Paying attention to business is one of the major benefits of a recession. Ford figured it out. So did Starbucks by bringing back the founding CEO, closing nearly 1,000 marginal stores and most significantly introducing their own instant coffee. This could be a brilliant move. While proudly passing up their $4 cup of coffee, we take the instant stuff home and keep a little Starbucks in our lives.

'We don't want to be all things to all people,' says one agency manager, 'so we want to identify a niche for Life insurance agents to master. Do you have any suggestions?'

Every year sometime after Thanksgiving, my clothes shrink. My newest suit coat no longer buttons, and the pleats of the pants pull tight. This is confusing, because in my mind’s eye, I’m still the lean, mean, fighting machine who completed Army basic training in 1971. The truth is that my clothes are the same size, but the body the fabric must cover has grown and reshaped.

RENTER'S INSURANCE Dear (Customer Name): As the American dream of owning a home becomes more a dream than a reality, more people are renting - all of which needs insuring. You may not own the wall...

THE GENERATION GAP AT WORK: HOW BOOMER OWNERS MUST DEAL WITH GEN X EMPLOYEES by Al Diamond To explain how the older 'boomer' generation must relate to its successor, 'Generati...