Business Communication Review (BCR) printed an article in the March edition that clearly outlines the death of an icon of American business, AT&T. It's sad. And not because I love the company. I've had my moments.

I started in the business world, at least in a serious way, back in 1975. I worked for Terryphone. Before long we had been acquired by ITT, then in the top 10 of businesses worldwide. We were a niche player with less than 1% of the interconnect market. That was a small part of what AT&T did. We were a nit. But AT&T did everything within its power to crush us. They did not like competition.

Later I watched as 1984 approached and divestiture destroyed ITT and put AT&T on a downward slide. Fast-forward 21 years and now we start to see the end of the story that was set in motion. My career has thrived. I've learned to cope. Something that AT&T couldn't manage. Even with all those smart people that worked there over the years.

I recall a headline back in 1993. It was right after a big AT&T layoff. (Sure, I understand, how could I even keep track.) I don't recall the publication. I don't really remember how many were affected. But I do remember the headline that read something like: AT&T CREATES 3400 ENTREPRENEURS

They did that a lot.

Just in case you think that I'm too sarcastic and that I hold animosity toward this storied company you should know that AT&T was the most successful vendor during my stay at IHC. Mostly that had to do with the account executive assigned to call on me and my team. But there had to be some substance behind his efforts.

The whole mess just makes me sad. It's hard to imagine just how many bad mistakes AT&T had to make to get into their current position. Amazing, really. It seems that we have all lost something with the passing of mother bell..........
10:26:02 AM    comment []