My husband works in housing. I always watched that stuff on memestreams and it was all over this board. I remember showing my husband an animation someone posted of a roller coaster ride showing the huge hill and what that meant for a pending drop off. It was a great animation.

And we'd sit around saying, about my husband's company, why do they keep opening new stores and expanding? They are spending to much to keep growing and they need to just settle down. Why are they trying to focus so much on roof trusses when there is such stability and constancy in i-joists? (Sp?)

We have survived because we've hunkered down with the intent to, but we've seen over 3/4 of that growing like crazy company now laid off. No other housing companies are hiring in the area either, so my husband says he always keeps a lookout for any one coming back that might have a gun, because people are very mad and desparate.

See, it wasn't just us, but all the employees were questioning the rapid expansion and business decisions.

My dad is old, and he owned 2 successful businesses in his life. He insists that the problem in this country is bad management and everyone feeling pressure to what he calls a 'big wheel.'

It maybe a simplistic view, and I don't agree with his politics at all, but I think there is truth to that.

My old dad's concept of good management was that you, as a manager, have to stay at the job, know the job, and care about the people and the work. He always said you can work a man 12 hours a day but the most you get out of any man is 8 hours of dedicated work and that is the only work that should matter.

Anyhow....that roller coaster animation...that was good. We should have forwarded that, I guess.

RE: Op-Ed Columnist - Where Are the Grown-Ups? - Op-Ed - NYTimes.com