When my father asked me to take back the job of heading the outdoor operation in 1981, I said I wanted no part of it. I felt it would be like trying to bring his outdoor division back from the dead, making it more than just a tax write-off before he took me out of it. I had no desire to take on for a second time the massive amount of work needed to turn around something which had been run into the ground.
But two things changed my mind. The first was Dave Feldman, who had stayed with the outdoor division through the two managers. He pointed out that I had nothing to lose. The outdoor division couldn’t be in any worse shape, and there was no way it could go but up. I had my doubts about that until I found out the other reason why I would have to take on the job. My father told me that if I didn’t go back to the outdoor division, I would need to look for another job.
I asked him what was going to happen to the company newspaper, and he said it might be dissolved. He said if he could get somebody who was up to continuing it, he would, but I could tell he had no plans to do that. In the same issue of the Park Communications tabloid that contained the news of my return to outdoor, Babcock reported (in a box I did not write) that my new responsibilities were a demanding, full-time job that would leave no time for me to continue editing and publishing Park Communications, which I had done for the past four-and-a-half years. “For the time being, we will suspend publication,” he said. That was the end of that.
Saving the outdoor division was much more important to my father, and I certainly could understand that, even though I wasn’t looking forward to being the one to do it. When I agreed to take it on, I laid down some conditions for my return, among which was his commitment to invest more capital in the plant.
Akey reason I was brought back was evident. Operating profit, as I noted earlier, posted a loss of $275,000 in 1981. I will give the two managers credit because they accomplished something I couldn’t. They convinced my father to undertake some capital improvement in the plant. It was better than performing cosmetic repairs on deteriorating inventory to keep costs down, which could only lead to flat or declining sales.