Don't Dis 3M's Plan to Rev Up Growth

''3M: The heat is on the boss'' (Management, Mar. 15) represents a triumph of anonymous gossip and fabrication over the factual, balanced, and well-researched reporting we expect of BUSINESS WEEK. The leadership of 3M is fully aware that our performance has not met our expectations, and it has taken action to regain growth momentum. A good example is the action plan announced last July. I personally participated in the decision-making process which led to that announcement. I can report--on the record--that the plan had the unanimous consent of the senior-management team.

In an interview with BUSINESS WEEK in late February, 3M CEO Livio D. DeSimone spoke at length about investment in new technology platforms and new products. None of his comments on the topic is included in the story.

Instead, we hear from anonymous sources about his alleged ''failure to fund important products for future growth.'' In fact, 3M invests more than $1 billion annually in R&D and generated more than 30% of its sales from products new in the last four years.

I am aware that BUSINESS WEEK has a policy of correcting ''errors of fact.'' To us, the more relevant issue is how you correct errors of fiction.

J. Marc Adam
Vice-President
Marketing & Public Affairs
3M
St. Paul, Minn.

EMC Has Some Other Hungry Rivals

''The rivals looking to eat EMC's lunch'' (Cover Story, Mar. 15) proves that one man can make a difference. However, as impressed as I am with Michael C. Ruettgers' uncompromising leadership and his sales team's effectiveness, I suspect that EMC has an engineering department at least partially responsible for its success. A ''can-do'' attitude will take you only so far.

Also, I wonder why you failed to include Data General Corp. and Network Appliance Inc. in your list of companies expected to challenge EMC in the future. Both sell leading-edge data-storage technology directly to end users and through the sales organizations of muscular OEM partners such as Dell Computer Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. Add Sun Microsystems Inc. and Compaq Computer Corp. to the competitive mix, and one has to wonder if Ruettgers appreciates what he's up against. Squaring off against this level of competition will make him realize how easy it has been to compete against IBM.

John McPhail
Winchester, Mass.

Congratulations for hitting the story on the mark. I remember Ruettgers joining EMC in 1988, just a few months after I started with the company as one of their newest sales recruits right out of college. That nExt year, as EMC swung violently from being a great startup To almost collapsing to literally being resurrected from the ashes, was one of the most intense of my career.

Ruettgers has done an incredible job, but let's not forget Dick Egan and Roger Marino, the EMC founders who built up and gave Mike the most valuable tool any new leader can ask for: corporate culture. I have never seen or worked for another firm that had inculcated such an aggressive, do-what-it-takes-to-win culture as what Dick and Roger created. In the ensuing decade, Ruettgers has figured out how to mature that gem, yet still keep the $5 billion giant instilled with one of the most aggressive attitudes in the industry.

Ross B. Garber
Chairman
Vignette Corp.
Austin, Tex.

Net Lovers Want More Speed

As any serious Net user can tell you, you soon reach a point where you have to have a dedicated phone line (''Can Road Runner get up to speed?'' Media, Mar. 15). Waiting for your significant other to get off the phone with Mom so you can check E-mail or do some stock-market research--and then monopolize the line for hours--is not an option if you value domestic tranquility.

The cost of a dedicated phone line plus the Internet service provider fee comes very close to the $40-a-month flat fee that cable-modem services charge. To anyone who uses the Internet, the $5 or $10 per month difference is well below the radar, and getting an ''always on'' blazingly fast connection in exchange is a deal we'll take--now.

I'm lucky enough to live in one of the original test-market areas for At Home Corp.'s cable-modem service, and I have been a subscriber since they first dropped their hang tag on my door. But cable-modem service is just not available in large areas of the country. I've just sold my house. I'm moving five miles away, and I'm already shedding tears because I'm going to lose my megabits-per-second connection.

Todd Maddison
Seattle

Malaysia Knows Its Way Around High Tech

''Mahathir's high-tech folly'' (Information Technology, Mar. 29) is sensationally misleading. It belittles the Malaysian leadership and undermines the credibility of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC). The article is slanted and sparse on the facts on the achievements made by the Multimedia Development Corp. in attracting investments. Considering that we started accepting applications only at the beginning of 1997, I think Prime Minister Mahathir has far from failed to attract high-tech companies. The MSC aimed to attract only 50 world-class companies by 2003. Getting 29 by March, 1999, is a great achievement by any standard. And the number of companies in operation increased from 94 in 1997 to 139 in March of this year.

You also mentioned ''blatant reversal'' by the Malaysian Prime Minister on the government's commitment to noncensorship of the Internet as well as its business-friendly positioning. Let me underscore the fact that as recently as last week, the Prime Minister has reiterated that he has never wavered from promises made in the Bill of Guarantees. He has in fact reinforced his stand on the noncensorship of the Internet. He has instructed the relevant government agencies to put together the necessary legal and administrative arrangements to strengthen the enforcement of intellectual-property rights.

Othman Yeop Adbullah
Executive Director
Multimedia Development Corp.
Singapore

In Internet Trading, Advice Is Missing

''Who needs a broker?'' (Cover Story, Feb. 22) predicts the demise of brokerages. I'd like to predict a different outcome. The theory that online trading is easier for individual investors and will replace traditional brokerages confuses two terms: trading and investing. Trading--buying and selling equities--is a commodity. Investing, by contrast, is the planned use of money to maximize return. Trading is a component of investing, but as a sole investment strategy, it's unlikely to produce significant long-term returns. We read stories every day that many Internet day traders, especially neophytes, are learning that sad lesson.

Advice is the currency that makes a difference to customers, and it's not a commodity. It's built upon professional guidance specific to the needs of each customer. It requires understanding a customer's desires, time frames, risk-comfort level, and lifestyle. It's not simply information--you can access information on the Internet. And it's fine for opinions on books or movies, but it's no basis for making investment decisions upon which your financial future relies.

We are confident that the continuing increase in household financial assets, abetted by the generational transfer to baby boomers and their children, will continue to drive customers seeking professional financial advice to traditional brokerage firms like us. And we recognize that some customers enjoy the ''gambling'' aspect of trading stocks on the Internet, because they understand that trading and investing are not equal.

Robert H. Yevich
President
Tucker Anthony Inc.
New York

Should the Fed Wait on Y2K?

After reading ''Serene at the Fed?'' (News: Analysis & Commentary, Mar. 15) I'm convinced that the Federal Reserve Board should not touch interest rates at all during 1999. For the past few months, we have seen only volatility in the major indexes. A rate increase could send the markets tumbling, at a time when we need strong increases because of the impact the Y2K problem may have on our economy. If the U.S. economy goes into a recession, combined with weaknesses in Europe and Asia, we're looking at a potentially very long period of low growth worldwide. Instead, the Fed should leave rates where they are now until we know the full effect of Y2K.

Myles Sirota
Bethpage, N.Y.

Dollarizing Is Bad for Local Morale

I strongly oppose the idea of ''dollarizing'' as a better way to rescue a poor country's economy from sinking (''Why countries shouldn't break their currency promises,'' Economic Viewpoint, Mar. 15). Giving up the sovereign currency means giving up the country's ability to design its macroeconomic policy for its people. If the country uses the dollar--well, it can give some sort of confidence to the foreign investors but not necessarily to its own people.

Bowon Kim
Seoul

''The tremors from online trading in Europe'' (International Business, Mar. 15)

In ''The tremors from online trading in Europe'' (International Business, Mar. 15), TIBCO was misidentified as TIBC.

''3M: The heat is on the boss'' (Management, Mar. 15)

The meeting referred to in the opening paragraph of ''3M: The heat is on the boss,'' (Management, Mar. 15) took place on Aug. 26, not Aug. 27.

''Unequal pay strikes out'' (Economic Trends, Mar. 29)

In ''Unequal pay strikes out,'' (Economic Trends, Mar. 29), the academic affiliation of Matt Bloom, author of the management study cited, should have been Notre Dame University, not Purdue University.