Sublime

Harrison, though, knew human nature and was toughest to work for when the railroad ran well. The boss worried that his people would get complacent. “When things were bad, it’s when he was most supportive,” Creel said.

abeyance,

Nobody can bullshit him,” said Hargrove in 2017. “Not the management, not the union, not the workers.” Harrison knew their jobs. That gave him credibility in the field, but it also created angst among employees.

Hobson’s choice.

“I mean this guy’s a general. He’s like Patton,” Ackman said. “And running a railroad is like running an army, right?” Harrison had made the same reference about Bill Thompson, his mentor.

The measure that gave Marshall the authority to circumvent it was concealed as a rider to the Army’s annual appropriation bill.32

snakebitten.

Marquis learned a classic Harrison lesson—don’t spend a dollar of capital when all it takes is improving processes.