Letters

Readers react to articles from the December, 1997, issue of Inc., including Edward O. Welles' "Clipped!" and Nancy Austin's "Modeling Your Company's Future."

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December's issue was like a Christmas stocking: a rich mix of goodies that caught the attention of many different readers. Stories on patent infringement, the new entrepreneurial elite, and playing with clay were particularly appreciated--or disdained.

Clip File

For many, the story of SuperClip pioneer and Wal-Mart victim Linda Froehlich (" Clipped!" by Edward O. Welles) was especially intriguing. One reader was shocked that Froehlich was surprised by knockoffs:

The fact that Linda Froehlich could acquire a patent for her SuperClip is what really amazes me. Though the pictures in the magazine were really big, it still looked like a paper clip. Usually my heart goes out to the small-business person, but a paper clip is a paper clip, no matter how big. While I sympathize with Froehlich and applaud her desire to keep American jobs (which ultimately, it seems, she has not been able to do), the overgrown paper clip is no Slinky. A better use of all those pages might have been to devote them to James Industries, inventor of the Slinky, and its struggle to protect its patents. There are many Slinky rip-offs out there. James Industries maintains its manufacturing in the United States. And how much do Slinkys cost--$1.99?

Mary R. Fusco
Partner
Fusco/Duchi Communications
Camp Hill, Pa.

Another reader saw the extent to which competition dominates the new economy:

Your story illustrates well the idea that a corporation's vision and performance are not always directly related to the sweat and toil of its own people. Recently, I created a product for the restaurant industry. Field testing for my product is ongoing. The product is copyrighted and trademarked, and my patent is pending. Yet despite those apparent safeguards, I am deeply concerned that lurking behind some back-alley Dumpster is one more corporate opportunist who will rip off my idea. Before long, millions of cheap knockoffs will start coming down the Third World pike. Yeah, I know: boo-hoo-hoo! Welcome to the corporate rat race. Dear Linda: I hereby pledge to you to go kicking and screaming all the way.

John E. Schreadley Jr.
Palm Harbor, Fla.

A consultant from New Jersey thinks Wal-Mart did the right thing:

Froehlich is a typical successful small-business owner. Her company does something very well--it sells custom wire forms. When this small family-owned company wanted to enter new markets, it should have hired professional marketing help. Marketing seems easy, but kitchen research can't replace an M.B.A. and experience in selling to places like Wal-Mart, specialty retailers, and distributors. Froehlich and writer Welles seemed to be amazed that Wal-Mart and others would go offshore to produce a similar product in order to hit a volume price point. Since price point--rather than superb quality--is the critical factor in paper-clip success, the buyers' action was professional and beneficial to American employees, stockholders, and consumers. Ace Wire should remember the following: Never fall in love with your product, and don't invest in a product that doesn't create strong barriers to competition.

Stephen Hartman
Owner
Real World Consulting
Randolph, N.J.

Finally, one reader took a caustic tone in assessing Froehlich's case:

This woman has way too much money. To spend $150,000 in legal fees for the patent on an item that has an extraordinarily low price point and then be surprised and disappointed when knockoffs appear is absurd. Froehlich apparently never really shops in the stores she planned to sell to. (a) Do the math. (b) Pull the plug.

Laura Farson
Vice-President
Nose-eez Co.
Springfield, Ill.

Clay-ming Credit

Nancy Austin's " Modeling Your Company's Future" (On the Road, Field Notes) covered one company's unique way of strategizing: using clay models to symbolize corporate circumstance. A reader traces the origins of the concept back to L. Ron Hubbard of Scientology fame:

No doubt you've received letters from people who ridicule or dismiss the idea of clay modeling as something best left to preschoolers instead of corporate managers and planners. I suspect my viewpoint may be different, however.

I have been a proponent of Clay Table Modeling since I was first introduced to it as a student of Dianetics and Scientology, in 1975, long after it was developed as a teaching aid by L. Ron Hubbard.

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