Sunday, March 13, 2011

Requiem for the May Company


Here was my Tweet. “After 85+ years, George S. May Company is no longer in business. Perhaps the consulting company should have hired outside consultants.” I could have left it at that, but in the last ten years of its existence, this once great company churned and burned so many consultants and small companies, either you or someone you know has been touched by it. It touched me. Now it is no more.

George S. May identified business as a set of algorithms and began his management consulting business in 1925 with a consulting project for a company that would become Sunbeam, the blender maker. His new Chicago based company did so well that it opened offices in New York and San Francisco. Despite the Great Depression, May Company history includes its posting revenue of $1 million in 1937, more than $15 million today.

May himself became best known for getting golf televised, among other things. Post war America was good for his company, which advertised “Business Engineering” in leading business magazines and journals. He died in 1962 leaving the company stock to his family. In 1966 the May Company left downtown Chicago for the suburb of Park Ridge, where the 41-thousand square-foot world headquarters is now closed and for sale, price $4 million. More about the “Ridge” in a moment.

In the ‘90s the May company hit the $100 million revenue mark and by 2000 it began operations in Mexico, under Donald J. Fletcher, its third President. In 2002, Israel Kushnir replaced Fletcher. According to one of the companies last press releases, “The company’s former president Israel Kushnir has left his post to pursue his own ventures, but the company is in the best of hands as Mrs. Kerry Sam Jacobs, George S May’s granddaughter is overseeing the transition to ensure prosperity as the company moves forward.”

That expression, “. . . left his post to pursue his own ventures,” is usually a ubiquitous way of saying, “You’re fired.” The company’s Managing Director, Paul Rouseau, a frequent Fox Business News personality, is also pursuing his own ventures as are many other former top executives who presided over the May Company’s financial collapse inherited by Jacobs and the May family lawyers in 2010.

As one of the replacement senior executives put it to me, in an email confirming the company’s demise, “I left at the beginning of the year, but it was a slow, painful end to a once great company. 2010 was like sitting on the deck of the Titanic watching people rearrange the deck chairs while the band played on.”

The Ridge building has a cornerstone: “1960.” Eisenhower, a golf enthusiast, was leaving office. Cadillacs were 22 feet long. Gasoline cost pennies. Business had boomed. Inside the conservative office building, a photo mural of golf’s greats inspired awe. I never knew whether to genuflect or salute when I entered and breathed in that 1960’s air.

It has been said that the Kushnir-Rouseau regime monitored every phone call and every email. Yelling was the preferred mode of communication. The way they saw it, clients needed to be controlled by analysts and consultants. Intimidation meant control.

Israel Kushnir made an impression on me in an awkward moment at the Ridge, as I stood outside the training building on a cigarette break during a conference with a colleague. The dapper and bald gent strode across the parking lot and pointed at me.

“Stop smoking,” he declared, briskly.

“Grow hair,” I exhaled.

He passed me, smiled and entered the building. My colleague bit his lip, trying not to laugh. “Do you know who that is?” he choked. “That’s the president of the company.”

Paul Rouseau convinced me to pursue my own interests that Christmas.

There were others who worked alongside Kushnir and Rouseau who got sacked, albeit too late for new management to save May. Apart from a large headquarters staff of executives and support personnel, there is a telemarketing staff, a field sales staff, a field survey service [analyst] staff, a field consulting staff and a smaller client service staff that is now looking for work around Park Ridge, Illinois.

The Better Business Bureau gave the George S. May International Company an F before the company shut down. The company had previously boasted the Bureau’s Excellence in Ethics Award. The BBB also gives an F to May company rival International Profit Associates and its alphabet named clone companies. IPA is also the target of litigation by the Illinois State Attorney General's Office, but that is another story for some other time.

Rippoff.com and many similar consumer rating sites have been on the May company’s case for years. At a client meeting in Sitka, Alaska, a May analyst, a consultant and I, as Project Director, were met by police, given a cease-and-desist order and individual property restraining orders after our client had gone online and read Rippoff. The office in Park Ridge did not appreciate my report, I can assure you.

Evidently, what had been called “the May way” quit working. But, you know that your business is in the wind when Wikipedia deletes your page. It is really kind of sad. Business Engineering failed. One can only wonder what the May family will do with 85+ years’ worth of project binders filled with meticulous documentation. It is a Titanic load of American small business history.


Article first published as Requiem for the May Company on Blogcritics.

31 comments:

Unknown said...

Wasn't a bad idea, trying to offer consulting to small and medium sized businesses, but how they did it - a really sleazy sales approach was really bad. Maybe they are right that you couldn't get them to buy without scaring the companies into it. I worked for a few weeks for the company as their sales person and as an analyst. Typical turnover was something like 1000%. Quite an experience.

Henry San Diego said...

I worked for the May company as a consultant and they pushed us hard to push the clients to wire transfer money to thd May company every Friday. We had a stack of boiler plate consulting procedures that were okay if you customized them. What I did not like was the pay. I was paid about 12 dollars an hour and they billed my work to the client for 150 dollars. Also, I was always left stranded in any City I went to and therefore had no choice but cooerce or do anything for the money for the wire transfter. Ugh. It was fun exciting, scary, amazing success stories, horrible errors where all we did was put the last nail in a companies coffin.

Henry McCluskey 1995/6

rokea said...



Thank you so much! That did the trick, you saved me more endless hours of searching for a fix.





BPO Company India

Unknown said...

You know I worked for the May Company too. I was with them when they shut the doors. Field Rep. I was really inspired by the concept but the energy and the level of personal interest in the prospects and clients fell off quickly. Truly an interesting story of a company that really helped shape the modern way our small businesses operate today. May's demise was the rise of technology and the availability of the information, methods and techniques May was out the preaching on an individual and expensive platform.

The Gran Faust said...

I was employed by the GSM company, not directly though. I worked for a call center in Nicaragua called Press 2 and the GSM company was one of our clients. So I called a number of business owners on behalf of GSM to set up appointments for consultants to meet with them. Most turned me down or were not there. I worked hard as did many of my coworkers, but I honestly can't say I ever had a high opinion of the company or the representative of GSM sent to act as an overseer. But it was a job and a source of income until the day when I could no longer get enough successful appointments to continue working there.

This was over ten years ago.

I had long forgotten about the George S May company until thinking about my past employment recently and looking up the GSM company only to find that much like Press 2, they no longer exist. I can't honestly say I am sad at its loss. Especially after hearing how much the company devolved in its last days. Perhaps it was for the best.

stsush said...

Thanks for the tips.
IT Consulting Company
IT Solutions Provider

Unknown said...

Its really helpfull Post and informative..

Hotel Management

Unknown said...

As crooked as crooked gets ...special place in hell for the thieves who preyed upon clients and employee recruits... over a decade since I naively wasted a month working for these charlatans... still can't get the awful taste left in my mouth ...rest in agony GSM execs.

GS Promo Inc said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
GS Promo Inc said...

Hi there, I read your blogs on a regular basis. Reading this post reminds me of my previous room mate! He always kept chatting about this. Thanks for sharing.
Lapel Pins

Unknown said...

This blog is really helpful regarding all educational knowledge I earned. It covered a great area of subject which can assist a lot of needy people. Everything mentioned here is clear and very useful.สมัครบัตรเครดิตธนาคาร

Anonymous said...

Sad, sad story made sad by a meagre few. With over 23 years I saw the good and not so good. Ths old classy ways dissipated under the leadership of a few mentioned in the commentary. May did a lot for a lot of decades for a lot of businesses. It's demise began with the hiring of an individual around 1990 and was then given a key position of leadership after his pre deceasor became ill.
That one ibdividual was responsible for more dissent,poor attitude and infighting than all others combined over 20 plus years. His unofficial motto was "the whippings will continue until the attitude changes". He and a couple other leaders were masters at hiding reality truth and the numbers from ownership. In fact ownership was duped by those they placed in positions of trust and autonomy. I was told to shut up many times when asking delicate questions that hit raw nerves.I refused to become part of the HQ Brigade and I know they watched me through a microscope to find out what I really knew to indict their actions.
Closing of May was a travesty and loss.
The systems were fool proof and solid.
The greed driven by guilt and fear by final leadership caused the weakening of quality, pushy billing and inferior ability. That was very foreign to the May family and founder. That is how I see it

Marcy said...

I was an employee, one of the few females that was hired to do advising to small business. I also believed the concept was amazingly good but I can tell you that the management was thug mentality. I worked for the company pre-cell phones so I had to leave the business and go to a payphone and report into my progress on being able to sign the customer up for overpriced consulting. We were taught not to let the customer see our white shoes, in other words don’t let them know we’re sales people. Many times I would not be able to get the signature on the contract and was told I would be left in The city I was in without a plane ticket out if I didn’t get the signature on the dotted line. As a young single woman this was terrifying to me. I also recall the top boss giving his assistant $100 and told him to take me out and romance me so I would Be able to concentrate! I went out on three jobs and then when they got me back home I quit immediately because ethically I felt it was a horrible place to work. So glad they are out of business. I agree with the rest that Mr. May would roll over in his grave if he knew what they had done to his business

Unknown said...

GSM called soon after getting my Business degree. Nobody had ever offered me a job like this so I jumped at the chance. I enjoyed working in a variety of business environments. Also, the travel. I was in 11 states and 2 Canadian provinces in 6 months. My last job was in Idaho at a restaurant. The owner didn't like our initial presentation and complained. We soon found ourselves in Park Ridge. GSM had a formula for keeping employees based on their future income. My partner's future income was $7 million. Mine was only $4 million so I was let go. I had enjoyed my time with them. But considering their business practices, I was overjoyed when hearing they closed down. For Kushnir and Rauseo, better late than never.

mamueller said...

I worked for GSMIC 2 times. The pay was good (10% of $250/hr) unless you added the 10-12 hours of weekly travel.Dis not like getting home at midnight or later. I live in South, Fl and Central FL. The first time you were set up with 1-3 regional mgrs. and usual worked close to home..mine was as far west as TX. The second time around, they sent you anywhere. Right out of class my first job was in Orcus Island (as far west you can go and as far north before getting into Canada). Had to take a ferry to the island. My first time with the co, if the client ran out of $ you would leave. The second time they left you there to try and get more $ out of the client, which meant I did not get paid for that 1-2 days. They would say I did not show value to run project longer. Cant get water out of a stone.

It was the screaming era when I finally left. Each time I left after 8-10 months. left on a job with no pay. Can't do that. I not really sure how I felt when they closed. It was inevitable. Too much IT & Business consulting now. they did not keep up with the times.

Gould Consulting said...

Tim here,
I needed to find exact work times at The May for a military contract job.
When I went on-line, I found out the company had folded like many of the clients they served.

I work part-time as Gould Consulting in RI at 401 377-4442 and full time for another company.

I am saddened by hearing the same circumstances I went through in the prior posts; cheap thug mentality with little pay, no respect and customers used for their last dollar.

Best to all of you who went through possibly the the worst job experience and most likely the greatest learning experience of you life

God Bless us All. Amen.

Unknown said...

I always thought I should wear a mask and carry a gun when I went out to rob the clients back in the 70s.

Unknown said...

I worked at May for 12 years in 4 Depts under 2 Presidents: Donald Fletcher & Israel Kushner. Fletcher built the business, Kushner ran it into the ground. Under Fletcher there was profit sharing, under Kushner there were no profits. During my 12 years I made a lot money for GSM. The Board of Directors was too inbred to know Kushner's poor mgt and his shenanigans until too late. He hid things from the Board.

rlclausen said...

Doing a little Google reminiscing today and looking at GSM where I spent 16 months involved in bizarre experiences. Examples
1. Assigned to jobs in Alberta, CA none ever produced any income. On 4th trip into CAnada arrested in Edmonton and deported for not having a green card. May sent me to the SF embassy and I was issued a 90 day card on the condition that I hire Canadian staff. My first hire defrauded the client and was eventually arrested for that plus for dealing drugs. I did not screen this dude.
2. Only good job was a nearly 3 month stay at an architectural firm in SoCal. Owner insisted on just a single May rep with no billable hours by a manager, and it flew This would have been in 1981 or 82. There were about 25 people on staff then and today it has 529 employees with offices in Spain, Italy, UK and Germany. The current president was on staff in 1981. We threw all of the boilerplate away and just concentrated on operating as a profit making business, fine tuned their team concepts and hired a manager (non-architect) to make sure it went forward as a business.
After 16 months had an assignment at a golf course in Palm Springs. Couldn't even get the job to open and was booted out. Went to the airport and home to never return. Knew it was mostly a scam from the beginning and have never looked back until now...

Rick Drew said...

Wikipedia does not randomly delete pages - it's users do. That's not "a sign." I can delete a Wiki page. Or create one. All that shows is that a ticked-off employee deleted it.

Anyway, my dad worked at May for over a decade. We actually lived in the May Mansion in NYC for a few months after moving from Europe (where he worked for May) back to the USA. What's funny is that decades later I was working near Park Ridge, IL. GSM had their offices down the street. A new fish place had opened up next door to where I worked. I remember walking in one day and seeing the owner smelling his fish and salads and adding spices or lemon juice and scrubbing the heck out of the fish. GSM had this place cater their company party - every employee got food poisoning and several were hospitalized.

rlclausen said...

Sounds about right for GSM. Vaguely remember going to Chicago for some kind of management meeting. (I was and still am in California) The only memory from that trip was another attendee was the right tackle from my high school football team. We grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and he was based in Des Moines and I was out of San Francisco. I'm not sure if we even got anything to eat.

Rick Drew - Thanks for the "big fish" story.

Unknown said...

I worked there for about two months many years ago and it sucked. Bad appointments set, high pressure one call close mentality and many other negative things. I knew I wasn't long for GSM when I was literally yelled at for stopping by one of my accounts to see how we had done for them. They were unbelievably unhappy with GSM. Terrible job, terrible bosses but priceless experience.

John Scott Wren said...

There is a Linked In group for former employees. I worked for them after it was suggested by a former McKinsey partner (who had sold Harold G, ITT) He told me ”Im not sure if their consulting, but they are the absolute best at selling consulting.” He was right, the week of sales training and year of mentoring by Richard Gottlieb was far and away the best sales training I've ever had. More in our Linked In George A May group. If anyone would be willing to share your Richart Gottlieb stories with me please call. (303)861-1447

Unknown said...

Worked there in the late 80ies as an exekutive analyst in the field. The CEO back the came from som casino in Atlantis City and drove a Rolls Royce. He was a piece of workshop. When copying material you were not aloud to speak to other employees.
I thank there was value in the efforts to help small business floundering. But the was GSM went about it was close to highwayrobbery.
Very sad.








Loose Bruce said...

Looking for a former sales manager, Marshall Mack. We worked out of SF regional office originally under Bill Arnel until the VP of sales named Denick, yelled at him, until he dropped dead of a heart attack. Our regional supervisor was Harry Sutcliffe Mack if you're out there

Mustav Ay-rod Upyurpooper said...

I worked for them for 1 month in 2007; during that short tenure I realized it was a sleezy company by the way they taught analysts to "look for the money", that is, even if a small company had to sell the pink slips to their vehicles to pay George S May, then that was acceptable. The company regurgitated old training manuals for just about every company they promised to help. Strong arm tactics, like asking a spouse to approve of GSM under the promise of "wouldn't you like your husband to come home early each night, with an additional $10 - $15k in profits that you could enjoy?" The consummate scum bag company!

Big Red said...

Worked for May in the 90's between jobs. Excellent training but clients I traveled to did not have the money 30k to 40k needed for the service. I ended up flying home gratis. Great training for business and opened several companies following their methods and being successful.

Martin said...

I worked for GSM during the "golden edge" of the company, beginning of nineties for two years, when Mr. Donald Fletcher was a President. I was in field services in Toronto area, Canada. It was vert tough on the beginning, however I worked very hard, with a great support from my District Manager and from a Divisional Manager in the Head office, Park Ridge. After 6 months of my hard work and a results I was promoted to District Sales Manager, Eastern Ontario. My team was one of the best in the company. Turnover was over high, but everyone who wanted to make a money and to work hard, that was a place to be.
I made a lot of money and has been recognized from the head office (traveled to Chicago frequently) I have contributed to $100 M annual revenue at that time. Again, that was a great time for GSM. At that time we helped the small and medium size owners and everybody were happy. I was just to get promoted to Regioanal Sales Manager (North eastern US and Eastern Canada), but I had to quit. The reason? At that time I had two little kids and I couldn't effort to be away from home almost 100% of time, (regardless of excellent income). I learned a lot working for GSM and it helped me in my sales career. It's sad to read a negative stories about what happened in the late nineties and at early twenties, however I am proud I worked in the company great time and contributed to the company's growth, helped small and medium sizes businesses, made a good money and learned a lot.
Martin Fabek

Unknown said...

I worked for GSMIntl for exactly 1 years. When I quit I felt like I had just graduated from sales college. I learned alot about my chosen profession of professioanl sales but I also learned that my moral standards were higher than the corporations. What worked well in the previous decades had become antiquated with access to internet technologies. Brow beating employees and prospects fell out of favor and ultimately brought down the corporation. Nothing is sure but change.....and the corp executes refused to......RIP

Unknown said...

I too worked for GSMIC during the late 1990's as a consultant. The management was only interested in making the billable hours and getting payment relayed by wire back to the main office. I may have been the first consultant to use a laptop to present work to a client, instead of typing on a typewriter.

The other consultants I knew were as disgruntled as I was. Management was a joke and we were treated like disposable labor. II spent many an hour in air port terminals and FSMIC still owes me and others wages.

It was a lousy place to work, and its passing is not a reason for mourning.

Anonymous said...

In the 90s, I was a small business owner who knew little about running a service business, but we did well enough to hire a consultant to help us take it to the next level of profitability. When the May Company came into my office, I had known of them because the previous owner of our business had hired them almost 25 years earlier. I had worked with my company since the late 70s (just out of college) and had heard the stories about the good work of the May Company. So, I hired them.
For a couple of months, they helped me create systems for cash management, personnel management, pricing strategies, etc. My business partner and I worked hard to implement and tweak their recommendations to work for us. 30 years later, we are retired after training the next generation with the same tools (plus some) that May gave us. It worked well for us and allowed me to pursue other dreams in my 50s. At 70, I am proud of where the next generation took the business. The May consultants helped us leave a legacy of success.
At one point, a consultant said to me (as President), "You seem to do everything wrong, and somehow it turns out OK." Then he gave me a book about Stanley Tam's life and how he ran his business...it changed my entire perspective on running a business.
And although I paid too much for their services (in some sense), I'll never forget the positive experience I had with the consultants (3 different ones, I think). We even hired one of them (at my request) to return a year later to lead a weekend management retreat and offer insight into some more specific challenges. It went very well.

I'm sad to hear that the management of May Company didn't follow their own advice in its latter years