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While in high school, one of our school’s physical education instructors was a hulking misanthrope with a sinister-looking Fu-Manchu mustache. He firmly believed that if one member of the class fell behind, the others should pick up the slack.

Such adjustment is certainly to be expected, considering the differing work ethics among younger generations. Gen X works to live, not lives to work, which is pretty much the opposite of the thoughts and business strategies by which Baby Boomers and older generations (Builders) worked and lived.

Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett said in his annual letter to shareholders that he endorses mark-to-market accounting, even though it helped produce the worst financial results for his company in the 44 years he has been running it.

What should companies do when they have three generations of workers who just don't understand each other? How about creating a program for members of each generation to explain to the others why they think and act the way they do?That's what L'Oreal Canada did a few years ago when the company realized its employees were literally divided into one-third Boomers, one-third Generation X and one-third Generation Y. And while the older workers would sit silently through meetings, not wanting to "ruffle feathers," Gen Y would speak up candidly without worrying about rocking the boat.

What should companies do when they have three generations of workers who just don’t understand each other?

How do you deal with the old guys? A Rutgers college journalism student posed that question to me when I visited my alma matter this semester to talk to a class about newsroom management.

Although admittedly many people look upon January 1st as the trigger-point for resolutions, an organization known as Savvy Ladies figures that April 15th is really the better date. “Tax time is often the only time of the year when a lot of people sit down and look at how much they’ve earned and how much they’ve been able to save,” says Stacy Francis, founder of Savvy Ladies and a certified financial planner,. “It’s a bit of a shock for many to see how much cash slips through their fingers every month.” Savvy Ladies is dedicated to providing financial education to women in their quest for financial independence. It has free monthly newsletters, seminars, and teleconferences that are pegged at fostering a sense of community and are specifically designed to educate, amuse, and fulfill savvy women who want to take control of their financial future. There are currently 2,100 members and growing rapidly. The founder of this organization is Stacy Francis who is the president of Francis Financial, a New York City-based firm that specializes in helping individuals create more fulfilling lives through financial freedom.

Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa., has introduced a bill in Congress to close a legal loophole that allowed Bernard Madoff’s tiny auditing firm to avoid scrutiny.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s chief auditor and director of professional standards, Thomas Ray, has resigned and plans to return to the private sector on March 6.

Bear Stearns & Co., the troubled investment bank acquired last year by JP Morgan Chase, has been ordered to pay $27,353,000 in damages for misrepresenting its investment strategies, after a court heard key testimony from a forensic accountant.