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John Arnott
President
Strategic Design Management
Toronto, Canada

Though it's true that only a small percentage of patents are commercially successful, that small fraction represents the substance of America's wealth. Because of our patent system, America has grown to be the fountainhead of the world's technology and science.

George Margolin
Vice president
Professional Inventors Alliance
Washington, D.C.

Publicity on a Budget

Inc.'s response to Michael Wolverton's question about hiring a PR firm offered incomplete advice [Ask Inc., August]. Hiring a $36,000-a-year in-house publicist may actually cost more than the $4,000 per month ($48,000 per year) in retainer fees for an outside firm once you add up training, taxes, insurance, and an operating budget. You also missed the opportunity to suggest several money-saving options, including asking for other pricing models besides retainers and finding smaller PR firms that charge lower rates.

Denise Graveline
President
Don't Get Caught
Washington, D.C.

I would add one recommendation to Inc.'s advice about do-it-yourself representation. Invest in some media training for the CEO or spokesperson. Press interaction--even when solicited, but especially when undesired--is fraught with peril. Better to learn the lessons of effective interviews privately, with a sympathetic expert, than publicly, on the front page.

Raleigh Mayer
Principal
MK Coaching
New York City

Everybody's Gone Surfing

David Freedman is right about employees wasting time on the Internet ["Stupid Productivity Tricks," August]. If a lot of employees are seriously goofing off, you have much bigger problems. My mother used to say, "Look for the good and you'll always find it." It sounds corny, but if you're putting locks on the Internet, you've already made a judgment about all your employees. Surround yourself with trusted employees and get rid of the rest.

Charles E. Faber
Tiffin, Ohio

David Freedman's column was an interesting counterpoint to Norm Brodsky's tirade on his solitaire-playing employee [Street Smarts, August]. As a boss, I have often wondered about this very issue, especially when I see employees using the Web for things that have nothing to do with work. But one of the offenders is me. I do it for a mental time-out sometimes. But I also work hard enough to earn my keep. I assume the same about my staff.

Monitoring employees sends a message of distrust that is counterproductive. We need people to be creative and innovative. Nothing drives that out like fear.

Corey Rosen
Executive director
National Center for Employee Ownership
Oakland, California

Corrections

Our list of the top Mideast importers of U.S. goods ("Mideast Boom," July) omitted Israel. With an anticipated $11.4 billion in imports from U.S. businesses in 2006, Israel should have topped that list.

In the September Inc. 500 issue, we misspelled the name of the CEO of SunRx. His name is Gerard Ferro. We also listed incorrect employee counts for two companies. As of Dec. 31, 2005, the Go Daddy Group had 899 employees and Vurv Technology had 353.

To alert us to an error, send an e-mail to corrections@inc.com. To submit a letter, write to mail@inc.com or Inc. Letters, 375 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10017. Letters may be edited for space and style. Submission constitutes permission to use.

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