Herman R. Holtz – författare

Most of us do not realize that we are living in revolutionary times. To a large degree, we are in a time of massive economic and industrial change, and perhaps history will one day record this era as the Second Industrial Revolution. Certainly we have been made aware of the decline of "smoke­ stack industries" and of the rapid rise of what might be called the "infor­ mation industries" in the United States and, presumably, in most of the western world. Several best-selling authors have assured us that we must change or perish, and a great many industrialists appear to agree. Ironically, we have also been all but promised a return to a modern form of that very cottage industry economy that the first Industrial Revolution wiped out: Some of our leading savants envision individuals working at home on desktop computers, connected via hardwire (telephone) to an employer's large, central computer. Will this come to pass? Perhaps; the industrial/economic indicators appear to point in that direction, although there are the problems of numerous laws and regulations -labor laws and OSHA laws, to name only two areas, and ignoring for the moment the reaction of our labor unions - that would be most difficult to reconcile with such an arrangement. In a sense, it is the computer that has brought about this condition.

This is a complete guide to finding, negotiating, contracting, and working with consultants and service contractors. It includes essential information on needs analysis and step-by-step instructions for preparing the solicitation package. Drawing on his many years of experience as both consultant and manager, Herman Holtz explores and explains relevant issues and provides practical guidelines applicable to many different situations. He outlines what consultants can offer, both in terms of areas of competence and types of service and provides detailed information on resources, bids, and proposals. Holtz cites numerous examples drawn from actual case histories and provides worksheets for every stage of the process and useful resource lists.

Marketing with Seminars and Newsletters is a guide and handbook to how and when to apply information transfer techniques to the marketing of sophisticated goods and services. It outlines the marketing problems best solved through the use of newsletters and seminars, the basics of organization and production, costs, planning guidelines, testing, and sources of support services. Considerable attention is given to practical implementation with tips on printing, mailing, promotion, advertising, pricing, worksheets, writing, public speaking, copyright, information sources, word processing, how to convert a sales presentation into a seminar, and more.

Most of us do not realize that we are living in revolutionary times. To a large degree, we are in a time of massive economic and industrial change, and perhaps history will one day record this era as the Second Industrial Revolution. Certainly we have been made aware of the decline of "smoke­ stack industries" and of the rapid rise of what might be called the "infor­ mation industries" in the United States and, presumably, in most of the western world. Several best-selling authors have assured us that we must change or perish, and a great many industrialists appear to agree. Ironically, we have also been all but promised a return to a modern form of that very cottage industry economy that the first Industrial Revolution wiped out: Some of our leading savants envision individuals working at home on desktop computers, connected via hardwire (telephone) to an employer''s large, central computer. Will this come to pass? Perhaps; the industrial/economic indicators appear to point in that direction, although there are the problems of numerous laws and regulations -labor laws and OSHA laws, to name only two areas, and ignoring for the moment the reaction of our labor unions - that would be most difficult to reconcile with such an arrangement. In a sense, it is the computer that has brought about this condition.

He who knows and knows that he knows is wise; follow him. -ANCIENT PROVERB During a long career of public service as a government procurement and contracting official, I am still surprised to find big, successful corporations making the same mistakes that neophytes in government contracting mak~. And this is particularly true in the matter of writing proposals, which are the crucial element in most major procurement awards. It''s true enough, as many suspect, that the big, well-known company has something of an edge over the smaller, lesser-known company com­ peting for any given government contract-psychologically, at least: The typical government executives, whether contracting officials or program managers, tend to have a bit more faith in the ability of the large company to carry out the program successfully. All things being equal, then, the big company is more likely to get the nod. However, because the large companies are well aware of that, many tend to become "fat, dumb, and happy"-they try to coast or rest on their laurels. That is, they get careless about making a strong enough case for themselves in writing their proposals. And when they lose, often to smaller companies, they are both puzzled and outraged. They have for­ gotten that all government procurement is a competition-usually both technical and cost competition-and that the "little guy" can win against the "big guy," if he tries hard enough. And especially if the bigger guy is a bit careless and does not put out his best effort.