Avantos Performance Systems, Inc. Announces ManagePro for Windows 

Company Delivers First Software Tool for Goal and People Management

June 15, 1992 -- EMERYVILLE, Calif. - Avantos Performance Systems, Inc.
today announced ManagePro for Windows, a software tool that helps managers
achieve their business goals. ManagePro represents the first product in a
new category of business productivity software: Goal and People Management
(GPM). GPM tools are designed from the perspective that people and their
effectiveness are important to meeting goals, a logical concept not
addressed by other types of business software available today. ManagePro
for Windows is available immediately, and a Macintosh version of the
product is slated for later this year.

"Now more than ever, managers understand that effective people management
is critical to meeting business goals," said Norman Wu, president and CEO
of Avantos Performance Systems. "As managers face more demanding goals,
there is an emerging need for tools to help them plan, delegate, and track
specific business objectives while developing their people's skills and
capabilities." Prior to co-founding Avantos, Wu spent ten years with the
management consulting firm of Bain and Company.

Integrated Planning and Productivity Tools

ManagePro provides integrated planning and productivity tools and on-screen
management advice to help managers achieve their goals and enhance the
performance of their people and teams. ManagePro's five key Goal and
People Management Tools are the Goal Planner, the Goal Timeline View, the
Goal Status Board, the People Planner and the People Status Board. These
tightly integrated tools help managers plan, organize and track goals and
prompt them t periodically review their peoples' progress, and give
feedback, coaching, reviews and recognition. Additional support tools
include a Calendar, Action List, Reporting System, and the Management
Advisor, which gives users context-sensitive on-screen management tips and
techniques compiled by experts.

Information is simple to enter in ManagePro through fill-in-the-blank forms
or spreadsheet-like tables. Changes made in any tool at any level of
detail are automatically reflected throughout the program. Managers can
choose to maintain the database themselves or, with built-in network
support, give their people and teams access to selected parts of the
database to update their own information. For example, a manager can add
"Mark" to the database and assign some goals to him. Mark's goals can be
clearly articulated and easily connected to the manager's overall goals.
Mark may be working on a training program that supports the manager's
overall goal of improving customer service. As Mark (or the manager)
records the progress and status of the training program, the customer
service goal is automatically updated. This process helps the manager feel
confident delegating more authority to individual employees, and helps
employees feel confident that their managers are fully informed of their
progress.

Because ManagePro is goal and people oriented, it provides a perfect source
of information for interim and annual performance reviews. It also
provides a unique People Status Board that prompts managers to
periodically get progress data and give feedback, coaching and recognition
to their people. The frequency of the reminders is completely under the
manager's control. The terminology used in the program, how much detail
should be tracked, and many other features are also customizable.

ManagePro for Windows ships with Managing People: Your Competitive Edge in
the 90s, a concise, highly readable book written by experts in management
training and development. Managing People provides new managers with
valuable background and serves as a refresher for more experienced
managers.

Positive Feedback from Beta Testers

According to a survey commissioned by Avantos last Fall, 70 percent of
managers in companies with 100-2,000 employees are highly interested in
the GPM concept. Forty percent said they would purchase the product when
they have the appropriate hardware platform. ManagePro for Windows has
been in alpha and beta testing at customer sites since November 1991.
Avantos aggressively sought input on the product's features and
functionality in the alpha stage, and feedback on ease-of-use with beta
testers. Feedback on all aspects of the software has been very positive.

"I am using ManagePro to track all my departmental goals and have
recommended it to all of my managers," said Natan Saad, vice president of
manufacturing for TeleSensory Corporation. "ManagePro goes beyond a to-do
list manager. It actually helps you set objectives and track the
performance of your department. ManagePro also is a good tool to provide
feedback and recognition to your employees."

"ManagePro gives you one source to keep up with vital management
information," said Randy Dugger, manager of the workstation/LAN support
group at Tandem Computers. "You don't have to sort through messy paper
files -- at the click of a finger, all the important people and goal
information is available."

"ManagePro's greatest value is its unique integration of project and people
management," said Kenn Dahl, vice president of marketing for ICOT, a
communications software company. "I can track a job and monitor how my
staff performs."

"ManagePro is like having an electronic string tied around my finger,
reminding me that my job is managing people, not projects," said Jim
Edmondson, vice president of Corporate Applications for MediaShare and
former president of the Wilson Learning Research and Development
Corporation.

Pricing and System Requirements

The suggested retail price for the Windows version of ManagePro is $395.
Optional team member modules are priced at $99 each. ManagePro for Windows
requires Windows 3.0 or higher, a Windows-capable PC with two megabytes of
RAM, a hard drive, and a Windows-compatible display. A mouse is highly
recommended.

Avantos Performance Systems was founded in August 1990 by Norman Wu and
Gerald Huff, vice president of product development. The company's charter
is to develop, market and support software tools that promote job-specific
performance excellence. Avantos is based in Emeryville, California. Sales
inquires should be directed to: Avantos Performance Systems, 5900 Hollis
Street, Suite C, Emeryville, CA 94608; 1-800-AVANTOS (1-800-282-6867) or
510/654-4600.

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