Distant Force: A Memoir of the Teledyne Corporation and the Man Who Created It
, Memoir, 2007
An insider’s corporate memoir that follows Teledyne and Henry Singleton through the choices behind an industrial company.
About the book
Published in 2007 and written with Robert J. McVicker, the book combines Roberts's firsthand company history with a portrait of Singleton and an introduction to Teledyne Technologies.
Reading perspective
George A. Roberts writes from inside Teledyne rather than as an outside biographer, pairing the company’s development with his account of Singleton. The book gives readers a participant’s view of how strategic latitude, financial choices and technical businesses could sit together in one corporation.
What you’ll learn
Notice where leadership attention is concentrated
Singleton’s work centered heavily on strategy and capital allocation, with acquisitions and share repurchases among Teledyne’s main tools.
Examine the components beneath a larger system
Early Teledyne worked in digital semiconductors and aircraft electronic controls while seeking knowledge of, and control over, relevant components.
Editorial sources
Book guidance draws on these sources; Founders evidence determines the ranking.
Why it ranks here
Reading rank #40. First covered in Episode #110. 22 scored evidence components. 13 Founders episodes. Coverage Score 226. Praise on record: David praises the book's depth, saying its day-to-day company detail is unlike any other business book he has read.
Explore evidence and score breakdownOpen timeline
How the Coverage Score works
Reviewed Founders evidence adds points: a dedicated episode, a qualifying reread, explicit praise, or a reference in a later episode. Repeats of the same kind in one independently recorded discussion count once, including reviewed reused passages. Genuinely new qualifying discussion adds points. The score measures coverage, not quality.
Sources: official Founders episodes — #99, #110, #122, #154, #166, #202, #224, #227, #234, #246, #286, #334, #431
The largest contribution to this Coverage Score is Dedicated episode · Primary coverage (90 points).
Original Founders sources
- Carroll Shelby (My name is Carroll Shelby and performance is my business) — The official Founders episode page links this exact book in its show notes.
- Henry Singleton (Teledyne) — The episode is built around George Roberts's memoir of Henry Singleton and Teledyne, described as unusually detailed because Roberts was Singleton's longtime associate.
- Alfred Sloan (General Motors) — The host references a prior Founders episode covering Distant Force (about Teledyne's Henry Singleton), reading an excerpt describing how Singleton learned an acquisition strategy from Sloan's book.
- Charles Schulz (Charlie Brown) — David connects the Schulz discussion to Distant Force, which he covered earlier on Founders.
- Robert Noyce (Intel) — David quotes Henry Singleton from Distant Force, which he covered on Founders #110.
- A Few Lessons From Warren Buffett — David directs listeners to Founders #110 for his coverage of Distant Force.