AS A READER NOTES, THIS COULD COME STRAIGHT FROM ATLAS SHRUGGED — WHICH WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A WARNING, NOT A HOW-TO MANUAL: Bill Nojay: Lessons From a Front-Row Seat for Detroit’s Dysfunction. “Union and civil-service rules made it virtually impossible to fire anyone. A six-step disciplinary process provided job protection to anyone with a pulse, regardless of poor performance or bad behavior. Even the time-honored management technique of moving someone up or sideways where he would do less harm didn’t work in Detroit: Job descriptions and qualification requirements were so strict it was impossible for management to rearrange the organization chart. I was a manager with virtually no authority over personnel. When the federal government got involved, it only made things worse.”