Political correctness – the PC movement – is arguably a form of manipulation and control. 40+ years ago, long before the PC culture took hold, people were aware of the notion that we should be polite and respectful of others. The baby boomer generation were the ones that made greater racial, religious, gender, and other …
It’s Your Profession – Investment of Time, Talent, Treasure – So What’s Next? Read More »
Like millions of others, during my high school days and at the university, computer geeks used the acronym, GIGO. “Garbage In, Garbage Out.” It simply means that if your input is bad, then the output is bad. Similarly, when using logic, if the premise is flawed, then the conclusion is flawed too. The …
“It’s unbelievable how much you don’t know about the game you’ve been playing all your life.” – Mickey Mantle Every state has its heroes and heroines. Mickey Mantle is a favorite son from Oklahoma, where I began my manufactured home career some years ago. Hillsadale College’s president says that the word education …
To Educate – “Leading Forth” – for Affordable Manufactured Housing Success Read More »
There’s a simple but profoundly useful concept taught be ancient to modern thinkers who ponder business, ethical, moral, political or other issues. It’s called the principle of ‘the lesser of two evils.’ It’s simple. When confronted with a choice, neither of which is perfect, by definition each is a some level of ‘evil’ …
Principle of ‘The Lesser of Two Evils,’ and MHVille’s Future Read More »
The late Howard Walker, longtime vice chairman of Equity Lifestyle Properties (ELS), and prior Treasurer for the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI) had at times a brusque sense of humor. Often the best part of many association or corporate meetings are when networking and socializing occurs. In fairness, that statement applies to MHI too. From …
“How Dare You…!” ELS’ Howard Walker Blast at MH Industry Professional Read More »
For billions of souls who believe, since the time Cain killed his brother Able, history records how dark emotions and desires have motivated some to harm or dominate others. In manufactured housing, Terry Decio with Skyline quipped on camera “I’m tired of being the best kept secret, I’m ready to help house America.” …
Why would The Blackstone Group (BX) enter the manufactured home industry quietly, instead of with fanfare? Let that question percolate in your mind for a bit, because if a large operation like Bloomberg can’t pry an official statement out of Blackstone, then surely they must think they have a good reason? Keep in mind other …
Blackstone, Bain Capital, CityLab, and Inside the Manufactured Housing Outlook Read More »
1776 to 2018 and beyond. The issues of Life, Liberty and Property were as important when Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence as they are today, or will be tomorrow. And it very much matters to our industry, investors, and related professions. When Sam Zell said they discovered that at Equity LifeStyle Properties …
Life, Liberty, Property – Supreme Court – and Manufactured Housing Read More »
A) In manufactured housing production, the elephant in the room is Clayton Homes. They are owned by Berkshire Hathaway, which also owns the 2 largest industry lenders, 21st Mortgage and Vanderbilt Mortgage and Finance (VMF). Berkshire also owns a large stake in the industry’s third largest single family manufactured home loan lender, Wells Fargo. There …
Facebook has a neat feature that reminds you of some post from the past. This morning, that Facebook feature reminded me of a post about MHVille that was from two years ago. We’ve begun to use the phrase – “wheat and chaff” – more often to describe the point that people and sources of …
Facebook, Manufactured Housing, and American Drama Read More »
