Mike,

You continue to be a man of integrity. You represent yourself very well in everything you take on. Your Christian witness comes through loud and clear.

Thanks!

Here is but one more reason I proudly say that this website is the single best thing any serious minded electrician, regardless of his experience level, can refer to on a daily basis in order to better himself, both professionally and ethically. Mr Holt and his staff truly understand and propagate that right is always right, wrong is always wrong, right is never wrong, wrong is never right, and that it is never right to do something wrong to make something right. I for one, will continue to encourage every electrician I meet to subscribe to the newsletter and purchase Holt products as needed.

Mike,

Thank you for being so honest. Even at our old age we can still learn. The good Lord will always call us children, no matter how old we get. Keep up the good work. We appreciate all of your efforts.

Troy

Bravo Mike!!!!!!!! I commend you for admitting your portion of being wrong in this matter. You are a better man than most. I appreciate you honesty!!!!!! God Bless!!!!!

Mike,

You made valid, obvious points in the Myth Buster Newsletter. Many of us perceived the writing as beating up on defenseless Ideal Industries and some of us took it in stride as an a good example of outdated terminology that should be updated.

"IDEALLy," the BIG LESSON that we want take from this is that when a man errs, he fixes it promtly without any if's, and's, or but's. Thank you for a beautiful illustration of how it works.

Mike, You are the Man. You must be crying a buckett of tears as Jimmy Stewart did in "It's a Wonderful Life". God has blessed us with you, and you know it. Wow!!! In Him, Don

Mike,

Hat's off to your "coyboy up" to the situation.

very politically correct apology

Mike, The efforts that you make are all intended for the safety of people. People who don't make mistakes, don't do anything. Keep up the good work. You are a good man and an excellent mentor in the electrical training field. Thank you for all that you do.

Well Mike, you've done it again ... the right thing that is. Thanks for that!

Bro. Holt, Thank you for holding to a higher standard for we live in a non perfect world. We all make mistakes but its very rare that one admits he has made a mistake and apolgizes for it. Accountability & responsibility is a wonderful trait and we should not be embarassed to hold ourselves to that level of integrety. I pray that your apology will satisfy the many readers that you have in a positive way. Keep up the good work & the sharing of your knowledge concerning the electrical industry.

About the myth busting article, I say "No Harm No Foul". In fact it's a great learning aid to all of us to STAY CURRENT. Thanks for the myth article and all of your other training.

This situation is the exact reason that I respect mike Holt as a person. Mike is a man that I can take electrical advice from and why I study his programs. Mike is not afraid to stup up to the plate when he has done something wrong. Integrity is what we need in both our personal lives and professional Thanks Mike

Mike, It takes a big man to admit when he made a mistake, but some times it takes a person like you with your education and background to wake up the industry. Wording in the NEC is a big problem, it seems every code cycle there is a lot of word changes in the code No question about it, we need Companies like Ideal, they help support many Educational Programs, one is our Apprenticeship Programs.

John R. Rider Senior Electrical Inspector 3rd Year IBEW Apprentice Instructor

I believe the statement you made in the follow up posting says it all: The purpose of the newsletter was to demonstrate that information posted on the Internet relating to Grounding and Bonding by even the finest organization can be in error. We all need to be aware that not everything that is written is correct. I didn't take your comments as a put down on Ideal, just that print mistakes can happen even with the best of companies.

Very well put....it's about time someone in our country actually took responsibilty for something they did wrong, I applaud you Mr. Holt.

E-mails are sometimes dangerous....I always step away from email for a few hours and re-read it. Sometimes surprised at what I was about to send!

Anyone who can admit their mistakes so openly and honestly, is someone to be respected and admired.

I started in 1974 watering plants and running blue prints for $2.00/hr for an Architect in Long Beach, Ca. I have been designing electrical systems for various construction industry projects for the last 30 years. I'll be turning 50 later this year, which has made me look back and reflect on my career to date. What I have conluded, is two things: 1)everything I know (in this business), seems to come as a result of a mistake I have made in the past and 2) the more I know, the more I find out what I don't know!

Mike, you set a very good example for others to follow. Learning from ones mistakes is very important.

Mike, once again you have shown your class an professionalism. Believe me, you have plenty of credit with your readership.

Mike, I saw the marketing hype in the comments you were shredding, and even commented on it in response. I think the greatest point you made in that newsletter are the issues surrounding commonly used terminology and the misapplication thereof. The need for the NEC to properly quantify electrical terminology has become (for me) a very neccessary thing. I have many argumentative discussions with some of the old timers around here in New Mexico regarding many of the terms abused in your shredding article.

You and your newsletters have ended many a discussion, and many of my associates have come to say " What Does Mike Holt Say?" when we are discussing technical issues. To say the least, your name has become synonomous (SP) with the code book. Please keep up the newletters and the great job you do putting them together, they really do improve the knowledge base of all who encounter them.

I can appreciate someone who if they feel has made a mistake, will ask forgiveness and try to make it right. Good going Mike and God Bless!!

Bravo for taking responsibility for your actions. My faith in the information that I get from you is restored.

You did'nt fail Mike. To the contrary, you probably enlightened even more people on the subject of grounding and bonding with your Ideal article. Think nothing of it. Buck

Mike, most readers-myself included- base their replys on the last replies in the post. If there are many replies to a theme and there is a slight error of interpretation on each successive reply, then the last ones will be wandering way off theme.

I guess the old adage-"Write it down, set it down and the read it again" goes for everybody. Who hasen't mis-stated a good intention? I really wondered about your motive with that article. Thank you for showing that you are human and not the perfect engineer. I work with a few of those as it is. Keep up the good fight.

I think that anyone that follow Mike Holt knows the real intent of the articles and that is to inform people in the trade, not trash a company. Mike is an expert in the electrical field and if you mistook his comments as anything but informative, you need to read and follow Mr. Holt's website a little closer.

I have never read a more Christian apology than the one you just sent me Mike. I think we all understand and will continue to purchase IDEAL's products as we need them.

I'd be willing to bet you're an aquarius. I'm not big on astrology, but we seem to be saying the wrong thing at the wrong time (regarding aquarius). I'd bet 50 bucks you're aquarius or close to it. Regardless, your knowledge is wonderful and if someone can't forgive, then they're not worth the effort of being a business partner.

Mike: I did not take offense to your myth buster letter. There is so much of this type of "good intended" literature out there that many folks are confused by. I have met you at a training seminar which you conducted at our facility several years ago. I know your stature. However, in my mind, your formal appology letter to Ideal makes you at least seven feet tall. Sometimes it takes a little more research before we get to the stage of development that we intended. I sincerely hope you can reformulate your intended plan and before too long we will see a new and improved version of your myth busting efforts. My thanks goes out to Ideal as well for apparently taking this on with good understanding.

Really not that big of a deal and, honestly, I can't see where any negative intent is obvious.

Mike,

I looked up the word "integrity" in my dictionary this morning. Ironically, under the heading of synonyms was the name, "Mike Holt".

Your honesty, dedication, and sincerity, are intrinsic qualities that we, your dedicated readers, admire in you.

Mike, It takes a big man to admit this. I respect you even more for that. I also want to say that the END result is that it appears that Ideal will be making corrections to the errors in their publications. Al

Mike, It takes a big man to admit this. I respect you even more for that. I also want to say that the END result is that it appears that Ideal will be making corrections to the errors in their publications. Al

Hi Mike,

While you have made a mistake in judgement and as you stated, pulled the trigger too quickly (aka, jumping before getting all of the facts.) I applaud you for once again having the tremendous guts to stand up and clearly tell the world that "I made a mistake."

In this world of avoiding responsibility at all costs and blaming others I am proud to be a member of your newsletter for a number of years now. One because you have proved yourself to be a man of integrity, honor and trustworthiness. I know how much courage your actions take because when I error as you have I find i very difficult to be cut to the bone honest.

I would rather see an acknowledged mistake once in a while than someone that always acts pure, correct and (self)righteous.

Congrats on being a real man!

Dear Mike,

I ispect properties. I want you to know that I personally am grateful to you for the gift you are to me and all others out these that read your regular e-mails. Much of what you write does not personally effect my work and because of my lack of knowledge, some I do not understand. That said - I do not belive that you need to be sorry for anything you have done. We who know you by your work, absolutely know that you are fair, kind, giving, dedicated and honorable. Knowing that is all that needs to be said.

From me to you - My thanks for this gift I have in you.

Someone has too active an imagination ...

I really liked the article. I never saw it as an attack on Ideal. I saw it as simply the shredding of ONE paper put out by a very legitimate firm - that got everything wrong.

Ideal is far from alone in having the marketing folks make a mess of things. This even happens, as your newsletter showed, when they are not obviously trying to sell a particular product.

Those who got "in a huff" should have waited; I'm sure you have further examples put forth by Greenlee, Megger, Burndy ... and almost every other manufacturer out theere!

Mike, you said the article you used was a few years old. Try taking the same look at a newer article. My bet would be that you would find about as many errors, but maybe of a different nature.

Some people don't know enough to read between the lines and catch the mistakes. Whether it is written for a trained electrical worker or a home owner, the facts should still be correct.

I still stand by my original comment. Nearly all documentation has errors and many companies don't spend the extra effort to correct them in a timely manner. This is especially true for “Glossy Sales Sheets”. The errors are not always because terminology has changed. Many errors are just flat out wrong and were never correct.

I agree with Paul Nadon (Hello Paul, Craig from CSLB work) and I hate when our intent gets extropi, xtrapotate, eextrapilot, (taken out of context). Be careful not to extrapolate a weakness in spelling here! We must see the point in which you made. No worries here Mike.

This Just shows us all..... Mike Holt is the "MAN"!

Mike you are so much on top of things & are a huge asset to our industry!

You were so much into the educational part of your topic you forgot the political side. You are human, And made the appropriate apology!

Mike Keep up the great work!

Mike; As others have said, the road down life is not without mistakes as we are all human. Take the trackhoe plowing throught the bridge, or any other ongoing issues of OPPS: to err is human. Glad to see the number of responses on this issue in regards to support. Carry on my friend & thanks again for your support as well.

Mike, as usual you have proven to be a man of integrity.

Mike, I would like to thank you for admitting you’re a mere mortal.

Ozzie Woodcock President / CEO CAW Technical Services Inc. Federal Way, WA

I don't think you failed. You love and care for this industry and you want people to be educated in safety. I have seen you fight for the cause for many years, and I am proud to be your wife. I am proud that you took a stand and at the same time loved the industry enough to be able step back and try to heal what truth has exploded. Never ever stop fighting for your cause.

Mike,

Thanks for being an example of a man of conscience and integrity. In this day of people shirking responsibility, it is refreshing to see someone stand up and take responsibility for their actions. I appreciate your willingness to apologize and set things straight.

Your brother in Christ.......

Hey Mike, I don't know if you made a mistake or not. But one good thing about you is you're quick to repent when you do. That's a quality we all need more of. I don't think many folks cast aspersions on Ideal. They are a great, customer service orinated, company. I've got tons of their stuff. Somehow we just have to get rid of this idea that the earth is this giant sponge that will absorb any current out there if we just drive a ground rod. Keep on keeping on.

Mike, I have to applogise for thinking wrongly as well. We all make mistakes and learn from them because we are all human and I am sure Ideal has made their mistakes as well. They would make another if they do not accept your humble appology. Sincerely, Dave E.

Mike, my guess is that those who thought you were ill intentioned or at odds with Ideal haven't met you. When I read the responses, it reminded me of the entertaining banter that happens in your seminars. All in good fun and for the purpose of learning.

Given the fact that many of the readers have not met you, I can appreciate how they might have had that perception. You will do it differently next time. Welcome to the human race. Personally, I find it a relief to know you occasionally make a mistake ;-)

Thanks Mike!

You teach us in so many ways. Not only in electrical topics but in issues of integrity and character too.

Lead on our mentor.

(God is opposed to to the proud but gives grace to the humble.)

Thanks for all you do.

"IDEAL ... [is] using this as an opportunity to diligently review and date all of their literature..."

Since your goal is to improve the quality and accuracy of industry literature, it appears to me that your newsletter is actually a smashing success.

Mike, I have much respect for you and the contributions that you make to the Electrical industry. I appreciate your tact and approach at resolving miscommunications. Keep up the good work P.S. I look forward to your next news letter!

Mike, The fact that Ideal is using this opportunity to review their literature shows that they are a responsive and responsable company. Don't let the shakey start keep you from continued "Myth busting". Gary

Mike, I can see why many people may have misinterpreted the intent of the newsletter. It is unfortunate, but we live in a society where we expect the worst of people, not the best. As a result we often times cause our own unhappiness by finding fault in peoples actions when they , in fact, had done nothing wrong. How many of us have gotten angree at someone who sped by or cut us off on the freeway because we assumed they were just inconsiderate jerks. But how would you feel about them if you found out they were taking a desperately ill child to the hospital?... You provide a valuable service Mike. Keep up the good work.

Mike,

Your straightforward and sincere apolgy about the "mythbusting" gaffe just reinforces my opinion that you are a first-class guy.

Many thanks to you and your outfit for providing the best electrical training available today. A rare mis-step doesn't detract from your long record of achievement. "To err is human..."

Are you interested in running for President? You'd have my vote.

Best,

CliffPopejoy@apexelectricalcontracting.com

As a long time reader of your e-mails,I commend you for stepping up with the apology to Ideal. I train Project Managers for Jones Lang LaSalle on an appreciation of Electrical and HVAC issues and recently gave out your site for about 12 more PM folks . I think that you do a great job,despite this newest attempt to inform all of us about dated or wrong information out there.

Keep up the good work.

Mike, that I support you by buying your products. You are honest and always trying to make things better.

mike, I myself did not think you went out to slam Ideal but in todays society,you have to be careful on how things are presented to the public. Nice apology and there should be no hard feelings, we all makemistakes.

Mike, way to Mia Cupa!

We all make mistakes, it is how we handle our mistakes, makes us respectable!

Keep up the good work, Sincerely, M. Raynor

Anyone who has the courage to say anything or try anything new will have detractors and make mistakes (along with those rare successes). I am a mechanical engineer...not an electrical engineer and not an electrican, but I find your writing mind-enhancing, interesting and thought provoking. Keep up the great work. Don't let any of this bother you.

I look forward to more Mythbusters...don't stop now. It's a good idea.

Mike it looks like you have a lot of good friends and supporters out there. Keep up the good work, we all have our off days.

mike don't be so hard on yourself you do great service to our trade . at no time during the reading of your article did i think you were hurting ideal. please dont stop writing this type of article thanks john

I appreciate greatly your example of contrition and seeking forgiveness. I don't think you were wrong in anything you were saying. It is a good point that there is much misleading material available. Our trade is evolving in it's understanding of grounding and bonding. You are definetly in the forefront of the evolution.

Ideal is a good company and I don't think you were trying to put yourself against them.

Thank you for all you do and for your Christian witness.

Gregory Fast

Mike Holt's finest attribute is his intellectual integrity. If he feels he's made a mistake, he's not bashful about correcting it. Our world would be a better place if everyone was as forthcoming.

Whoop! Whoop!

WHAT, YOU MADE A MISTAKE? Welcome to the human race. I wish all "men" who make an occasional mistake would stand up to the plate like you have. My hat is off to you. Thank you, Ideal, for your mature response to this.

Mike, As a young professional in the electrical industry, and a Christian, you make me proud to call you a mentor.

Humility is a very important part of being a true Christian. Some times we say things and the words come out different than we wanted to actually say. Perhaps we my offend someone or flat out stick our foot into our mouth. It is equally as important to forgive the one with the comment or action, just as Peter asked Jesus about forgiveness. Mike you a good Christian man with many good intentions, so keep it up! P>S> When are you coming to California??

Mike, your approach to ensuring the record is set straight is something that could help our current administration - maybe a new training course? If you did something that casts even a small shadow of doubt, own up to it and set the record straight, as soon as possible. Nice work! Bob

Well done, Mike. Always hard to do, and yet, you did it well.

R/

Z

Keep up the good work Mike. You provide this industry a valuable service. I appreciate your genuine efforts to elevate our thinking, as even veterans can overlook the basics of bonding, earthing, etc.

Mike , I think you do a great job and got the point across. My grandfather used to say"The only person who never made a mistake never did anything." or " Its only a mistake when you make it twice or do not admit you made it. "

Remember at this point you are still only human.

Thank you for all you do and God Bless.

To err is human. To apologize is being a man (ora woman).

Mike

Maybe a top ten (or likley longer) list of most misused and misapplied electrical terms is in order. I think grounding, bonding, and "path of least resistance" would round out the top three. I perpetually confuse the proper application of phase and line.

Throw in the propensity for reference books to use the same letters to represent two different things (P for power and P for number of poles in a motor) or different letters for the same thing (Volts as V and the E for "electromotive force") and it's amazing we all have hair left.

The list of things you see that will unecessarily CONFUSE you about electronics is long indeed!

I still say the ease of getting things into print has made us all sloppier. When it took a while to get a printing or a book set up, much of the time waiting was spent triple checking things.

Mike, With all of your spirituality, haven't you realized that there is only ONE person who is perfect? :- )

You made a mistake like you said, but there are FEW people in this world who so readily take the blame for their mistakes like you do!

In my opinion, you have MORE THAN made up for your mistake with your apology AND the fact that you have gotten manufacturers (or at the very least Ideal) to realize they have to keep an eye on their information that is out there in the industry....

I guess my point is: "Apology accepted" and KEEP UP THE GRRRRRRRRRREAT WORK!!!!!!!!!! :-)

If you want, let me read and comment on such before it hits the airways.

Exposing the old terminology and mistaken beliefs is a service to your readers-students. Your only mistake was nameing names. Sorry you got so beat up when your intent was to provide a service. Jim Schiebrel Certified Elec. Contractor Key West Fl.

Thanks. I guess you haven't taken the class from George Bush and Bill Clinton on "Just hunker down and it will go away!"

The point is they want to sell good connection materials.

Well done. While your intentions were obviously well intended, your methodology was flawed. It takes a good person to admit that he was wrong. I applaud your integrity.

It would do us all well to remember that there was only on "Man" who never made a mistake and we celebrate His bithday every December 25th.

It takes a big man to admit he is even slightly wrong.

Thank you, Mike, for living the faith.

I am glad to see you are a man of your word and value your reputation and what your words can do to others.

Keep up the good work and God bless you and your family.

At least you were big enough to stand up and be honest with us after you saw the resultant fallout. That is a valuable lesson for all of us. Thanks.

I think it is very big of you to admit to tackling the thing inappropriately. No one is perfect! You learned a lesson, admitted your error, and are moving on a little more enlightened. Seems plenty fair to me. We should all try this, all the time! You do an awful good job the other 99% of the time! I, for one, was not offended by your approach, but see other's point. keep up the good wrok!

Mike I feel you were spot on on the mythbusting. I would like to see alot more of it in the future. That article cleared up alot of old ideas.

The only way to avoid making mistakes is to do nothing. Thanks for doing something. :-)

Mike, I have heard you say several times over the years that I have know you that you will be the first to acknowledge you made a mistake and will do what is necessary to correct it. This is a good example of you following your promise. I agree with your commeents; the article has a number of errors. I also agree that you could have presented your comments in a more clearly stated manner.

I never for an instant thought this was a "Mike vs. Ideal" newsletter.

I think this may be an example of no matter what you say or how you say it, the intent or content of the message can be misconstrued, either accidently or intentionally.

I am proud to be involved in an industry, that for the most part, is self-regulating. Composed of Individuals like Mike Holt, who are driven by the unselfish desire to promote safety and understanding of the powerful, invisible force that is electricity.

Thank you Mike.

Hey Mike, don't worry about it. We all learn lessons every day and being the humans we are will still make mistakes now and then. There was nothing mean-spirited about your column and I'm sure Ideal took your comments as constructive and not demeaning. You are one of the most knowlegable people in the electrical construction industry and my hat's off to you and the contributions you have made over the years.

Mike, When your example is such that you influence another person to search his own heart to improve in this specific area of character - namely \"how we correct each other\", you are touching the very heart of a person. And I mean a very important part of the heart, because if you think about it (and you probably have), correcting each other is such a common everyday normal occurrence. There has been so much damage in just about any kind of relationship among people as a result of insensitive, tactless, blunt, and reckless correction of one another. Thanks for touching my heart by the way you are wanting to improve yours and so reminding me where I need to be more sensitive every time I go to correct someone.

You may have been wrong on your way of presenting your veiw, however, we have to bring it to everyones attention we find errors that are printed. Grounding and bonding have been very confusing for years. Trying to instruct new apprentices the proper ways doesn't get any easier when they read or see improper ideas. We all make mistakes, however, we are suppose to be the experts.

You are a stand up Guy Mike, and I for one, did not take your article to mean anything other than to educate the field.

Thanx for exposing the mis-conceptions that exist. We all need to be on the same page, in explaining these Grounding/Bonding issues.

Very stand-up way of handling it, Mike... you are a gentleman, sir.

A turtle never gets anywhere until it sticks its neck out.

Don't ever let failure or the perception of failure cloud your judgement towards improving your environment or that of your associates.

I'll still read your articles Mike even though you were a "Bad Dog" (No Biscuit!)

Thank you for this clarification. Your timely and honest response has been most appropriate. It feels good when we can learn together from our errors. That's what makes EC&M's SHORT CIRCUITS so fun to read.

Thanks Mike for the explanation. This just one more reason why I look forward to your Newsletter. Keep up the good work and may the Lord continue to shower you with His blessings.

Mike,

I responded to initial posting. I understood what you were attempting to do. I truly appreciate the way you are handling this. You are a fine example of what it means to be a man and a Christian. As both, I applaud you.

Mike,

You are a class act. I did not take your newsletter as a BLAST at ideal actually but more so an effort to simply clear up the many myths that are associated with grounding and bonding. Nothing I read was personally against IDEAL itself as I also own many of their tools and will continue to buy them. This was just a wakeup call for the industry as a whole....get your material up to date as eyes are always watching.

Mike, you are so right to recognize what appears to be an error...and more importantly...to apologize immediately. You are a great educator and many have learned from you. Too bad some of the politicians in Washington won't admit to making an error(s). Mike, God Bless...and keep up the outstanding job of educating the electrical industry.

You long time friend,

Ray

The only person who doesn't make a mistake is the person who isn't doing anything. You do so much it is absolutely amazing how much you get right.

Keep up the good work and continue Myth Busting.

Dear Mike Holt, You have demonstrated what many politicians in the national spotlight have not learned: How to make an apology that accepts blame (even if it is not all due you) and outlines the future course. HOORAY! for you.

I was surprised at the vitriol that came you way for the first posting. I recognized it for an attempt to show how advertising copy can miss the technical points, and potentially lead to confusion of those trying to learn. I did not think you attacked Ideal. We all have a lot of respect for the manufacturers who provide products, code panel members, samples, instructions, and other things that we rely on.

I, for one, am glad we have fine live spring "twist-on wire connectors" that give such good service. (Notice that I avoided the brand name - more than one manufacturer makes them) How many of the folks would want to go back to twisted connections wrapped with old 'friction tape' ? So we thank Ideal and the other manufacturers.

But it is still fun to see the myths "busted"!

Keep up the good work. Do not let the "nattering nabobs of nay-sayers" get you down.

Lynn Adams

Mike,

After watching your videos over and over and reading most of your newsletters and scouring your web site, I never doubted your intension. I admire your dedication in the front of your books and videos. I feel we are friends.

Keep up the good work. There are only a few people with a desire to educate the masses. You have a good balance of what's free and what's for sale.

THANKS!

Thank You Mike for your efforts and your comments. The main thing is that you are bringing to light the many, many misconceptions there are in the "Terminology" issues of our chosen field. I've been an Electric Utility Engineer & Manager & a Consulting Engineer for 40 +/- years. This issue is one that I've spent many hours discussing with engineers, attorneys’, linemen, electricians etc. etc. The face to face method seems to work best for me, but sometimes even that does not always work. Old ways and practices die hard and our "Terminology" really sets us up for failure. How often is a “Neutral” ever truly “neutral”, most of the time it is a “return”. “Ground” is also just a relative term and is only used as a reference point, not as an effective “Return” path. The recent effort to radically change the electric Codes are just an example of the difference of opinions in this area. My greatest success has been when I’ve gotten people to understand the fundamental difference between bonding and grounding. They are not always the same and often they are purposely different. Please keep up the great work. At least you’ve got people asking intelligent questions about this very important and critical area. Soares Book on grounding is a great reference book.

I really like IDEAL tools and products. Is it safe to go back in the water now? I admire you for how you handled the outcome of this Mike.

Very well stated. We all must operate in an arena where we can make mistakes and right our wrongs. I applaud your apology.

I think most people understood the intent and appreciated the effort. You just didn't hear from them. My guess is someone from the Engineering Dept in Ideal has probably made the same comments to Ideal Marketing Dept. in the past. Let take this oppurtunity to thank you for all of use who benefit from your work but never write. THANK YOU. Telling a neighbor their dog is out is not wrong even though they might get mad about the news.

Mike As the others have stated, it is not your integrity that you may think is in jeporady. You may have offended a partner and good friends, but it was not intended, and I do not think many, if any has thought so.

The really good part of this mistake is that you, Ideal and others will gain from this small episode and all will come out for the better. Remember if you are not making mistakes, you probably are not doing much of anything... it takes a great person to go out and do what others are afraid to do...LEAD. Thanks!!!

Mike, your only noteworthy failure in this matter is allowing those criticizing you to win against your spirit of competence and integrity. Integrity matters. I am closing my business because I simply cannot maintain my integrity and make a fair living. Rather than giving in to the never ending advice of some employees and "friends" who insist I should lie, cheat steal and reduce the quality of my work in order to make more money, I chose to take another road. I didn't fail, but the world failed me. I will seek a new career rather than give in. Integrity is sometimes of value in history. As more evil consequences of today's corruption and incompetence begin to snowball, after terrible suffering, people will return to integrity. That day many years from now will show you were right. Those who criticize you for correcting bad information that could lead to someone's death through misunderstanding of correct procedures should be ashamed of themselves, not you.

Mike,

If it any conciliation, it did not appear that way to me. I do not see where you put IDEAL or even the author in a bad light. You were well within your right for your statements. The way I see it, the author wrote the document without checking his info and was not caught before releasing it. It happens. No matter what you say or do, there will always be someone who will disagree and take your words out of context. Just look at public media. If they can't always be professional and unbias although they put pride in the fact that they are professional and unbias, how can we expect that from the general public? :) Ideal makes good products is why many are suprised that this even happened. If a top rated company releases unknowly a defective product does not necessary make them a bad company. What sets the good companies apart from the rest is how they address the problem and prevent that from happening again.