So if you hear a woman ask in a sing-song voice, “Do ya wanna go for a walkie?” you can probably safely infer that she is talking to her dog; there is a small chance that she is talking to a very young child, but virtually no chance that she is talking to her husband or an adult friend.

The goal of consequencing is to teach the child a lesson that leads to positive choices and behaviors. The goal of punishment is to inflict pain and seek revenge. Angry parenting is punitive and ineffectual.

However, the whippet-like appearance of most Tyler Corp. executives suggests what McKinney really wants is a spring-legged crew that can run its competitors into the ground. - - - It's no coincidence, either, that his seven-year-old son is named Tyler.

While Home Depot has emerged from the credit crisis strong enough to borrow at attractive rates now, it has chosen not to do so. Mr. Blake has charted a course away from expansion, one that he holds out as a template for running a big company in postrecession America.