Bibles in the Board Room

He [Jesus Christ] picked up twelve men from the bottom ranks of business and forged them into an organization that conquered the world.

--Bruce Barton, The Man Nobody Knows

Like Barton, Lawrence A. Goshon believes in the organizational efficacy of religious zeal. Indeed, Goshorn, 40, chairman of a minicomputer manufacturing company named General Automation, Inc., of Anaheim, Calif., two months ago called together 1,000 of his employees to tell them he was dedicating General Automation to Chris Goshorn, a Southern Baptist who says he was sitting in his front yard one evening in 1969 when he quietly discovered Jesus, read a Bible passage asking his people to "turn from their wicked ways" (II Chronicles 7:14). Some in the startled crowd recall him saying, "The company is now in God's hands." One executive wondered if Goshorn had "wigged out." In fact, behind Goshorn's sudden move lay a convoluted tale of boardroom intrigue and a business slump that the chiefs faith has yet to reverse.

Goshorn, a computer engineer, and a fellow entrepreneur, Burton A. Yale 44, founded the company in 1967 on $70,000. Sales leaped from $600,000 in 1968 to $61.4 million in the fiscal year ended July 31, 1974, and company officials were predicting $200 million by 1978. But in 1972 Yale left because of a heart attack and family problems, and in early 1974 Goshorn resigned as president (though he remained chairman) because overwork was ruining his 21-year-old marriage.

But the new president, Raymond J. Noorda, proved unable to market successfully computers that contained a highly sophisticated "silicon on sapphire" (SOS) semiconductor chip. The chip, designed by G.A., dramatically reduced the size of the machines, but Rockwell International, which produced five prototype computers for G. A., could not make them standard for regular production. Sales slumped, and by the end of calendar 1974 the company was running at a loss. Noorda persuaded Goshorn to resume active direction of G.A. at year's end, when Goshorn's wife finally left him. This time Goshorn brought back his old partner, Burt Yale, as an active director to run subsidiaries. Up to that point, Yale had shown no interest in religion and Goshorn had rarely talked about his faith within the company. But Goshorn soon introduced Yale to Melodyland Christian Center, a school and meeting place near company headquarters. Suddenly Yale shed 40 pounds, shaved off his beard and tacked up 22 religious pictures in his office.

Study Meetings. Both converts began proselytizing all over the plant. They suggested that executives read daily from Scriptures and hold weekly Bible study meetings in the board room; they even ordered that a secretary be fired for dating a disgruntled minority shareholder who Yale thought was "possessed by demons." On one occasion Yale came upon two engineers trying to heal an ailing computer. Says Yale: "I placed my hands on the computer, made a silent prayer and asked God to give the engineers insight to fix the computer." Yale claims that it started up.

The climax came at a board meeting in August, when the exasperated Noorda resigned as president and four of the seven board members in turn tried to kick out Goshorn and Yale. The zealous duo sped to a local court for an injunction against the board's action. At the next board session, Yale in a prayer asked his opponents to resign. Says Goshorn with a cherubic smile: "They probably thought Burt had flipped out." In fact, Noorda, four outside directors and six of the company's top ten salesmen--some of them Jews upset by the stress on fundamentalist Christianity --quickly departed, shattering morale at the plant. Since then Goshorn and Yale have been in full control, but their piety has yet to bring the company any material reward. General Automation, which lost about $4 million in fiscal 1975, v. a $4 million profit in fiscal 1974, has seen the price of its stock plunge dizzily from a 1973 high of 541/2 to 4% this year, and rumors are beginning to spread that the company may be facing a takeover by outsiders.

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