Skunk Works

Other Voices

Roy Anderson

(Former CEO, Lockheed Corporation)

Around the time Kelly chose Ben Rich to replace him, I was Lockheed’s chief financial officer, dealing with twenty-six banks who were very nervous about the company’s future in the aftermath of the scandals and the drubbing we took financially with the L-1011 airliner. But I was close to Kelly and knew Ben well, so Carl Kotchian called me and asked me what I thought about Rich as Kelly’s replacement. The alternative was either Rus Daniell or hiring an outsider. I said, “I’d go with Ben. He’s been handpicked and trained by Kelly. He’s innovative and has terrific drive and energy.” Carl said that was his inclination too. He said that Kelly had told him, “I’ve given Ben the toughest assignments and he’s never let me down. He won’t let you down either. He’s the future. Rus is a good man, too. But Ben is better for this job.”

Rus Daniell would have been first choice for a traditional kind of management. He was smooth and had a thoughtful, introverted quality that often inspired trust. But Ben Rich was a Skunk Worker through and through. He was an extrovert, high-intensity, no B.S. kind of guy. He told outrageous jokes and talked faster than a machine gun when he got excited about something, which was most of the time. He was just like Kelly when it came to problem solving and pushing things ahead—they were a couple of terriers who never let go or gave up. Kelly called me late at home one night and personally lobbied me about Ben. He had a couple of belts in him and he said, “Goddam it, Roy, I raised Ben in my own image. He loves the cutting edge as much as I do, but he knows the value of a buck and he’s as practical as a goddam screwdriver. He’ll do great, Roy. Mark my words.”

Ben was already well known and respected in places that counted inside the CIA and among the blue-suiters. He had an instinctive sense of what came next in technology that was valued by the military and the agency. He was much more collegial than Kelly, more willing to compromise and stay loose in dealing with difficult customers. Ben also was a good politician: he recognized management’s responsibilities and kept those of us who were cleared to know informed on projects and brought us in on big decisions. Kelly’s attitude had been “Goddam it, if I tell you something, that’s it.”

In later years, after I became Lockheed’s CEO, whenever I felt down in the dumps I’d call up Ben and drop by the Skunk Works. And I always left feeling a hell of a lot better. What cheered me up was Ben’s enthusiasm, which he instilled in everyone else. Those guys, from engineers to shop workers, stayed focused. They worried about being on time, getting it right, and staying on budget. You just didn’t find that kind of attitude anywhere else at Lockheed or any other company in the industry. That was the essence of the Skunk Works, and the reason why Ben would come into my office so many times over the years, with a big grin, saying, “Guess what our profits will be this next quarter.”