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NOVEMBER 19, 2007
PERFORMANCE PRESSURE Do Private Equity CEOs Deserve Sympathy? In "Perform or Perish," our Nov. 5 Cover Story, we examined the pressures on CEOs who run companies for private equity firms. Many readers felt the picture that emerged was a harsh one. While a few thought that relentless demands to deliver quickly could eventually make American corporations more competitive, many more raised questions about whether such a culture is sustainable--or creates real value. Some readers blamed buyout firms for accelerating a shift of jobs overseas. Others suggested that the industry's billionaires share the gains of their turnarounds more equitably with the workers who make them possible. Management by greed is not management at all. Private equity companies would be better off hiring Marine drill sergeants as their CEOs. These firms are doomed to fail because they are motivated by greed, not by passion. Great wealth can be created only when there is a passion to produce breakthrough products. Screen name: Robert N Cost-cutting can enhance margins, but it won't drive growth. Companies must be market-driven to grow. Private equity winners use an efficient operation as a foundation, not a strategy. Larry Gorkin WESTPORT, CONN. Through tough decisions and demands for performance, the companies have become stronger financially, which creates job security for all of the employees. It is a simple risk/reward model that drives value. If everyone were driven to perform and were held accountable for their performance, the U.S. might become a more competitive player on the world market once again. Screen name: RRIst About Travelport [one of the companies discussed in the article], I'm a former employee who was, as our British colleagues liked to say, made redundant. Travelport CEO Jeff Clarke did warn us, and I had a soft landing. Most of the jobs were shipped overseas. My advice: When employed in a private equity arrangement, be prepared to give over your life, heart, and soul. That's how you'll survive and beat out foreign competition for your job. Screen name: RWB Private equity sucks a company dry, leaving its employees to keep things going. It's a lose-lose situation for the business and its workers. And CEOs want employees to buy into this mess? Screen name: Chuck Regarding the pressure on these CEOs: Poor babies! [They] actually have to do something for their millions or they will be dropped with only a few million (or billion) in severance. Peter Christ CRYSTAL RECORDS, CAMAS, WASH. It's time to fight back. Employees of a company acquired by a private equity firm should gather together to negotiate, agreeing on a bonus payout. Yes, we will accept a pay cut, they should say. But we want that wage reduction credited to us with a premium when the sales target is reached. If the company is sold or there is an initial public offering, we should get a share of that pie. After all, without hard-working employees, no CEO can hit any target. Screen name: fmLAW By Emily Thornton WEB REGULATION Don't Overreact to Human Mistakes The call for new Internet regulation prompted by "interference in Web content by AT&T (T ) and Verizon (VZ )" ("Get your hands off the Web," Tech & You, Nov. 5) ignores the ways a free-market Internet policy has served consumers. Isn't calling for re-regulation after two unrelated human mistakes an overreaction? The assertion that our government's "hands-off approach hasn't served consumers well" simply doesn't square with the facts. Americans enjoy more facilities-based broadband deployment, adoption, competition, choices, and investment than any consumers in the world. The free market has served Americans well. Scott Cleland CHAIRMAN, NETCOMPETITION.ORG MCLEAN, VA. Editor's note: NetCompetition's members include Verizon, AT&T, and other telecommunications companies.   EMISSION FIGHTERS Needed: A Corporate Push for Electric Cars Efforts to reduce emissions will take a long time to have a beneficial effect ("Leave the driving to Microsoft (MSFT )," What's Next, Nov. 5). Companies might consider collectively forming a group to sponsor the conversion of existing cars to electric cars. Charles Radomsky CLIFTON, N.J. SMOOTH SCIENCE The Two Sides of Friction "Saving energy by fighting friction" (What's Next, Nov. 5), covers only half the topic. Some researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the University of Akron have made a tape using carbon nanofibers (replicating gecko feet) that will stick to just about anything, including Teflon. This is the equivalent of making the coefficient of friction so high that there is no slipping at all. What's more, because there is no chemical adhesion, the material can be used reversibly over and over again. Robert Shafer LOS ALAMOS, N.M. NUMBER-CRUNCHING How Statistics Can Lead Companies Astray In "Dell (DELL ) learns to listen" (Outside Shot, Oct. 29), Jeff Jarvis provides an example of how statistics can mislead companies. Dell was looking at the wrong metric when it counted "handle time" per call. Dick Hunter, who was in charge [of customer service], was brave to start counting how many problems were resolved in one call. What you measure determines what you think is important. Merrie Spaeth PRESIDENT, SPAETH COMMUNICATIONS DALLAS GREEN ENERGY What the U.S. Can Learn from Germany Re: "Little green lies" (Cover, Oct. 29). Germany, which leads the world in alternative- energy output, mandates that utilities buy green power at cost. Maybe our states should follow its lead. Lanney Wixson BURLINGTON, WASH.
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