Paul Wolsfeld researches America's major businesses by the seat of his pants.
Well, his bicycle seat.Riding cross country on his 12-speed touring bike, the 40-year-old California entrepreneur calls on the chief executive officers of the largest companies nationwide. All in the name of research.
"I collect corporate trivia," Wolsfeld explained during a recent stop in Salt Lake City.
For instance, Land O'Lakes Inc., the nation's largest butter supplier, has tractor seats in the corporate waiting room.
A sign in the lobby of Universal Tobacco in Richmond, Va., says "Thank you for smoking."
The chief executive of La-Z-Boy Chair Co. indeed sits in a La-Z-Boy chair, but executives at Rollerblade Inc. don't travel about the office on the famed in-line skates.
Eight out of 10 CEOs Wolsfeld has visited do not have computers in their offices.
Wolsfeld is collecting the tidbits of information for a book on America's mid-size companies, among them a handful of Utah companies. Wolsfeld has made stops at Thiokol Corp., First Security Corp., Smith's Food and Drug Centers, Huntsman Chemical, Sinclair Oil, Questar Corp., Franklin Quest Co. and Steiner Corp. He also plans to visit computer firms in Utah County.
This is Wolsfeld's second tour cross country. On his first trip, Wolsfeld researched 650 public and private companies with annual sales exceeding $1.5 billion. He spent about $70,000 on the trip.
Now on his second tour, sponsored by the New York financial news service Bloomberg Financial Markets, Wolsfeld is visiting 750 companies with sales between $300 million and $1.5 billion annually.
"Basically, I'm getting paid to ride my bicycle," the California entrepreneur said.
It's a little more involved than that. In addition to his book research, Wolsfeld writes a weekly column for the Bloomberg's news service and contributes to its monthly magazine. He carries a personal computer on the saddlebags on his bicycle.
He often visits the offices of the nation's most powerful companies dressed in shorts and a T-shirt. ("I do carry long pants, just in case.")
Most of the time, he doesn't have an appointment, although he notifies company executives of his impending visit by postcard sent within a week of his arrival.
Most of the time, Wolsfeld receives a warm welcome. "Eighty percent of the time, I get to meet the CEO," he said.
"I'm pretty harmless. That's why I get treated so well. The most controversial thing I ask people is if they have any corporate air-craft."
Sometimes, the subjects of his brief interviews turn the tables. The president of Jockey International once asked Wolsfeld what brand underwear he was wearing.
It was Hanes. With that, the president gave him four pair of bikini briefs for bikers. "They were terrible," Wolsfeld confided.
Wolsfeld's travels have given him a unique glimpse of corporate culture from the company art collections to the restrooms. On his first visit, Wolsfeld observed there were no doors on the bathroom stalls at Northwest Airlines, apparently an attempt to increase worker efficiency. On his second trip, he observed the doors have been replaced.
Of the hundreds of chief officers he's met, only three were women. Overall, most CEOs are outgoing and cooperative.
One strange piece of trivia Wolsfeld picked up is many executives have wimpy hand shakes and bad breath. "Then again, who's going to tell the CEO he has bad breath?"