FEEDBACK

Chief Executive, The, Oct, 2001

An Alternative to Layoffs

I enjoyed reading about Acxiom's use of voluntary pay cuts to prevent layoffs ("Creative Cost Cutting," CE: June 2001). It was refreshing to see how a company was able to overcome a daunting challenge without sacrificing one of their most valuable resources: people. Equally refreshing was the employees' response in taking up the challenge. It's nice to see a company realize the answer to every economic problem isn't to push the panic button and institute wholesale layoffs.

By leveraging their existing resources, more companies may find their solutions start from within. Regardless of how fast the economy moves and technology develops, the driver is still people.

Jeff A. Sexton

Senior Account Executive

Cohn & Wolfe

New York, NY

Kind Words

Your publication continues to present valuable information and insights in a most attractive fashion. CE is nearing the top of my monthly must-reads. Keep up the great work.

Bruce Cotter

Butler, MD

Back to Old School Branding

I liked the Editor's Note on brand blow-out (CE: July 2001). It's extraordinary to me just how much fuzziness there is over this topic and odd to think that maybe, just maybe, the best examples of what branding is still about today can be found in what companies like P&G were quietly doing 125 years ago--before jargon junked it all up. The delivery devices may have changed, as did the competitive stakes and the mindset of the customer, but the core of successful branding hasn't. Who "owns" a brand is less important than understanding who owns it--and that's what the old brigade got right.

Michelle Jordan

Principal

Jordan LLC

Costa Mesa, CA

Hiring Far and Away

As noted in your guide on optimizing human performance ("How CEOs Get Results," CE Supplement: February 2001), many companies still face an IT labor shortage. While you proposed many HR tactics to try to attract and retain the best people in the current employment market, you failed to address alternatives for when the "best people" can't be found.

Offshore outsourcers are in a unique position to offer the cost-effective services of programmers from a large international pool, while eliminating the worry of visas and relocation costs.

Brian Phelps

President and CEO

Vested Development Inc.

Woburn, MA

Chief Executive welcomes letters from readers. Send letters for publication via email to ssherwood@chiefexecutive.net; via fax: 212/687. 8456; or via mail: The Editor, Chief Executive magazine, 733 Third Avenue, 24th Floor, New York, NY 10017.