Boeing: What Really Happened

The really surprising thing about Philip M. Condit's resignation as chairman and chief executive officer of Boeing Co. (BA ) was not that his seven-year tenure ended so abruptly on Dec. 1, but that it lasted so long. Recent allegations of questionable conduct by a Boeing executive involved in negotiating an $18 billion deal with the Pentagon was only the latest mishap in a series of ethical lapses and managerial blunders that marred Condit's tumultuous reign from the start.

Condit's resignation has been portrayed as the selfless gesture of a leader who put the company's interests before his own. In fact, Condit had survived an array of crises before this latest upheaval, and the chairman had no intention of bailing out this time, according to people who are close to the company. But with its crucial defense business in jeopardy, a board that had overlooked missteps before finally took firm action. The CEO had to go. Under pressure from the board, Condit offered his resignation. According to an old friend who talked to him on Monday night, the CEO was distraught. Condit and Boeing insist his exit was voluntary.