fold star in GQ's pages on sophisticated business attire. Precisely the type you'd expect someone of Ted Turner's acumen to rely on regarding his business' financial affairs.

The CFO's office was huge, magnificently appointed and his desktop could easily accommodate ping-pong doubles.

Now, I was never one for small talk at the beginning of business meetings, and certainly never one for telling gags or jokes, because, quite honestly, I never considered myself a clown in those situations. But, as much as I would have preferred to get right down to business, something about this impressive person I was across from indicated that I ought to at least try to inject some small-talk before addressing this sophisticated block of professional ice about financial specifics.

So, remembering the cabbies remark about the Braves letting their manager go, I asked the very same question, simply to start a dialog. Well, without so much as another glance at me, the CFO whirled his chair 180 degrees and now was facing the biggest credenza I'd ever seen. And atop the credenza was a huge phone system with what seemed like hundreds of buttons (remember, this was more than 20 years ago.) Then he began punching buttons; one, than another, then another after that. And each time he'd blurt more or less the same question, asking why Joe Torre had been let go.

In time, I think he'd contacted every member of the Braves organization from the General Manager, to Assistant Managers, to coaches, perhaps even the bat-boys for all I know. Quite a bit later, he finally slammed the receiver down in its cradle, turned back to face me and said, "Boy, I'm always the last to know. I'm responsible for the team's payroll, contracts and legal issues and everything else associated with things like that and it seems, nobody remembers to fill me in until it's too late. And, aside from that, everybody I've spoken to this morning in our organization told me Joe Torre is still in our employ. So, where did you get your information about our terminating him, Mr. Berke?"

At that moment I found that the Great One, Jackie Gleason, was the only person I could think of who could answer a question like that from a man of the CFO's stature. I looked directly at him, shrugged and mumbled, "Homina, homina, homina." And I guess, in the CFO's eyes, that was likely the most intelligent thing I'd said all morning.

That's it for today folks.

Adios

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