Member Article

Spirit of St. Louis

He looked across at his bride, Mary, a teacher and social worker at an inner city house for the poor. They had met while he was living there for over a year, on purpose.

They chose to have an informal gathering of friends and relatives to witness their ceremony. Who knew the Maid of Honour was going to be the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize some 30 years later. And she wouldn’t be the only famous person in attendance that day.

It was only 6 years prior that Gerard found himself at his first full time job dismantling old machinery in a shop in Chicago. Pretty good for a guy with a degree from MIT.

Wait, what? MIT, grubby dirty job, degree? Yep.

Even with his supposed engineering skills, Gerard only got the job following a letter of recommendation from an old friend of his father.

A break, to be sure.

He was soon given a chance to try his hand at engineering, designing motors and generators. Gerard was working his way around the shop. It was only a few years back he was working for $1/day as a shop helper for the summer.

But he was lucky because that was just his summer job. His co-workers on the shop floor were struggling to make a living at their full-time jobs and conditions were hard. Most the workers were immigrants and had very little educaton. So Gerard set about teaching english and algebra at night to these inner city workers at Hull House, a settlement house on Chicago’s west side near the company plant.

Gerard showed promise on the commercial side of the business when he orchestrated several large deals. Soon after he was sent by the firm to open a plant in St. Louis, Missouri. There weren’t any settlement houses there, so he started a city wide playground initiative and leads a public baths committee.

By the time of their marriage, 6 years following graduation from MIT, Gerard was a branch manager working on the commercial side of the business and yet still very much devoting himself to the helping those around him.

It’s 1901.

By the time he is President of one of the country’s most important and largest firms, it is 1922. He will go onto serve as president until 1940, returning for one last stint between 1942 and 1945.

Note the dates. Rather, note the spans.

What did Gerard do in all those years between manager and President. And 20+ years as President? Did he join in with other leaders and horde as much power and money as he could? Ummm, not really.

Between 1901 and 1922, he built up the business by leading the opening of new markets in Asia and in Europe. He left the company for 2 years to serve in the government supporting manufacturing efforts during World War I. All the while he was reaching out to help those less fortunate.

All the time he was learning. Learning about other cultures. Learning to grow the business. Learning to about the plight of others. Learning to be a father he had 5 children! Learning to be a husband let’s hear it for Mary, she was teaching while raising the family.

And then it was New York for him. Time to take on the role of President of the company.

“I am interested in everything that pertains to the increased efficiency of this organization, and one of the greatest things that management has got to do today is to make our human relation more efficient. What we have to consider are the hours of labor, conditions under which they labor, and the compensation they receive.”

This was the opening statement by Gerard when he stepped into the position of President. He intensified his work on behalf of others. He would spend the next 20 years introducing important work reforms such as paid holiday, employee share ownership, unemployment insurance and the 40 hour work week.

His work and ideas became part of the foundation of the New Deal by then President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Interestingly, although the company expanded dramatically under his tenure and it’s stature rose in the American psyche, it was this engineer with a bent for philosophy that would remark upon his life as follows:

“Living at Hull House with the associations formed there both within and outside, increased my knowledge of and stimulated my interest in the hard way of life of the poor, the immigrant and the educated, and the way they were exploited in sweat shops and in politics. Since that time, I have never ceased to be interested in civic affairs, in the organizations of the workingman, in the insecurities of life, unemployment and old age, and laws that would guard against them.”

This biography would fit for any number of social activists. His work was profound for workers, the poor and for our general health later in life.

Gerard won many awards, including Chevalier of the Legion of Honor (France) and a member of the Order of the Rising Sun (Japan), and Distinguished Service Medal (USA). He served on several presidential committees and tirelessly worked for the underserved.

What company did he work for?

The Red Cross? Perhaps United Health Care? Maybe even a University?

Nope.

Gerard Swope, born in St. Louis, was the President (equivalent to CEO at the time) of General Electric (GE) Corporation from 1922-1940 and again from 1942-1945.

How can we create businesses today with the spirit of Swopes? How is it different today? What’s stopping us?

“Swope gave a twist to the American industrial system, which has affected its course ever since.“ - David Loth, Biographer

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Todd Hannula .