Spyglassblue

Hi Chris: Sorry I was on the phone when you came by. It was nice to see you back in the office. Sherrie

Jim & Phil: Phil -Please give me a call at your convenience. I'd like to learn more about your interest in the Asia initiative and your ideas. You can reach me on my cell @ (202) 365-6763. And Jim -I agree with you on your points about the need for targeted/planned intellectual inquiry which is also communicated clearly. I'd like to speak with you further about this as well. This need has been discussed internally but the work is not done yet. Thank you, Sherrie

Hi Phil: My post to Jim addressed several things outside the scope of his comments and within yours...I simply hit reply on the last post I saw. So, no need to read anything into that. I'm pretty busy and haven't responded to everything here; sometimes it's because some of the comments that I read are so generalized.

Hi Jim: The TAS trustees have been intensely involved with our strategic initiative. [And I should point out it is precisely because we recognized our shortcomings that we took on a professional consultant (who is also a life-long Objectivist and has previously spoken at SumSem)]. The trustees have met for many months every single week and are actively engaged in specific and new operational, strategic, and fund-raising activities. These trustees are successful, savvy businessmen, including Cliff Asness (aka "the hedge fund king"), who believe TAS is worth investing their money and expertise in. Ashwin is one of these trustees who became most prominently involved with the TAS initiative and he has discussed his Asia interests with us, and us with him. Ashwin is currently starting up his own business as well (and so is quite busy.) David and Ed are not working on the web project. Just a point of clarity.

Barbara: Yes, you hit the nail on the head. We need a far more robust communications strategy and I'll bring this up Monday. Thank you for sharing your thoughtful insights.

About TAS phones: We recently moved to a suite of offices on the 8th floor and our phones are not up yet. We had the space built out according to our specifications, and as it turns out, per our building management, there’s a new DC law that requires all cabling to be removed by office tenants when they move—so the next party to move in has to have everything re-cabled again—every single wire. Thanks to our business manager we were able to get this done for a nominal fee. Our IT is up and running, and our new phone system is next.

I'd like to comment on your statement Barbara: "To survive, TAS has to find new ways of presenting its message, new means of making actual and potential members sit up and pay attention and discover that they must come to TAS for valuable material and experiences they cannot get elsewhere. It needs to carve out for itself a niche in the Objectivist panoply that is unique, and important-- even startling and controversial. It needs to stand the Objectivist world -- and the wider world --on its ear with approaches that have never been seen before if it is to create the excitement that so clearly is absent now and that alone will bring it members and eager participants and donors" I agree wholeheartedly. However, TAS already is doing this; the work has been intense. What we have to unveil is pretty startling, unique, competitively differentiated. For competitive intelligence reasons however, we aren't hanging all the details out in public yet. This work, strategic in nature, but encompassing implementation teams in two different cities, is "below the iceberg line," and invisible to the public right now. Sherrie Gossett The Atlas Society

Hello All: Here is some information on points brought up in this thread. TAS has acquired a substantial number of back issues which will be archived in our new offices here in Washington, D.C. We intend to make these available for future promotional purposes. We did not find that there was substantial demand for back issues. As far as offering hard copy “free issues” to the general public on our website, we believe it’s more cost-effective to offer a sample issue in electronic format, which is a policy we will pursue going forward. The next issue of The New Individualist is currently winging its way to mailboxes. (You can view the table of contents here.) The current issue is 110 pages long. The first TNI (Jan/Feb 2005) was 20 pages long. When I came on board, the Fall 2006 issue was 46 pages. The last 2008 issue was 62 pages in length. Future issues are likely to be even longer than 110 pages. So, in terms of quantity of content, the cut back to quarterly is more like a cut back to 7 issues. (If the page layout expands, then 8 issues.) Due to the economics of printing, it is far more cost-effective for us to print a larger magazine, 4 times a year, than to print a smaller one, 10 times a year. If anyone would like a free hard copy of the Spring or Summer TNIs, just email me at sgossett@atlassociety.org. I’d also like to say a “thank you” for the enthusiastic support of the magazine. We were inundated with overwhelmingly positive letters and comments (some made in person) about the re-conception and redesign of TNI. You can read some of these in the current issue on Obama’s “Era of Responsibility.” Online store: The new TAS website has already been designed and is currently being built. It includes an online store with what we believe are some key improvements enabling us to better serve our customers. First we’re offering a swift and efficient check-out system. You will be able to pay by credit card directly, or by PayPal Standard, PayPal Pro, or Google Checkout. We will also be offering automated downloads of audio files via our online store. Sherrie Gossett The Atlas Society