Great Moments, Part Ii;

 

Poor Jeffrey Erickson. Except for construction-industry veterans -- who know the term as a synonym for installation -- people are always making off-color fun of his company's name: Erection Specialties Inc. When he titled the Canton, Mass., enterprise in 1974, Erickson explains, he had no idea his then one-man show would grow into a $10-million-a-year contracting operation. As he became more serious about his business, Erickson came to resent the wisecracks and began using the sedate abbreviation ESI. But don't pity him too much. When Erection Specialties talks, people listen; the unusual moniker has led to lots of media attention and distribution of more than 5,000 logo-emblazoned T-shirts. "If I'm making a cold sales call, I will very often use the full 'Erection Specialties," Erickson says, "because invariably there's a snicker from the secretary, who says either out loud or to herself, 'Well, my boss needs this, I'm going to put this guy through.' After the initial guffaws, you get down to business."