"Predator" Write-Up

Too Honest Abe

Abe Karem had been one of Israel’s brightest minds ever since he was born. From tearing apart mechanical objects like old radio stands, to completing mechanical sets and model gliders, his mind developed at a young age. He was also a brilliant inventor, devoting nearly all his time to developing new engineering feats that could push the boundaries of aviation. However, as brilliant a mind he possessed, he oftentimes found himself on the short end of business relations. His tendency to go over his superiors and his impatient tendencies caused rifts throughout his business endeavors that may have ultimately hurt his ultimate success.

One of Abe Karem’s shortcomings was his decision to route around his supervisors and go straight to a position of highest authority. When he was in the Israeli Air Force in 1961, he rose very quickly to major and was so well-respected by his peers that he could get the commander in chief on the line when he wanted. This was attributed as the beginning of his bad habit, as he quickly became comfortable with this practice. Another example on page 14 describes when he was so sure of how a modification of a fighter plane could be done in one year rather than three that he went around his company (Israeli Aircraft Industries [IAI])’s back and told the Israeli Air Force directly that it could be done. While not specifically mentioned, there are multiple reasons why a company gives an over-estimate on how long a project will last, some of which include providing a time buffer, current lack of resources, or milking the funding as long as possible. When Karem tells the Israeli Air Force that the project will take 1/3 of the time proposed, it not only diminishes the credibility of his superiors and their ability to estimate projects, but also pushes the project forward by a substantial amount possibly resulting in a rushed product.

Karem did not like the way things were run at IAI because he believed that small groups of people working efficiently was a more effective method than large groups of people working on a project, like was done at IAI. Even though this may have been what Karem believed, in a professional environment, people are appointed as supervisors because of their managerial capabilities. There is a direct chain of command and a trusted form of communication. When Karem goes over that chain of command, it causes his superiors to lose trust in him, as well as feel belittled because their role is diminished.

A second downfall of Karem’s business acumen was his impatience with people who were not as smart as him (pg 9). Abe Karem’s impatience is seen throughout the book, both when he is dealing with people who are not above average in their field, as well as when field tests do not go as planned. While his lack of patience is not a surprise given his quick wits and ability to complete large projects in short time spans, that is not justification. He did not mind cutting people from a project, oftentimes doing so at the drop of a hat. Having high standards led Karem towards great success. This success achieved, especially in his early years at IAI, enabled him to get away with cutting people from projects quickly. Some of his reasons included: lack of cooperation, selfishness, lack of respect, and below average knowledge. There was no obligation to bring unqualified persons onto his team, as there was an apparent flow of people introduced in the book wanting to work alongside Karem, seeming as though every page brought about a new character.

His drive is respectable, however rapid rotation of employees can create a hostile environment thus destroying the company’s professional ethos. Abe could have benefitted from practicing patience with his employees and taking on an occasional mentor role. Instead of letting people go or refusing to work with those who lacked knowledge in their field, taking them under his wing so to speak would allow them to develop their field knowledge. Understandably so however, Karem was not running his business ventures for the benefit of his employees, rather, his employees were a tool to drive his success.

It was not just his quick fuse that caused professional quarrels. His mind was so well respected, that once he decided to leave IAI, the company made their intentions very clear: they would do whatever they could to take him down, “Every time we are going to propose something, they [their clients] will say, ‘But Abe will do it faster and cheaper,’ and we are not going to have that.”

Not only did Abe lack patience with employees, but also for clients, as can be demonstrated with the Albatross test flight in Utah. Karem’s patience ran out quickly as the test range technicians did not bring along the gear needed for smooth demonstration flights. In any industry, patience is essential to creating a viable end product as you work alongside others possessing different skill sets. Expectations of perfection, while occasionally beneficial to new product development, are detrimental if taken too literally.

                Ultimately, having a consistent business partner to work alongside Karem would benefit him tremendously.  Trust is a key component of this relationship though, because Karem would be forfeiting over a part of his life investments over to this person, so he must be able to trust that he/she will act as he would like. While beneficial in business deals, this partner could also act as a coach for Karem. In the previous examples above where Abe would go over his advisors and become impatient quickly, having a friendly relationship with a professional could be used as a liaison.