Admen invented Avis Rent-A-Car's "We try harder because we're No. 2" campaign, but Avis President Robert C. Townsend, 43, was their inspiration. Townsend took over Avis 20 months ago from Boston's Frederic C. Dumaine Jr. after the investment house of Lazard Frères bought control. Things have been running on high-octane spirit ever since. Townsend moved headquarters from Boston to New York, sold off unprofitable limousine and sightseeing services, weeded out the worst of Avis' 2,000 locations in 35 countries, and pinned "We Try Harder" buttons on all employees. "I don't want to hear about what's going well," he says....
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