the abbreviated reign of “neon” leon spinks

CHOOSE THE RIGHT PARTNER 77
were about as mismatched as could be. For all his fl amboyant salesman-
ship, Kaiser also was a stolid workaholic with a no-nonsense attitude about
deadlines, a trait which had helped him accomplish other similarly daunt-
ing projects. Hughes, in contrast, was doing the Lindy Hop on the preci-
pice of sanity. He hadn’t yet devolved into the reclusive, paranoid nudist
of his later years, when he would subsist on a diet of narcotics and ice
cream. But his quirks and fixations were already rampant. He once drafted
a lengthy memo to his secretary detailing the alternative forms of punctuation
that he wanted to be used in his will.
As Kaiser soon learned to his dismay, Hughes Aircraft was perhaps
the most bizarrely run company in America. Hughes had amassed
some of the best engineers and technicians in the business, but the owner
still ran the operation as if its purpose were to produce a few fl ashy highperformance
planes in which he could set speed rec ords. And for all his
rule- making fixations, Hughes couldn’t be bothered with going through
proper channels, adhering to regulations, or any of the things defense
contractors are expected to do. (For example, he’d once contacted the
Army Air Corps to let them know he was developing a revolutionary
fi ghter-bomber, and then refused to let the brass in to see it.) Hughes had
about as much interest in time management or information flow as he
would later have in bathing and haircuts. Once, after Kaiser repeatedly
tried without success to locate Hughes and get an update on the project,
the worried industrialist was reduced to writing Hughes a letter. “Since
my reputation is at stake as well as yours, I request that you immediately
advise me by letter the actual schedule, number of man hours per day, and
a chart showing how these planes are being completed,” Kaiser pleaded.
Hughes essentially ignored him. He could afford to, since Kaiser had unwisely
signed an agreement that gave Hughes virtually complete control
over the plane’s engineering and construction.
Hughes didn’t even come close to fulfilling the government contract.
That his company actually managed to build even one flying boat in
five years, however, is amazing, considering the project’s mind-boggling