Brewster had built horse-drawn buggies, automobile bodies, and aircraft assemblies before James Work bought its aircraft division for $30,000 in 1932. The company represented Rolls-Royce in the United States, yet the wartime engine-production opportunity went to Packard rather than becoming Brewster's industrial foundation. Work simultaneously served as Brewster's president, hired himself as a consultant, and leased the factory to the company from himself. Those overlapping arrangements extracted money from a business that needed capital for expansion and production reform. The broader management point is that an entrepreneur may misjudge competitors, but cannot build a durable organization without an honest appraisal of personal and corporate weaknesses.
Chapter · 44:54-48:08
James Work's self-dealing drained Brewster
Brewster's owner pursued the image of an aviation magnate while paying himself as president, consultant, and landlord at the company's expense.