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James J. Ling took only 14 years to build the 14th biggest industrial concern in America, Ling-Temco-Vought.
He audaciously built the conglomerate by using debt to maintain steady growth and gains. His company was named by Fortune in 1965 as the fastest growing enterprise of the decade (1955-1965).
James J. Ling - Unusual Methods, Amazing Risks
It is not surprising that Jimmy Ling turned out to be a business maverick, fearlessly embarking on major risks to turn a profit, because he was forced to deal with crises early in his life. His father was a convert to Catholicism. In the heat of anti-Catholic bigotry in World War I, Ling's father killed a railway coworker. Later on, the elder Ling entered the monastery.
Practically orphaned when his mother died, Ling went to live with an aunt and studied with the Jesuits. Not being able to graduate from high school, he worked as a master electrician after undergoing training at a Mississippi US Naval school.
At age 25, he put up an electrical contracting concern in Dallas, called Ling Electric Co., and made his home behind the shop. The year was 1947. In less than 10 years, Ling had incorporated the Dallas business even taking it public in 1955!
Even more remarkable are some of the ways Ling marketed company stock: going door-to-door and even offering stocks at a booth at the Texas State Fair!
A year later, he purchased L.M. Electronics and turned it into Ling-Temco-Vought . He used company funds to buy numerous corporations, solidifying his reputation as one of the most famous conglomerate builders of the 1960s.
However, by 1975, antitrust charges became heated and Ling decided to leave the firm. Pretty soon, inflation and increased interest rates took its toll on the conglomerate Ling built by risking debts. Several giants, such as Textron, Teledyne, and ITT fell prey to the volatile economy as well.
Ling established a number of companies after leaving Ling-Temco-Vought , but was never as successful again. The maverick risk-taker was finally laid to rest in December 2004, a couple of weeks short of his 83rd birthday.
The James J. Ling Quick Bio
Full name: James J. Ling
Birth date: December 31, 1922
Birth place: Hugo, Oklahoma
Company: Ling-Temco-Vought
Industry: Fabricated Goods
Key success traits: A bold risk-taker and unconventional marketer; utilized methods unheard of in corporate America, such as selling company stocks at the state fair!
Additional:
Ling succeeded in yet another trial later in his life: recovery from Guillain-Barr syndrome, with which he was first diagnosed in 1981. The condition is an acute, auto-immune disease of the nervous system.
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