Word: perots
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What do these allegations have to do with a person's fitness to serve as President? Though no one is accusing Perot of extramarital affairs or dodging the draft, the charges aired by his former IBM colleagues help define that elusive quality called character. Voters may in fact decide that they are not bothered by a candidate who uses his elbows in the rough-and-tumble world of business. But whether a candidate likes it or not, running for President opens him to wide-ranging scrutiny. The examination can be particularly painful for a newcomer like Perot...
Before they would talk, many sources asked for anonymity, fearing that Perot would harass them. In the end, most of these IBMers conceded great respect for Perot's sales ability and drive. But they strongly disliked or distrusted their colleague. "He was a money-hungry guy," recalls ex-salesman Ogden Kidd, now 63. "He was not a team player, and he was not comfortable working within the framework of business ethics that IBM had adopted at the time." Or, as another, more forgiving salesman puts it, "He was practicing '80s ethics in the 1960s...
Seed Money for EDS. An aggressive salesman can sell customers things they don't need and can't afford. One of the most enduring myths about Perot is that he sold so hard in his final year with IBM (1962) that he achieved his sales quota in mid-January. Less known is the fact that he reached this quota -- and pocketed a commission estimated at $30,000 (nearly $150,000 in today's dollars) -- from the "sale" of a single computer that was never actually installed...
...simple nonresearch "baby computer" (price: $80,000) that is roughly 100 times less powerful and used for different purposes. "It's like the difference between a BB gun and a cannon," says a former top salesman, Ken Crider, who was "shocked" that IBM management allowed Perot to walk away with a commission on the original order...
...paperwork on the deal no longer exists, but a former IBM executive claims to have reviewed it after Perot resigned. "The proposal stated that GRC would start renting time on other people's equipment, until such time as it made sense to install a 7090," he says. "But IBM doesn't take provisional orders like that." This executive says IBM management in Dallas covered up the incident by quietly absorbing Perot's commission. Why? To save the hide of another colleague, who had approved the deal...