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* Caterpillar’s CEO Doug Oberhelman sat down for an interview with Business Week…

Oberhelman paid his way through Millikin University, a small private college in Decatur, “by working at a bank, where he did everything from sign home mortgages to repossess cars.”

“It was a fabulous experience,” he told Businessweek. “You knock on the door, and you tell somebody you’re gonna take their car away — and usually they’re down on their luck, and their car is the last thing they have. So I learned to deal with that.”

I prefer to charitably interpret that remark as meaning the experience gave him the ability to “deal with” human suffering. Others may not be so charitable.

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, May 17, 13 @ 10:25 am

Comments

It’s fair to say the quote does not evince any empathy toward the less fortunate. On the contrary, it indicates that he learned to take away “the last thing they had” without pangs of conscience.

Comment by reformer Friday, May 17, 13 @ 10:37 am
The gas station I worked for in college did some repo work for a couple of banks.

We weren’t knocking on doors alerting folks that we were hooking up their cars, I guarantee you. More like grabbing them late at night from the street or driveway and skedaddling.

The confrontations we did have were way intense. You really earned your six bucks an hour in those situations.

Comment by wordslinger Friday, May 17, 13 @ 10:38 am
knowing Doug a little bit, I’m certain that his intended sarcasm about this being fabulous was lost in translation. he is one of the most down to earth über rich guys I’ve ever met. (not that I’ve met dozens). that being said, I’m guessing his communications staff is cringing today.

Comment by Matt jones Friday, May 17, 13 @ 10:40 am
I wonder how many “Cats” he’s repo’d as Caterpillar CEO. Big heart that guy has.

Comment by PublicServant Friday, May 17, 13 @ 10:40 am
It seems odd to say it was a fabulous experience and in the same sentence reference the fact that you are taking somebody’s car away. I truly hope he didn’t mean to sound so callous.

Comment by Demoralized Friday, May 17, 13 @ 10:41 am
Ugh. Replace “fabulous” with anything and this is fine. Humbling would have worked.

Comment by Anon Friday, May 17, 13 @ 10:49 am
“It was a fabulous experience.” Yeeesh. Reminiscent of “it was an up day.”

Comment by Boone's is Back Friday, May 17, 13 @ 10:50 am
Yes the quote is tone deaf but I’m glad it brings more attention to what is a really good article (my only quibble that it didn’t mention the decatur layoffs or companywide furloughs of as many as 4 weeks this year, one week at a time spread out so as to avoid having to pay unemployment) laying out the issue of how workers are so badly treated generally in this economy and caterpillar particularly… all because every ceo like cats is taught in business school “we can never make enough profit” Contrary to what some may believe this is not how american capitalism has always been practiced. There was sucha thing as enough profit and the leftovers went to investments in the business and its workers so that our capitalist system could bring broadbased longterm prosperity to our communities and country. Now the greed is good ethos has someone like olberhelman focused just on shortterm profits and the quarterly report so as to justify his own personal wage increases with no concern for his former town of decatur when he lays off 800 workers this year.

Comment by hisgirlfriday Friday, May 17, 13 @ 10:55 am
As my Dad used to say: “words matter, so choose them wisely”. I agree with Anon @10:49, a whole plethora of words would have worked better, including ‘humbling”. But I will give him the benefit of the doubt.

Comment by Knome Sane Friday, May 17, 13 @ 11:05 am
Seems to me that someone who enjoys repossessing the car of desperate poor people while he’s in college would be just the kind of person and experience that corporate america looks for in CEO’s these days.

Whether it’s repossessing someone’s car, or outsourcing a few thousand jobs to China, he sleeps well at night.

Comment by jerry 101 Friday, May 17, 13 @ 11:10 am
I have no reason to defend his quote. But there is the possibility that he elaborated on that experience, but the journalist chose to use only part of what he said. That happens.

Comment by Joe M. Friday, May 17, 13 @ 11:12 am
My friend and neighbor who works for CAT in Decatur just got a “lowering” by $2/hr. Mr Oberhelman’s salary went from $10.6 million to $22.4 million in 2010-2012.

I am not inclined to view this statement charitably.

Comment by Colossus Friday, May 17, 13 @ 11:19 am
Someone recently graduated from the Romney school of PR.

Comment by L.S. Friday, May 17, 13 @ 11:31 am
Sounds like he was channeling Mitt Romney’s famous “I like to fire people” train of thought.

Comment by anon Friday, May 17, 13 @ 11:40 am
Maybe there was an editing issue, but it’s still hard to explain “fabulous” in this statement.

Comment by Wensicia Friday, May 17, 13 @ 11:43 am
“Did you ever try repoing a front end loader? Now that takes some skill.”

Comment by Darienite Friday, May 17, 13 @ 11:47 am
Look, this is not his first trip to the rodeo. He knew exactly the point he was making.

Comment by soccermom Friday, May 17, 13 @ 11:52 am
Doug Oberhelman got a good opportunity at the bank to be able to learn quite a few areas of banking. Most college kids are lucky to get a job at the Target or McDonalds on their summer breaks, this guy got a real good break.
Doug got experience in being cold and heartless early on. Maybe that’s the best way to the top forget you have people working for you and they are just a way for a means to an end.

I sure it did not hurt that his Dad was at CAT before.

Comment by 3rd Generation Chicago Native Friday, May 17, 13 @ 12:12 pm
I would hope that that quote was just a very, very, very unfortunate attempt at being sarcastic rather than the obviously ice cold hearted reality that it probably is.

Comment by TJ Friday, May 17, 13 @ 12:23 pm
Unless the reporter edited out some sort of key transition sentence or two in that interview, I am simply left wondering… What the heck (insert alternative word here)???

“Fabulous” is about as far away as you can get from adjectives to describe that scenario, at least in my mind.

Comment by Keep Calm and Carry On Friday, May 17, 13 @ 12:25 pm
My understanding is that the guy is a pretty decent fellow. That said, Milikin is NOT a cheap school to go through. Did he actually pay his way through on a part time job at a bank? His comments may be taken to mean something else than what he had in mind. We all had jobs in college that helped make us who we are. I shoveled corn at Pioneer while at U of I, dried cars at the car wash, student managed a bar, all of which had stories that told today could make me look like a different person than I am…I won’t go into the one where I worked at a motel and part of my job was to knock on the door of a single customer who had an unpaid overnight visitor with him/her and advise them that the room was booked for 1 person and if the guest did not leave, two would be billed….It’s how I learned to deal with people in “Hot” situations……

Comment by LisleMike Friday, May 17, 13 @ 1:13 pm
Take away a man’s last possession ( his car) isn’t all that different than advocating reducing a retires earned pension- is it?

Comment by Roadiepig Friday, May 17, 13 @ 1:48 pm
I think your “charitable” interpretation in the Post was the right one, in that he was trying to say how he can relate to the average Joe or Sue, having attended and worked his own way through a small Midewestern College, while experiencing first-hand the suffering people endure sometimes when things go south financially–so as to say to folks, “See–I’m not just some rich, FAT-CAT, Corporate BIG-Wig sittin’ up there on his his High Horse somewhere lookin’ down at the little guy from his Ivory Tower through Rose-Colored Glasses…no, instead, I’ve been there, and know what it means to work your rear-end off to scrape together a few dollars to pay mySELF through school–while others may not be so lucky, so I DO appreciate the value of a dollar….”

Comment by Just The Way It Is One Friday, May 17, 13 @ 2:24 pm
He repossessed my buddy’s rug. It really tied the room together.

Comment by Walter Friday, May 17, 13 @ 2:51 pm
==Take away a man’s last possession ( his car) isn’t all that different than advocating reducing a retires earned pension- is it?==

Both are hard-heartd, but you only repossess the car when the man has defaulted on his side of the deal. The pension “reformers” are reneging on their side of the deal.

Comment by Anon. Friday, May 17, 13 @ 3:56 pm