(December 2, 2009) FEEDING FRENZY — By Jon Harmon, published by Eloquent Books

By Al Vinikor
MotorwayAmerica.com

Throughout history every major battle has produced books detailing everything from its cause, to its outcome — and the inevitable lessons learned. Not every hostility is military in nature, however, as proven in a new book called Feeding Frenzy — Inside the Ford-Firestone Crisis, by Jon Harmon.

The book chronicles the life-and-death struggle between Ford Motor Company and Firestone, which was the biggest business story during 2000-2001. The public fight raged over the 270 lives lost in the United States (and 100 more in Venezuela and other hot-climate countries) caused by the deadly and mysterious rollovers of the Ford Explorer equipped with failing Firestone tires.

What makes this narrative so unique is Harmon’s major role as a member of Ford’s Public Affairs team assigned to this crisis. Among other things his responsibilities included media relations and strategizing with Ford’s senior management. Seldom is an author given the opportunity to witness, be part of, and detail history from such a first-hand perspective.

Harmon points out the initial attempts of Ford to let Firestone make its case to the public, with Ford remaining in the background. Meanwhile, Ford pored through tons of data from countless sources to determine just who, and what prompted the crisis. At stake was not just an astronomical amount of money but the physical existence of a 100-year-old company (Ford) and a lifelong relationship with its key supplier (Firestone). As if to make matter worse, the chairman of Ford Motor Company — William Clay Ford, Jr. — was a product of a Ford father and a Firestone mother.

With each major element of events leading up to its eventual conclusion, Harmon produces a “Lessons Learned” summation. While some facets of the conflict involved common sense the majority was learned on the fly. Harmon states his company conducted their side of the campaign with facts, openness and honesty. The various “war rooms” (that used to be conference rooms) at Ford’s World Headquarters building in Dearborn (MI) regularly included a mixture of senior management (including Ford’s CEO Jac Nassar), regulatory personnel, engineers, designers, government affairs, public affairs and whomever was needed for their areas of expertise.

On the other side of the conflict was Firestone — headquartered in Nashville and owned by Bridgestone of Japan. Harmon opines Firestone was less than forthcoming with sharing data, its own strategy and its public face, which eventually led to mandatory recalls for the tires it had produced for the Ford Explorer, the world’s best-selling sport utility vehicle. It ultimately led to such a clash that Firestone’s new American CEO — John Lampe — announced his company would no longer be a Ford supplier.

The book is a great read for those fascinated by hardcore contention between two superpowers. Those not familiar with this controversy will wonder if there will be only one combatant left standing by the time the book ends. For those who thought they knew all the pertinent facts…they’re wrong.

Obviously one would expect Harmon to have an innate sense of loyalty and passion for the company he fought so hard to protect. But he is not hesitant to illustrate shortcomings on the part of Ford, either. Nor does he ever display any bitterness towards Firestone. If anything he seemed to be very careful to tell their side of the story as best as an outsider can. It would be interesting to read a similar book written by Harmon’s opposite in Nashville.

Feeding Frenzy should be required reading in every business school. It’s the consummate example of theory vs. reality.

Feeding Frenzy – Inside the Ford-Firestone Crisis (296 pages) is available at Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble. It’s published by Eloquent Books, New York, NY.