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∂HOM Mr. Joseph Walsh, Chairman↓Information International
↓5933 Slauson Ave.↓Culver City, CA∞
Dear Joe:
I just found this unsent letter while going through old files.
I still agree with it.
Here, as requested are my thoughts at how III might form long
range plans aimed at faster growth. They may overlap ideas Oliver
presented in a report of the Technical Advisory Committee.
III's slow growth is related to the technological difficulty
of its products. We have known this for a long time as it relates
to III's own difficulties in developing the products. However, we
have not also emphasized enough the fact that the products support
applications that are technologically and organizationally difficult
for our customers.
One key to rapid growth would be to find proudcts that do
not make such demands on the customers even if they do require those
technological capabilities where III has a competitive advantage.
I have just begun to think about the problem in this way, and I
don't have an idea that meets these specifications.
The idea of expanding III's document production offerings
to include products for on-line storage and remote viewing of the
documents meets it partially. The people who buy $50,000 terminals
for viewing "Boeing's" latest maintenance manuals or remotely
printing the latest versions need not be sophisticated, but the
people who set up the on-line systems, e.g. "Boeing" must be.
It is not really the function of a board of directors
to generate product ideas. Hence we need to set up a mechanism
to generate more suitable ideas within the company and develop them
appropriately. My suggestion is that management is that management
institute a formal effort to get employees to propose new products
for new markets. It might begin by inviting 20 or so employees to a
two day new product "retreat".
[The first part of this idea has been done].
.sgn
cc: Board of Directors