Character Counts -- Would you leave a woman with a new born without resources in the cold?

Written 10/18/2009
Tough Times

I am a landlord and I see all types.  I understand that sometimes folks go through some pretty tough times.  A lot of folks are out of work and losing their homes.  But it's these tough times and you handle it that defines those of character and those who are scum.  As the saying goes this is what separates the boys from the men. Not to be sexist, as we could just as easily say children from the adults or girls from the ladies for that matter.

But the saying goes, character defines the man (or lady). So, here are three real people. I have only changed the names.

Case #1: Evicted and Owes Friends

Let me tell you about, Guy. Guy was having credit problems,

when he talked a friend into trusting him to pay for some equipment he needed. Then Guy really got in over his head. He couldn't pay his rent, and he couldn't pay back his loan. When Guy got evicted because he couldn't pay his rent he vandalized the place before he left (to the tune of $2000+ in damages).   And on the personal loan, he sold the equipment and spent the money else where and has made no attempt to contact his friend.  If you talk to Guy, it's everybody else's fault.  He's the first to lay blame elsewhere and never takes responsibility for his own actions.



Case #2: Divorce and Foreclosure

Bob went tough a divorce. The divorce devastated him financially to the point where he could not maintain the payments on his home. Bob called the bank and attempted to sell the home on a short sale. It didn't sell and he had to go through a foreclosure. When the bank did sell the home, it sold for less than Bob owed on it. Bob followed the whole process. When the house sold, he knew he still owed money to the bank. He called the bank and set up a repayment plan for the remainder of the loan amount before the bank even contacted him.


Case #3: Abandoned helpless mother and newborn.

Chuck is a brand new father. Two and half weeks ago, his fiance bore him a beautiful healthy 8 pound 3 ounce bouncing baby boy. It was a cesarean section delivery and she will not be able to lift anything heavier than the baby for 8 to 10 weeks. She is doing fine, but her body is still healing, and she is dealing with her postpartum hormones in addition to caring for the child.

Chuck had a severe disagreement with his fiance and she threw him out yesterday. When he finally left he took her car keys and her phone and left her and the baby without a cent. They live about 3 miles out of town in the country. 


Character


So, if you scored these

Case #1 - Child
Case #2 - Adult
Case #3 - Less than human

You scored them right. Character defines the man (or lady as the case maybe), is more than just a saying.

Choose Your Friends CarefullyLack of character limits opportunity. Consider these three individuals as potential partners. Of these three individuals who would you ask to enter a business venture with? Who would you loan money to? Who would you want your sister or daughter to date?

What about Guy? Guy who vandalized the property when he was evicted and didn't bother to even call his friend? What do you think Guy's credit rating is?

How about Chuck, who abandoned a helpless woman with a newborn and left her without any resources. Putting his own child's welfare at risk. If Chuck would do that to his own child, what would he do to someone else?

The Future

"Chuck", I just found out about today. I am so so SO bugged that he would leave a helpless woman and his own child with no resources, I was compelled to write this blog. I told my son, if he ever ever did such a cowardly thing....

I see my son and my niece and I worry so much that they will get caught up with people that don't have character and get hurt. But I don't think I have to worry to much about them. My son is 17 going on 30. LOL... My son just told me... Mother, PLEASE. So, this is for my other nieces, nephews and the young ladies and young gentlemen that I care about. Character counts.

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Armada Business Consulting, Inc.

Armada Business Consulting, Inc specializes in excellence in execution for Technical Project Management and LEAN implementations. For more information contact Trish at trish_sutter@thegoodprojectmanager.com

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Pigs Get Fed, and Hogs Get Slaughtered

Intro

"Pigs Get Fed and Hogs Get Slaughtered." -- Joe "Hollywood" Sutter

It's been bandied about more and more. Some get it right and some get it wrong. My husband, Joe "Hollywood" Sutter, coined this saying way back in 2001. And it has finally made it's way to Washington, as we recently heard a Senator on the news, mis use it, when he said, "Pigs get slaughtered."


Human: Man or Animal?

Joe is a tremendous philanthropist and has great faith in the ultimate goodness of the human soul. He contends that every man is basically good kind and sharing. I think Joe is on a personal quest to find that goodness in every man. He seems to find every potential charity case in the entire area, each of which he attempts to convert into his own proteges.

I on the other hand, look at Maslow and agree with his hierarchy of needs. Then contended that man is basically selfish. I follow dictums, such as "only the rich can afford to have morals". I hear Nickelbacks, If Everyone Cared and just wish. These are just Utopian ideals whose only place in the real world is as a dream.

He and I debate this from time to time, as I hold that the human animal is basically selfish. I have often teased him, that he has "SUCKER" tattooed across his forehead in flashing neon red for every con-artist in the world to see. We do some rental properties, and Joe is not allowed to screen applicants. We would go broke; every time he picks them, it ends up costing us money.

So we have come to a truce, with his charity cases. He can employ them and give them honest work, but he is not to extend them credit or get us in a situation where any of them owe us money. Joe is great at creating a project for these charity cases to get them back on their feet. But Joe is a natural project manager. He is one of those folks that never needed any formal training, he just does it. People get coordinated. Stuff gets organized and things get done. That is probably why, he gets crushed when his protege's fall off course. Because he has the vision and sees the potential in everybody.

Mentoring

During the course of mentoring a mechanic on selling cars on the side. Joe was advising his protege on pricing. He stated, you can't price the vehicle too high, because that's what the "A" dealerships with warranties do and you can't support that price. Neither can you price it too low, as you will lose money.

His protege mechanic, did not listen and priced the vehicle at the top end, $5000. It should have been priced at $3800. Had the vehicle been priced at $3800, the mechanic would have received many offers between $3000 and $3500 and would have been able to sell it around $3500.

He ended breaking even, up only getting $2850 for the vehicle. He did not even make back the time he had invested in repairs in the vehicle.

What Happened?

The result was that the educated buyers, immediately saw that the vehicle was over priced and he lost them for good. He had NO real buyers on the vehicle. He would not advertise a lower price. So someone that was a fast talker, finally worked him down over a period of a couple of weeks, until he sold it far under undervalue.

Joe analyzed the entire situation with his "protege" mechanic. He found, if the mechanic had been satisfied with getting some profit, instead of being a hog and trying to take every last penny, he would have made a fair profit. It's ok to make a profit, just don't gouge everybody.

From this experience Joe coined the saying, "Pigs get fed, hogs get slaughtered." He told me the Lord taught him it is OK to make a profit, you have to eat. But to gouge enormous profits every time is greedy and unreasonable. He has repeated this philosophy to others time and time again. He even has me saying it. I've quoted my husband in letters to my Congressmen and Senators in Washington. Now we are hearing them attempt to use the quote with the media and on TV.

It's amazing, how little things you do, can find themselves into the world at large.

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Armada Business Consulting, Inc.

Armada Business Consulting, Inc specializes in excellence in execution for Technical Project Management and LEAN implementations. For more information contact Trish at trish_sutter@yahoo.com.

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Never get a lemon Never over pay http://www.dealerssecrets.com

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