Letters

Insights filled our mailbag this month: people lashed out at traditional performance reviews, helped a timid entrepreneur master contracts, and sliced baloney with Harold Geneen. Some even debated morality with our editor-in-chief...so proceed carefully.

The Wrong Rite?

Annual performance reviews are a touchy subject, according to Jack Stack in " The Curse of the Annual Performance Review" (March). One reader suggested our columnist lengthen his stride:

Performance reviews constitute a very destructive practice. I'd like to suggest a stronger measure: stop them completely. Simply let go of the outdated concepts of human behavior that lead managers to think that there is some value in such annual reviews. I know there is a feeling of safety in letting go little by little, which I believe is the path that Stack is taking, but those little steps can often result in schizophrenic behavior throughout the organization. They're steps down the right path, but I encourage you to take bigger ones, faster.

Kelly Allan
Founder
Kelly Allan Associates
Columbus

Another added this tip:

The one thing missing from Jack Stack's assessment was using the annual-review process to do a sort of career sanity check. The best reviews I've conducted have been done in two parts, the first being a review of the corporate goals and the employee's contribution toward them. Once that part is completed, I steer the conversation toward the employees and their career goals. The difference in the overall tone of the discussion is amazing when this segment is included.

William F. Trussell
Director
Airport Communications Services
ARINC Inc.
Annapolis, Md.

Finally, this reader questioned the whole process:

Annual reviews are necessary and important, but they shouldn't be overemphasized. Being too obsessive about them leaves employees even more nervous. In trying to get rid of annual reviews, Stack offers us an even more demanding alternative--that of eternally questioning the wisdom of your own decisions.

Antonio Sacin
Software Engineer
Tracor Information Systems
Silver Spring, Md.

Expanding and Contracting

In " Contract Killer" (Letters, March), reader Alex Hartunian asked others for advice on negotiating and writing contracts for business he'd already lined up. Hartunian's peers responded in large numbers. One wrote:

I sell computer services, and there are a few key items that I keep in mind when I'm writing a contract: (1) The need to describe the services I will be responsible for performing. (2) What I will require from the customer to perform those services. (3) Any reports or other physical deliverables I will be developing. (4) The terms and/or criteria that will define the completion of the contract. (5) A process for addressing contract changes. (6) The "go-to section," the price.

Robert B. Cahill
CEO
BullFrog Industries
Grapevine, Tex.

Geneen Pool

Harold Geneen, the retired chairman of ITT, provided the March issue with its " Further Reading" excerpt. It came from his new book, The Synergy Myth and Other Ailments of Business Today. Some of our readers were less than impressed:

The excerpt from Harold Geneen's new book inspired me to come up with one more nomination for the baloney-of-the-month award. Baloney: business-book authors who are highly visible executives of highly visible corporations have something insightful to say about management. Reality: they have name recognition that publishers hope will make their books profitable.

David C. Calabria
President
Calabria & Co.
Oshkosh, Wis.

But some ate Geneen's words up:

There was no baloney in "The Synergy Myth." As a veteran of the corporate management ranks I reluctantly received and served my share of baloney over the years. Geneen gave me a valuable history lesson that strong management is a time-tested application of common sense, management, and leadership. Now we understand how the companies of old became so successful without the influence of today's management fads and jargon. This article should be required reading for every business student.

Corby Pelto
Claim Manager
Sedgwick Inc.
Minneapolis

Down the Tube

Readers were tuned to the same frequency as Jim Collins in " Pulling the Plug" (March), in which he advised that your most important next step might be the one you decide not to take. One wrote:

Eighty percent of the arguments and friction in my marriage are somehow related to the TV. I say, get rid of crap and allow positive things to fill the void. Ask, "What has this done for me lately?" If there's no clear answer, get rid of it.

Carlos Kaplan
Owner
First Finance Co.
El Paso

Bad Reps?

In March's " CEO's Notebook," staff writer Stephanie Gruner suggested that independent sales reps were a good source of market information. Maybe not, says one reader:

Using field salespeople for your marketing feedback is a process lazy marketing people substitute for talking with customers. I strongly recommend talking with field reps regularly, just not about marketing. The real danger here is the belief that you're getting valid, actionable marketing input from them. Too often, if you follow the direction provided by this input process, you end up with a failed product.

Mitchell Gooze
Partner
The OMT Group
Santa Clara, Calif.

They call this simple?

Editor-in-chief George Gendron swears he didn't mean to stir up a controversy with his anecdote ( FYI, March) about how his daughter once walked out of church when a priest referred to abortion as "a simple moral question." But some readers took issue with Gendron:

I was shocked that you chose to use Inc., which I subscribed to for information about growing a business, to spread your opinions about abortion. I was offended and insulted. You couldn't have used another example to highlight being "perplexed" and "bothered" by the "moral certitude" of the letters you received in response to the article about Eyal Balle? Perhaps it is a simple lack of understanding of the immorality of abortion that makes it not so simple. Perhaps even worse, it is a conscious choice to disregard the moral matter of abortion that makes it difficult. I have canceled my subscription.

Richard Micko
President
Clipper Computer Inc.
Cleveland

But even on the point of canceling a subscription, readers can argue about seemingly "simple" decisions:

Gendron's daughter's behavior, which he sanctioned, was akin to someone's reading something in Inc. he disagrees with, then canceling the subscription. Childish.

Donald Davitt
Owner
Iron Horse Restaurant
Prescott, Ariz.

Focus: I Will Survive

Help. I have a small company that is not generating enough income. I must take a full-time position working for another company. I have run this company for one year, so I have basically been my own boss. I need the money from the full-time job but don't want to lose my company. How can I turn things around? I'm not depressed about this situation, just disappointed. I will not give up on my dream of owning my own company, but I've had to take a step back and realize that the income and security of the full-time job are important now. Any advice would be appreciated.

Roger Bebow
Owner
QC Consultants
Livonia, Mich.

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Please address all correspondence to Inc. Letters Editor, 38 Commercial Wharf, Boston, MA 02110, or call our editorial-commentary line at 800-238-1756. (Messages will be recorded.) Include your name, address, and phone number for verification. Letters must be signed, and all correspondence may be edited for space and style.

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Resources

In the March Focus question, one reader asked for advice on how to draw up a contract for some business he had already lined up. Lynette Podkranic, a reader and entrepreneur from Beaverton, Oreg., suggests he take a look at The Complete Guide to Consulting Contracts, by Herman Holtz (Dearborn Trade, 800-245-2665, 1997, $34.95).

Reader Glenn Bachman, CEO of the Business Renaissance, in San Rafael, Calif., recommends another book, Flawless Consulting: A Guide to Getting Your Expertise Used, by Peter Block (Pfeiffer & Co., 800-274-4434, 1981, $39.95).

One last suggestion: Jim Abernethy of Melbourne, Fla., recommends consulting the Service Corps of Retired Executives, or SCORE (800-634-0245; www.scn.org/civic/score-online). "We're a nationwide network of volunteers who are expert in almost every aspect of business," he says.