Right on, managers

Great article about the future skills and attributes needed by first-line managers (April 2005). John Salas' list of skills touched a nerve with me, and I found myself saying "right on."

I'd like to suggest another necessary skill for the competent manager of the future. That person will need to demonstrate a certain amount of comfort with ambiguity about his or her position and the variety of unexpected demands upon his or her decision-making and interpersonal skills. This millennium's work environment is proving to be uncharted territory.

—C. Randell Matthews, Anaheim, Calif.

Just what do managers manage?

Your cover story about "what duties the first-line managers of tomorrow may need" is the lamest thing I've ever read in Boeing Frontiers.

The first "duty" of any manager is to understand that you do not "manage" people. You manage time, resources, schedules, cattle, horses and so forth. Your "direct reports" manage themselves—or at least they would if their managers would get out of their way and get them whatever help and resources they tell you they need.

—Matt Lubic, Ashland, Ore.

Values count

On the IDS Recommitment to Ethics Day, an IDS Vision chart was shown. This chart only depicted five of the eight Boeing core values.

When I asked about the missing values, I was told they were implied on the chart like safety is implied. The problem with that answer is words like "integrity" should not be implied and they certainly should not be confused with "safety."

Since then, I conducted an informal survey with my fellow workers. They too did not know the eight core values. I strongly recommend that next year's Ethics Day have a review of our eight core values.

Those values are

• Leadership.
• Integrity.
• Quality.
• Customer satisfaction.
• People working together.
• A diverse and involved team.
• Good corporate citizenship.
• Enhancing shareholder value.

I was in aerospace when there were no core values. In many cases unethical behavior was either tolerated or transferred. Today, our eight core values make for a better workplace and are the backbone of ethics at Boeing.

—William Cleary, Long Beach, Calif.

Good for giving

Good to see the new Gift Matching Forms now eliminate the requirement for a complete Social Security number from the donor. I urge readers to take advantage of this program. Not only does it have the obvious advantages for eligible organizations, but the goodwill payback for Boeing is immense.

—Helen Askew, Everett, Wash.

Corrections

• A list of modification work performed on the Italian Air Force's KC-767A at Boeing's Wichita (Kan.) Development and Modification Center (April 2005, Page 25) misstated the size of the cargo door installed. The door is 134 inches long by 102 inches high (3.4 meters by 2.59 meters).
• The supplier of the F-15K Strike Eagle's ALR-56C(v)1 radar-warning receiver was misidentified (April 2005, Page 40). The supplier is BAE Systems.
• The photo of the 777-200LR Worldliner on Page 11 of the April 2005 issue was taken by Jim Anderson.
  

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