Paper heart.

This article profiles John Fery, chairman of Boise Cascade Corp., and evaluates his business planning ability. When Fery took charge of Boise 12 years ago, an incautious diversification program during the mid-1960s had forced the forest products company to write off $200 million. Fery took a hard look at what was left. He says that what the company needed was a change in direction to take advantage of growth opportunities in the paper industry. The key, Fery believed, was to expand into young markets, where growth potential was high. Fery has lessened Boise's dependence on wood and building materials with moving rapidly into white paper production.