Radical Management

When newspapers across the country reported Capital Cities Communications' stunningly successful bid for ABC, The New York Times asked a senior official at another of Capital Cities' recent acquisitions, Institutional Investor, if it was true that Capital Cities left management in place when it took over a firm. "I was a little skeptical when the company was bought," he conceded. "But they create a sense of trust. It's a wonderful motivational device."

This concept of trust as a key to organ...