Absolute Command With Kitchen Table Data

“Starting in 1954, Boussac pushed concentration of decision-making to the maximum by removing the financial autonomy from all subsidiaries. Their liquid assets are “deposited” to the C.I.C. Alone at the top, Marcel Boussac sets and knows the costs and sale prices: “The balance sheets,” he said, “are for the bankers, the operating accounts are for the accountants, the cash flow is for the business leader!” And to call his chief accountant: “Make me a kitchen account: what’s in my cash drawer?””

“It is from this place that all decisions, from the smallest to the largest, originate. It is there that Marcel Boussac determines how much cotton he will buy, it is there that he defines, samples in hand, the 10,000 different combinations of colors, designs, and quality for the upcoming collection, it is there that he can just as easily plan the entries of his horses in the next races, for this giant can conduct all his activities at once. He keeps everything in his head. He works while talking or on the phone, never writes anything down, dictates no memorandums, and entrusts everything to his elephantine memory.”