I was out for a drive the other day in my Toyota convertible when my thoughts turned to the Detroit automakers and their current woes. Businesses and corporations, like everything and everyone, get old and fat. (They don’t get bald, though, for some reason.) They slow down, get complacent, are resistant to change, and eventually people stop listening to their incessant mumbling and reminiscences of their glory days. Time for the old corporation home, perhaps.

They may survive for a while longer, of course, with our help. Here are some of my suggestions to help these old codgers get through another few years of productive life.