What About the Armies of Talent behind the Top 25?

Hooray for the Top 25! (''The top 25 managers of the year,'' Special Report, Jan. 8). I'm sure they're worthy of your designation. But let's not forget the people in the lower ranks who toiled hard and wisely to make the Top 25's business plans come to fruition. The whole team makes the company shine, not just the people at the top!

Alan Day
Fairfax, Vt.

I've never thought of Thomas Siebel or Herb Kelleher as ''managers.'' At one time, perhaps, but certainly not today. What they are, along with Martha Stewart and Daniel Warmenhoven and the others, are leaders. A manager manages process. A leader manages people.

One surprise: It's hard to fathom any list of the Top 25 Managers without the inclusion of Jack Welch.

Chris Chadwick
Glen Mills, Pa.

Take the ''For Sale'' Sign Off U.S. Politicians

Campaign-finance reform is more than a tactical challenge for George W. Bush (''Bush vs. McCain, round two,'' News: Analysis & Commentary, Jan. 8). It is at the heart of restoring credibility to the American political process and putting control of it back into the hands of citizens, where it belongs.

The excessive influence of corporations, unions, and other moneyed interests has disenfranchised the average American, preventing reasoned debate on a variety of critical issues such as health care, educational reform, and energy policy. Increasing globalization raises the specter of not only American but foreign corporate entities' dominance of the American political process. For Bush, this is a test of statesmanship.

Paul W. Rosenberger
Manhattan Beach, Calif.

Tax Away Short-Term Stock Plays

When will our government come to grips with issues that cause counterproductive nervousness in our economy (''Are we talking ourselves into a recession?'' Business Outlook, Jan. 8)? Why not tax away (100%) short-term, speculative capital gains of less than a few months or even a few weeks, then use the proceeds for education, health care, research and development, infrastructure development, etc.? With the stock markets taking a purely investment view, there would be one less dimension of the economy to be affected by mass-media impact on economic psychology and behavior.

Brian McKibben
Naperville, Ill.

To Fix the Power Mess, Make Buildings Smarter

Re ''California's power failure'' (News: Analysis & Commentary, Jan. 8): Supply-side steps such as long-term power-purchase contracts and streamlined power-plant construction may be effective short-term, but any permanent solution requires action on the demand side, too, starting with the promotion of existing ''smart building'' technologies.

These technologies, designed for large commercial buildings, can respond automatically to real-time price signals sent by utilities and save customers inside as much as 15% of their power costs. Prototype systems have proved their worth: In 1995, a large Manhattan hotel saved $6,300 in a single day.

The next step is to bring building owners, equipment manufacturers, regulators, and other stakeholders together to map out a plan for commercializing these technologies as quickly as possible.

Peter Fox-Penner
Washington, D.C.

California electrical bills include welfare support of free electricity for some, the cost of building and abandoning nuclear plants over earthquake faults, subsidizing unsightly wind-power generators, and of not allowing new oil- or fossil-fuel-powered generators, since they emit 1% or 2% more emissions than scarce natural gas. Liberal California politicians and lobbyists created this mess, and they should not correct it on the backs of federal taxpayers.

Joseph J. Neff
Indianapolis

How Challenger, Gray Tallies Its Job-Cut Numbers

Your report on our job-cut numbers was misleading (''Is Challenger math-challenged?'' Up Front, Jan. 8). We track job-cut announcements, pure and simple. Within seven days of the end of a month, we get a specific reading on planned job cuts by U.S. companies that many economists, financial professionals, and government officials, among them Federal Reserve governors, have found valuable. We gather our information from company news releases and required notifications to the government.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics household survey asks about reasons for unemployment. They categorize the 1.1 million referred to in your article as ''permanent job losers,'' not ''laid off workers.'' The criteria used for a person to be considered by the BLS in this survey is that he or she was removed from a job involuntarily or that he or she has looked for a job in the past four weeks. In other words, the 1.1 million ''permanent job losers'' in October did not necessarily become jobless in October, as you indicated. BLS confirms this.

John A. Challenger
CEO, Challenger, Gray & Christmas
Chicago

Fresh Product in Chrysler Showrooms

Regarding DaimlerChrysler's ''aging'' Chrysler product line (''Manufacturing: Autos,'' Industry Outlook 2001, Jan. 8): The fact is, no full-range carmaker boasts a younger product line than Chrysler's. Its compact, midsize, and full-size car lines were last redesigned in 2000, 2001, and 1998, respectively. Toyota Motor Co.'s corresponding models were redesigned in 1998, 1997, and 2000. Ford Motor Co. ekes out Toyota's average only if you consider the 2000 Taurus facelift a full redesign. General Motors Corp. fares worse: 1995, 1997, and 2000.

John Vlissides
Mohegan Lake, N.Y.

"Where the buys are" (Strategies for Stocks, Dec. 25, 2000/Jan. 1, 2001)

In ''Where the buys are'' (Strategies for Stocks, Dec. 25/Jan. 1), Zurich Financial Services Group was incorrectly characterized as the product of a merger between Swiss and German insurers. It is a combination of British and Swiss companies.

"Deathwatch: Sites in Free Fall" (Up Front, Jan. 15, 2001)

The figures we cited on priceline.com's burn rate were inaccurate. (Up Front, Jan. 15). As of Sept. 30, 2000, priceline had $130 million in cash and was depleting it at a quarterly rate of $8.4 million--much more slowly than our table suggested.