An object lesson

[unixronin]

After 1,428 years, the world's oldest continually operating business has failed.

Japanese temple builder Kongo Gumi, in operation under the founders' descendants since 578, succumbed to excess debt and an unfavorable business climate in 2006.

The object lesson comes in the details of what brought Kongo Gumi down.  It can be summarized in one word:  Greed.

Yup.  Greed.  Never mind the mumbling about "unfavorable business climate" ... read the article and you'll see that what happened was transparently simple:  The company borrowed heavily to fund real-estate speculation during the Japanese economic bubble in the '80s, then found that its new "assets" were nearly worthless after the bubble burst in 1992-1993.  Business dropped off, it's true — but the company would have been able to tighten its belt and survive through the lean times, if it hadn't had all that debt to service.  But it wasn't making enough to service the debt and still make ends meet, and the spiralling debt killed it.

Ah, the promise of an easy profit.  If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

(link from danjite)