My Death Plot Finally Fells Trammell Crow

Trammell Crow died on Wednesday at the age of 94.  The name may mean nothing to you, but if you ever lived in the South or West--particularly in his native Texas--it probably rings a bell, at least from signs at construction sites.  Crow was one of the world's most successful and creative real estate developers--an innovator in business methods, one of the first people to build hotels and office buildings with atria, and a daring financial risk-taker who won his bets far more often than he lost (buoyed, no doubt, by the explosive growth of the sun belt states during the prime years of his career).  

Crow was also a minor figure in some dramatic moments of history--for example, Crow was the master of ceremonies at a gala reception in 1963 who had to take to the podium in the Dallas Merchandise Mart to announce that President Kennedy had been shot on his way to the event.  He was also, as I personally discovered, quite a cantankerous character. 

Back in 1989, I was a publisher at John Wiley & Sons when we hired Robert Sobel, a business professor and a prolific author, to write an authorized biography of Crow.  Sobel worked on the book for months, studying company archives and interviewing Crow and his associates repeatedly.  The book had been announced, pre-sold to bookstores, and was ready to publish when Sobel called me with bad news: Trammell Crow had gotten wet feet and was demanding that we cancel the publication.

I flew down to Dallas with Sobel to meet with Crow in an effort to salvage the project.  Crow was perfectly nice to me; after I'd been trying for an hour to persuade him of the merits of the book, he remarked, "You're just the kind of young man I like to have working for me.  Call me if you ever get tired of working in publishing."  But he was also unyielding.  If Wiley published the book, he insisted, he would sue us.  When I pointed out that we had a valid contract giving us the right to publish, he replied, "That may be.  But I've got plenty of lawyers.  We can keep you tied up quite a while and cost you a lot of money.  It's your choice."

Crow's motivation baffled me.  The book painted Crow and his company in a flattering light, not a negative one.  And no matter how I pleaded with Crow to explain his objections, he refused to do so, simply repeating, "I don 't want that book published.  No reason--it's just my decision"--until nearly the end of our conversation, when I inadvertently struck a chord.

Trying one last argument to get Crow to change his mind, I suggested, "Mr. Crow, don't you realize your future employees will read this book to learn about how you built the business?  It'll be an inspiring part of your legacy as a businessman--something to be proud of."

Crow opened his eyes wide.  "Oh, I understand all that!  I know this book will be my legacy.  In fact, once it's published, I might as well retire and die!"

Suddenly it all became clear.  For Crow, having his biography published would be like winning a Lifetime Achievement Award--it would symbolize The End of his career.  Crow was actually afraid to let us publish the book, as if it might even be his death warrant.

There was no point in arguing with logic like that.  I thanked Crow for his time and flew back to New York. 

The story had a happy ending.  After conferring with my boss and our lawyers, we decided that, because we did indeed have a valid publishing contract, we would go ahead and publish the book after all--in effect defying Crow to sue us.  I had my heart in my throat as we did so.  But Crow never did sue us.  In fact, when the book reached our warehouse several months after the meeting in Dallas, we got word from Crow's company that they wanted to buy several thousand copies to give away to employees and clients.

Now Crow has passed away--almost twenty years after his biography was published.  If my book was responsible, its fatal impact was certainly slow-acting. 

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