Every night several hundred planes bearing a purple, white , and orange design touch down at Memphis Airport, in Tennessee. Crews unload the planes' cargo of, on average, more than half a million parcels and letters, picked up from locations all over the United States earlier in the day. The packages and envelopes are rapidly sorted according to address, then loaded onto other aircraft and flown to their destinations, to be hand delivered-many within 24 hours of Leaving their senders. This sequence of events is the culmination of a dream of Frederick W. Smith, the founder, president, chief executive officer, and chairman of the board of the FedEx Corp.-known originally as Federal Express-the largest and most successful overnight delivery service in the world. Conceived when he was in college and now in its 28th year of operation, Smith's brainchild has become the standard for door-to-door package delivery.
每天晚上，都有几百架漆有紫、白、橙三色图案的飞机在田纳西州的孟菲斯机场降落。机组人员卸下清晨从美国各地收到的五十多万份包裹和信件，根据地址迅速地将这些包裹和信件分类，然后装上其他飞机送往目的地。大多数包裹和信件都会在寄出的24小时内交到收货人的手上。这一连串的事情正是弗里德·史密斯一一联邦快递公司（原为联邦快递）的创立者、总裁、首席执行官和董事长的最大的梦想。目前，该公司已是全球最大、最成功的隔夜快递服务商。史密斯在大学期间的这个设想已经实行了28年，并成为送货上门服务的标准。
Known for his geniality as well as his business acumen, Smith is reportedly held in high regard by his competitors as well as his employees. "I always said I thought one of the most brilliant parts of Fred Smith was his ability to deal with each person individually," Tuck morse, a former Federal Express lawyer, recalled. Indeed, 3.2 percent of the entire Memphis workforce is made up of FedEx employees, who are said to have been drawn by the company's high wages and family ethos. "The first thing people do when they move to Memphis is apply for a job at Federal Express," one FedEx worker said. "Then they go get another job until one opens up here."
据说史密斯以其亲切的态度、灵活的经商头脑著称，并赢得竞争者和雇员的高度尊重。前联邦快递法律顾问塔克·莫尔斯回忆说，“我总是说，弗里德·史密斯最杰出的地方之一就是他能以不同的方式对待不同的人。”实际上，孟菲斯市的3.2%的劳动力是联邦快递的员工，他们被这家公司的高薪水和家庭般的企业文化所吸引。联邦快递的一名员工说，“人们搬到孟菲斯要做的第一件事就是申请一份联邦快递的工作，如果没有职位空缺，他们会先暂时找份其他工作干着，同时等待为联邦快递工作的机会。”