Author details Memphis native Harrison’s rise to pinnacle of railroad industry (with video)

“He could just see how those networks operated and multi-dimensions and ultimately knew how to run them more efficiently than anybody else, which really became his hallmark — precision-schedule railroading. It became his calling card worldwide, ultimately allowing him to turn around the fortunes of four class one railroads,” Green said.

By the time Harrison died in 2017, he had become a legend by turning around several ailing railroads, making them into huge money makers.

Green is also an award-winning broadcast journalist and a founding anchor at Business News Network (BNN). He spent 15 years at BNN, where he hosted “Headline,” the network’s flagship interview program.

He said he became interested in writing a book about Harrison while interviewing him on Business News Network.

“Who’s been CEO four times and done four turnarounds? At the same time, as the book title suggests, there’s controversy. [Harrison] was a highly polarizing figure,” Green said.

“[Harrison] could be intimidating for a lot of people, I think because he was is a big barrel-chested guy with a big deep voice. He had no filters — he said what was on his mind,” Green said.

Nonetheless, Green added, “He is an enormous success story.”

Green joined FreightWaves Chief Strategy Officer John Engstrom for the discussion Wednesday. The fireside chats at FreightWaves LIVE are an opportunity for event-goers to hear unfiltered perspectives on how technological innovations and new ideas disrupt the traditional ways of doing business in freight transportation and logistics.