Sadly, it's also an idea that is going out of style in a society where students expect to get good grades just for showing up, where everyone gets a ribbon no matter where they finish, and where parents scheme to get their kids into college by lobbying state legislatures to create set-asides for in-state residents at public universities.

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Any of those moves smack of the command-and-control management style that is going out of vogue among CIOs in favor of the user-centric one that accomodates BYOD, the Consumerization of IT and other trends.

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He bought a horse in 1973, when gasoline prices made it seem that cars were going out of style.

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In their scramble for quick returns, hedge funds have been buying junk as if it were going out of style.

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But in a world where corporate marketing executives use the word "viral" as if it's going out of style, you'd think PR execs would recognize that campaigns and trends that indeed go viral are largely humor-based.

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