Maybe it’s the era I grew up in. No, that’s not it because there are a lot of people my age who don’t care about their jobs.
It really gets me when people want to have great careers but don’t want to work to get there. They put in as few hours as possible and perform at half-baked levels and then expect their bosses to bow down before them. Amazing.
Many times these half-baked employees have sold themselves as being completely indispensable and, amazingly, their bosses believe it.
There are other employees who work their butts off to put out a better product (it may not be the best, but that’s what their striving for), put in extra hours, get some continuing education and get very little reward for their effort.
What’s wrong? Generally speaking — and I’ve been one of these business people — employers are afraid to cut the cord with the folks who talk up their jobs and don’t do them. I’ve been gutless and it has cost me. Once you see that an employee is adding no value to the organization, and may in fact be dragging it down, cut the cord. There are plenty of the other workers out there, people who want to make a difference.
Businesses are not in the business to provide a job. Businesses are in business to make money. Yes, there is some level of social consciousness that takes over once you make a commitment to an employee (like PTO, working through some bumps in the employee’s road) but there is no reason to keep slackers on the payroll.
Wise up, business people. If you want to make money, surround yourself with people who take pride in their work – take pride in themselves.



Another CDO Investigation
After chewing on Goldman Sachs’ ankle for a while, this morning the Wall Street Journal is reporting that the federal government is investigating how Morgan Stanley marketed CDOs. CDOs are collateralized-debt obligations, bond deals tied, at least in these instances to mortgage derivatives.
Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs allegedly bet against these deals while marketing them for their clients. There’s a shock.
The last time I bought a security on the advice of a broker I lost a ton of money. I make and lose money now, but instead of relying on the advice of a broker I make my own decision based on published company financial statements, SEC filings, news and sifting through the advice of numerous investment experts.
Investment companies are not evil, they are out to make money – just like you and me. If you decide to take your hard earned money and invest it in something you know nothing about, that’s your problem. People don’t want to be accountable for their actions (lets blame someone else for lapses in judgment) and certainly the Federal government says you don’t have to be. The government wants to look out for you’re well-being all the time.
Folks, sometimes you’ve got to do the homework so you can make an informed decision.
Back to the CDO’s – these are offered to investors who are supposed to know their stuff, not passive investors looking for a better mutual fund. These folks are well-equipped to know the risk-reward of their decisions, and if they didn’t think the housing bubble was going to burst, well – too bad.
On the surface it might seem evil to bet against something you’re marketing, but it happens all the time. Your policy with the insurance company is a wager, as is that trip to the pawn shop, the agreement with the bank loan officer and 50 cents you put down on tonight’s ball game.
The American way is to take an educated risk – not an uneducated one. If you have to make a personal decision to hold or fold, and you have to assume that someone is always betting against you.
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