A ringside seat: board service is an education in American business at its best and worst.

• Author: Califano, Joseph A.
• Position: ENDNOTE

DURING THE 1980s, in addition to pro bono activities I sought to cushion my dwindling interest and fermenting disenchantment with the private practice of law by joining several corporate boards of directors, beginning with Chrysler.

I had first met Lee Iacocca in February 1966, when he accompanied Henry Ford to my office in the White House West Wing. They came to express opposition to the auto safety bill President Johnson had proposed. I never saw Iacocca again while I was in government, but our paths crossed when Ed Williams and I were law partners during the '70s. Our firm did some legal work for Iacocca, and Ed and I occasionally joined up with him and his pal Bill Fugazy at P.J. Clarke's, one of our favorite late-night stops in Manhattan.

On July 14, 1978, while I was secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, I read that Henry Ford had abruptly fired Iacocca. The black-and-white photo of Iacocca was striking; it revealed a hurt so deep that I called him. "Lee, don't be so down. This could be one of the best things that ever happened to you."

One year later, the morning after President Jimmy Carter announced that he had asked for and accepted my resignation, Iacocca called.

"Joe," he said. "You told me that being fired by Henry Ford could turn out to be one of the best things that ever happened to me. Well, let me tell you this. Getting fired by this guy Carter is the best thing that ever happened to you."

Iacocca had taken over Chrysler in September 1978. With the company on the brink of bankruptcy, joined by United Automobile Workers (UAW) president Douglas Fraser, Iacocca persuaded Congress and President Carter to provide $1.5 billion in loan guarantees to keep the automaker afloat. As part of the deal, Iacocca agreed to put the union leader on the Chrysler board, a first for a Fortune 500 company.

I watched from the sidelines as Chrysler struggled. In early 1981, Iacocca invited me to join the Chrysler board. "I've got a weak board," he said. I asked him what the time commitment was. "A couple of days a month and an emergency meeting now and then. This company's a goddamn disaster!" I was flattered, but declined. I had just started my own law firm and could not devote that much time to another enterprise.

A few weeks later, Iacocca called again. "Meet me in New York," he said. "I want you on this board; you can really help me and Chrysler." On March 23, 1981, we met at 2:30 p.m. in Iacocca's Waldorf Towers suite.

Our talks...