Letter from the editors:
IT'S YOUR NEWSLETTER!

If it's important to you, it's important to us.

That's our motto at APS Publications. Our motto is based on the realization that the health of a profession is reflected in the pages of its trade publication.

We work for you, and we need your help. Our mission is to reflect the strength and accomplishments of APS in these pages. We also want to know about challenges yet to be overcome.

We hope you enjoyed the most recent Summer 2001 Association of Productivity Specialists (APS) newsletter. Without you and your colleagues' help, we could not have put it together.

The Summer 2001 edition was the fourth in our new format. We hope you liked it and that you found some of the articles interesting as well as thought provoking. That will be our goal as we continue to enhance this newsletter.

Our lineup of stories and features for the Fall 2001 edition came together quite well. We are always looking for additional articles that are pertinent to you, your company and the effect that productivity plays in them. Perhaps you or your associates would consider contributing an essay or story to one of our next issues.

As we hope you noted from our Summer 2001 newsletter; our product was enhanced by the participation of APS members from Asia, Europe and the United States. We feel that this globalization approach will only make our newsletter more informative and more useful to all of our thousands of readers.

If you have an idea or a story or an essay, please send it right away.

Additionally, we thought you might be interested to know that long term, our organization has plans to develop an APS Business Journal or magazine featuring well-written scholarly articles with contributions from industry leaders, such as yourself. In addition, we have also begun the formation of working groups for the APS Young Writers Award in Business and perhaps, a CEO Award for leadership in productivity.

Call and write to us. We will be happy to tell you of our progress in each of these areas. In the interim, should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at our New York City offices [212-286-0943] or through our e-mails, which are noted below.

A New Online Bookstore
For APS Members

APS members can now purchase best-selling business books at 25 percent to 90 percent off retail prices.  The APS Bookstore, at www.a-p-s.org, also offers tapes and videos to a worldwide audience. Check for shipping charges before ordering.

"We have reviewed the performance of this type of service with clients including a public school system and a television station," said APS Chairman Robert Jacobson. "We are happy to offer the APS Bookstore as an added benefit for our members."

JOKE OF THE DAY

A young businessman had just started his own firm.

He'd rented a beautiful office and had it furnished with antiques. Sitting proudly in his chair the first day he was in business, he saw a man come into the outer office.

Wishing to appear busy, the businessman picked up the phone and started to pretend he had a big deal working. He threw huge figures around and made giant commitments.

Finally, he hung up and asked the visitor, "Can I help you?" "Sure," the man said, "I've come to install the phone!"