Officials emphasized that school closures are ultimately local decisions, which Superintendent Al Hambrick at the Sherman Independent School District in North Texas also stresses.

CNN: In time of swine flu, add sanitizer, tissues to school supply lists

My former colleague at the London Business School, Mathew Hayward, now at the University of Colorado, together with his colleague Don Hambrick performed a slightly mischievous analysis.

FORBES: Toads and Acquisitions -- Where Does CEO "Hubris" Come From?

And this really is 48 million down the drain, because Hayward and Hambrick also showed that CEOs with more favorable press were completely unable to create additional value out of those acquisitions.

FORBES: Toads and Acquisitions -- Where Does CEO "Hubris" Come From?

In fact, Sokol was the key Berkshire officer pushing for the deal, and even obtained sufficient operating insight into Lubrizol from its CEO, James Hambrick, on January 25, to convince Buffett to move ahead on the negotiation.

FORBES: Berkshire's Sokol Should Have Sold Lubrizol Before Pushing Deal With Buffett