As I’m writing this column, the U.S. government is debating the approval of a trillion-dollar-plus stimulation package, the Dow Jones average has dipped into the 7,000 range, hundreds of thousands of people were laid off work last week, and poor-performing companies throughout the United States are looking to the government to take money from the well-managed companies so they can continue to ... [Read More]

Although I’ve spent my entire career working in the quality and process improvement fields, my undergraduate degree is in economics. I learned that economic cycles are normal. Economic downturns result when there is an imbalance in the economy. Past recessions have developed when businesses overestimated future demand and overproduced. When businesses realized their inventory was large ... [Read More]

A couple of months back I was watching “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?”--one of the more enjoyable game shows in recent memory. The premise is that the contestants should be able to answer the questions, since it’s stuff we learned during or prior to the fifth grade--nothing deceptively clever or arcane; just facts and information, history, science, grammar, and current geography. ... [Read More]

I‘ve been doing quite a bit of home improvement recently--installing new flooring, painting, etc. I’ve got a few sore muscles but the sense of pride in my achievement (plus the money I saved by doing it myself) makes it all worthwhile. I have to admit that I’ve never been very handy, and I’ve never really gotten the thrill that some people find from “doing it myself.” My ... [Read More]