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

Albert V Casey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 7, 1997

Murphy's Law tells us that if something can go wrong, it will. Nonsense! says Al Casey, who maintains: If things can go right, they should. But you've got to make them go right, he adds, by hard work, focusing on key problems, and believing in the people around you. One of the most successful - and original - American businessmen of our time, Al Casey is a no-nonsense turnaround specialist who loves nothing more than the big challenges, whether in the private or the public sector. As president of the Times Mirror Corporation, he was instrumental in taking that West Coast company, whose main "product" was the Los Angeles Times, and turning it into a multifaceted media giant, with interests in magazines, newspapers, book publishing, forest products, radio, and television. As chairman of American Airlines for eleven years, he took that ailing giant - heavily in debt and losing money when he became CEO early in 1974 - and made it into the highly profitable, preeminent company it still is today. As postmaster general he attacked the problems of the country's largest government agency - with almost a million employees - and left it leaner, more motivated, for the first time truly competitive, and - to the great surprise of Washington insiders - both efficient and profitable. When the savings and loan debacle unfolded in the late 1980s, with hundreds of thrifts having failed and hundreds more under siege, Al Casey was named chairman of the Resolution Trust Corporation, with the impossible job of bailing out a situation that was threatening the entire banking system of the United States. In this book Al Casey tells his fascinating latter-day Horatio Alger story, from boyhood days in Arlington,Massachusetts, where he grew up during the Great Depression, through his fifty-year business career, to his current role as Distinguished Professor at SMU's Cox School of Business, where he is helping form a new generation of business leaders and managers. In these pages he relates, with great charm and wit, the saga of his long and varied business career and offers practical advice on where and how American business needs to simplify and focus if it is to maintain its position as global leader in the twenty-first century.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

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.

From Booklist

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

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Arcade Publishing; 1st edition (April 7, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559703075
• ISBN-13: 978-1559703079
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,955,948 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, Yet Valuable Advice, March 27, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Casey's Law: If Something Can Go Right, It Should (Hardcover)

I'm fortunate to have been a student in two of Al Casey's courses at Southern Methodist University, so remember-- I'm biased!

Al provides a refreshing view on business because of his diverse experience; within any single position someone could have built a career-- whether it's CEO of American, Times Mirror, Postmaster General, head of Resolution Trust, etc...

I'll warn you: don't buy this book if you are looking for tips on how to play dirty in business-- Casey believes that good principles mean good business. Few can say that and be credible. The collections of maxims and career advice, found at the end of the book, is itself reason enough to purchase this book. I've read the book twice. Here's a sampling:

*Never do or say anything that you wouldn't want to read in tomorrow's paper.

*Be confident, even when the odds seem stacked against you. Especially when the odds seem stacked against you.

*Hire talented people; hopefully, one of them will be your successor.

*Play fair. Too many people forget the first word, and often the second.

*Never slam a door so hard that you can't open it again.

*The harder you work, the luckier you get.

*Always question people, starting with yourself.

*Leadership lasts only as long as it's exercised.

*Meet weekly as a group with all who report to you; meet one-on-one each week as well.

*Balance out social situations; if you invite one key staff member to your home, invite them all.

*When all else fails, get down on your knees. Amen.