Paul Allison says that has kept staffing levels up and plants open.

BBC: UK economy: Two views of the recession

Allison says yes, and his willingness to be so candid about the various players underscores what an important read his book is.

FORBES: Book Review: John Allison's The Financial Crisis and the Free Market Cure

"My father wanted to create something people would never expect in this corner of the world, " says Allison Pratt, Three Forks' marketing director.

FORBES: Magazine Article

"I think the secret is getting a really good start, " says Allison Youngs, a 60-year-old retired horticulturist who won the January and March 2008 races.

FORBES: Magazine Article

"The options package just grew and grew, and economies of scale were never reached, " says Allison Arieff, former editor-in-chief of Dwell, who wrote the book on prefab in 2002 (Prefab, Gibbs Smith).

FORBES: Magazine Article

"Regular business corporations oftentimes don't see it within their interest to be involved in what looks like 'on the edge' corporate donations, " says Allison Hayward, a law professor at George Mason University and a former FEC attorney.

FORBES: Magazine Article

When discussing volunteering opportunities with a nonprofit, have a clear idea of what you can offer in terms of skills and time, but make sure to ask what the organization's needs are, says Allison Jones, an editor at Idealist.org, a site that lists volunteer and job opportunities with nonprofits.

WSJ: Helping Your Cause��and Your Career

"There's a tremendous social cost to obesity, " says David Allison, an obesity researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

FORBES: The Hidden Cost Of Obesity

Allison's philosophy of decentralization, he says, is an application of Rand's objectivist principles championing individualism--but with accountability.

FORBES: Philosopher King