I'm gone
	Thank You to all of you who've made this job bearable if not
 an always a pleasure.  I wish you well.
					farewell
						James Brendan O'Hara

As you may know, Dave Theurer volunteered for the layoff. Join us for
a farewell lunch on Wednesday, 2/28/90 at 12 Noon. RSVP to Downend.
Details forthcoming - probably Mexican or pizza for lunch. John Salwitz
is arranging for a plaque commemerating Dave's products: Soccer, Missile 
Command, Tempest, I Robot, and APB. Am I missing any? 

Well, they've left...  

We feel either sad because they are gone, or guilty for staying behind and not
volunteering instead.  I'm sure most of them will do just fine (or perhaps
better) out there in the 'real world'.

But now we should start thinking of the future and how to turn this company
around.  I'm not much for sending out messages but I am one for asking for ideas
and contributions from people.  I personally feel that the ones receiving this
message are the salvation of this company.  We need to start planning for the
future and this forum seems to be a good place to start.

I suppose it would do no good to complain about the past and the lack of
cooperation from upper management (complaining has never worked in the past). 
But, I'm going to jump on my soapbox for the remainder of this paragraph:
Through the years I've heard at almost every 'large' meeting complaints about
the lack of communication from management to the masses.   Complaints about the
absence of an explanation of what our company's strategic plan is (or if there
really is one!).  I've never heard an explanation, and I bet that when we meet
again we still won't hear one.
How can we work for the common good if we don't know what the common good is?

I admit that they have a VERY tough job.  And, we are somewhat at the mercy of
the volatile industry we're in.  And, I also admit that engineering management
has made great strides in developing good constructive methods to help in the
creation of products (we've seen better brainstorming meetings,  the start of
concept approval meetings, pitch sessions -- I think that Rich Moore, Chris
Downend and John Ray really care about us and the company).  These changes have
made projects run smoother and we really produce a better product.
I guess my biggest complaint is the lack of general direction and explanation
of our stragetic plans.

[stepping off of soapbox]


Yeah, I guess I'm sticking my neck out a bit since I'm one of the managers
(but lower management... LOWER!).  It would seem that I should keep my mouth
shut and go with the flow.  But, I can't.  I feel that we all should be heard.
We all should have a say in where OUR company is going.  

So, I'm soliciting ideas, comments and anything that you feel would contribute
to help our situation.  Several ideas have been talked about in the past but
never really considered by management (trying out other markets, creating new
ones, there's more but I won't list them here -- we have a lot of creative 
people in this company!).  We can revisit those ideas and/or any other topic you
wish to discuss.  All I ask is that you stay lite on complaints and heavy on
suggestions AND that you send your messages to '@sys$mail:ee'  and not to me. 
Remember: be constructive.  I tend to agree that complaining about an issue is
of no use unless it's done in a constructive manner (for instance, if you
complain about an item, let's hear your ideas for improvement).

Lastly I'll leave you with this long quote from Charles Swindoll's "Growing 
Strong in the Seasons of Life":

"
	Edward Roy had a problem.  Earthy, but not earth-shattering.  Not very
enjoable to talk about at dinner either, but big enough to make the man 
struggle through a few sleepless nights.

	He ran a lowly business - JIFFY JOHN of Pompano Beach, Florida.  Five
hundred portable toilets for rent.  Band concerts, construction sites, church
picnics, outdoor gatherings of any size could rent his product.  But that
wasn't Ed's problem.  As expected, when he started his business in 1982, lots 
of folks in Florida needed a place to be alone when they were caught out in 
the open.  Rentals were up.  That was good and bad.

	Now he had to figure out what to do with all the sewage... that was
the problem.  Many a man would've thrown his hands in the air in exasperation
and spent half his profit to have somebody haul off his product's product.
Not Ed.  There had to be a better way.

	In his search for a solution, he found a solar-heating process that
turned sewage into fertilizer.  Then came a masterstroke of marketing: 
instead of trying to sell the technology directly to local Florida communities,
his company expanded and began to operate three $3 million plants itself.
Under this new arrangement, the company would treat sewage for a fee and
convert it into fertilizer, which was, in turn, sold for a substantial
profit.  A limited partnership soon produced the cash - the JIFFY INDUSTRIES,
INC. provided a good tax shelter.  I suppose we could say Edward Roy literally
turned his problem into a project.

	And what a project!  Jiffy stock turned in the year's best 
performance on any American exchange, rising from 92 cents a share to a
whopping $16.50 - a spectacular 1,693 percent gain.  Newsweek magazine 
recently reported that "with dozens of states suffering from a surfeit of
sewage... Jiffy's 'Anaerobic Digester' is catching on everywhere."  ....

	Gross though it may seem, I doubt that I'll ever forget the problem
Edward Roy had with his johns.  He simply refused to let all that stuff get
the best of him.  What a lesson for all of us!

	Life is difficult... really very little more than an endless series of
problems.  Do we want to moan and groan about them or face them?  Do we want
to teach the next generation the disciplines involved in accepting and
solving them or encourage them to run and hide from them?

	I appreciate and agree with Scott Peck, M.D., who wrote:

	... it is in this whole process of meeting and solving
	problems that life has meaning.  Problems are the cutting
	edge that distinguishes between success and failure.
	Problems call forth our courage and our wisdom.  It is only
	because of problems that we grow mentally and spiritually....
	It is through the pain of confronting and resolving problems
	that we learn.  As Benjamin Franklin said,

	"Those things that hurt, instruct."

"


- brad -