Word: perots
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Perot instilled a version of military-influenced behavior at his Dallas EDS headquarters that prevails to this day. Says a Wall Street analyst: "Perot used to run the company like it was his own private militia." But Perot also fostered a spirit of no-frills egalitarianism that inspired high standards and fierce loyalty from his workers. Executive parking spaces and other perks were banned; Perot and the managers ate in the EDS cafeteria. Perot has described the EDS operation as a place where "people are treated as full partners." But he has also said, "I'm used to being able...
...Perot soon started trying to make big things happen. In 1969 he hired two Boeing 707s to carry Christmas gifts to American prisoners of war in North Viet Nam. The Communists did not cooperate, but Perot's reputation as a quixotic adventurer was born. The same year, he sent 152 spouses and children of missing servicemen to the Paris peace talks in a failed bid to parley with North Vietnamese negotiators. Starting in 1971, Perot launched a rescue bid on Wall Street by buying two failing brokerages and sinking $100 million into their revival. That effort failed in 1974. Perot...
...biggest nightmare situation of all came after two EDS managers were jailed in Tehran amid the revolutionary chaos of 1978. While bargaining with the tottering regime of the Shah for his men's release, Perot organized a commando team from among his EDS employees and hired a former Green Beret colonel, Arthur ("Bull") Simons, to lead an improbable rescue mission. Incredibly, it succeeded. Perot's operatives persuaded a revolutionary mob to storm the jail where the EDS men were held, then spirited the Americans 500 miles to safety in Turkey. Perot's feat was popularized by Novelist Ken Follett...
...Perot has slain dragons closer to home. In 1979 Texas Governor Bill Clements asked him to lead a local campaign against drugs. Perot spent more than $1 million of his own money on the effort, which resulted in laws that permit seizure of drug runners' assets. In 1983 he was named head of the Texas Governor's Select Committee on Public Education. In a 1½-year fight, Perot prodded the legislature to install teacher-competency tests and a "no pass, no play" rule for high school athletes. The chairman of the state board of education labeled Perot a "dangerous...
Whatever else he is, Perot is a committed philanthropist. Through the Perot Foundation, he has donated more than $100 million, much of it to causes in the Dallas area. Substantial amounts of money have been targeted for education projects and other bootstrap programs for minorities. Meanwhile, Perot and his family (he and Wife Margot have five children, ages 15 to 28) live unassumingly in one of Dallas' affluent neighborhoods. Most of his evenings are spent quietly at home. To cut stuffy out-of-towners down to size, Perot has been known to take them for lunch to smoky, crowded barbecue...