Shooter, I wrote a post on another board about organizations whose cultures are externally-focused vs. internally focused and talked about two firms for which I used to work. The first organization was results-oriented. You had to follow a certain set of rules: Be civil to one another; Wear pants to work; Etc., but in the end all that mattered was whether or not you produced. If you didn't produce, you didn't stay. I took it for granted that's how all companies operated.
I left that organization with a colleague to take a higher-level job at another, which happened to be internally-focused. At that firm, production took a back seat to how you were perceived within the organization. People there worried how close your office was to the head of the group, how big your office was and the level of furniture, if you had a reserved parking spot and how close it was to the elevator, with whom you had lunch, etc. Those that understood the corporate culture and played the game thrived, regardless of their production.
I get the impression that Vulcan is the latter type of organization. Production at one of the subsidiaries doesn't matter if there's a rising star that threatens your position. I've dealt a bit with the Vulcans on RE end and haven't been impressed. I did get the impression, however, that they're people with sharp elbows. They were smart enough, but I got the feeling how the deal was perceived was more important than the results of the deal.
I get the impression that the Blazers under Whitsitt and PatterNash were internally-focused. It seemed people were always trying to position themselves against one another. KP certainly has that kind of ambition, but the culture he seems to nurture is one where the producers get promoted, not the most skillful political operators.
I'm sure most of us that have worked in several organizations over our careers have seen these contrasting cultures at our own workplaces. In the end, I think it comes to a cultural conflict, because on the production end, it's awfully tough to say KP's done a crappy job.