Tough Calls : ATand T and the Hard Lessons Learned From the Telecom Wars

By all accounts, Lucent should not have succeeded when it split off from AT&T in 1995. The "dreary equipment business" was saddled with several unprofitable operations, and most of the executive leadership would rather have been someplace else. They didn't even like the name or the new logo. Yet in a few years, the telecommunications company was not just the sixth-largest corporation in America but the world's most widely held stock-and then just as quickly, it was reduced to barely one-hundreth of its peak value. What happened? Endlich (Goldman, Sachs: The Culture of Success) is careful to distinguish Lucent's collapse from the illegal activities that took place at Enron, Tyco and other companies in the late 1990s, explaining that the firm's accounting tactics were "legal and defensible but inadvisable. She also demonstrates that the warning signs were visible early, from an excessive growth in receivables to a series of risky loans to other telecom companies. She focuses almost exclusively on Lucent's internal drama, documenting the company's failure to live up to the reputation for innovation set by Bell Labs and the unresolved tensions among top brass that compounded early financial difficulties. Though lacking in juicy scandal, this straightforward account holds its own against other recent tales of corporate downfall.

"For better and for worse, few companies have been so prominently and constantly in the public eye as AT&T. Through decades of growth and dominance, followed by its 1984 breakup and a litany of well-documented troubles, the company has soldiered on, by turns thriving and hanging on for dear life.

Perhaps no individual experienced as much of the roller-coaster ride as Dick Martin, an executive vice president and 30-year AT&T veteran with both a bird’s-eye view of and a crucial role in the company’s bumpy history.

Tough Calls is the ultimate inside look at how AT&T tried to cope with a “perfect storm” of fierce competition, economic turmoil, and punishing media scrutiny. Mixing unflinching candor with love for the company he helped steer — and clear respect for many of his long-time colleagues — Martin takes you through boardroom and back room to shed unprecedented light on:

• How the 1996 bungled announcement of 40,000 layoffs nearly destroyed the company

• How flawed succession planning precipitated sharp declines in AT&T’s stock price

• The never-ending, ugly turf battles with the “Baby Bells” brought on by the AT&T breakup

• How even small interest groups can have a tremendous influence on business decisions, and how the media are largely responsible for determining what is business news on any given day

Tough Calls is also a cautionary tale to be heeded by all businesses, using AT&T’s experience in the brutal telecom wars as a backdrop for new strategies in weathering unforgiving business conditions. Just a few of the lessons to be learned include:

• How to avoid the most common mistakes that executives make, such as being held hostage by unrealistic expectations, waiting too long to make critical changes, and building their celebrity rather than their credibility

• How to balance internal and external communications, and how and when to deal with the business media

• How to improve relationships between PR executives and the “C” suite — CEO, CFO, Chief Counsel, etc.—and how to make public relations more strategic

• How to build and sustain favorable brand recognition and investor allure even in the face of bitter competition and unpredictable market conditions

As candid and fascinating as it is constructive, Tough Calls is itself a call to attention and to arms, in preparation for the many battles that every business must eventually face, against fierce adversaries, and even within its own camp."

Annotation Through good and bad, few companies have been so prominently and constantly in the public eye as AT & T. Unblinkingly honest, Tough Calls is an insider?s firsthand account of how AT & T tried to cope with fierce competition, economic turmoil, and intense media scrutiny. Tough Calls sheds new light on some of the telecom and media industries? most high-profile leaders as well as watershed events in AT & T?s recent history, including:* the 1996 layoff of 40,000 employees* CEO succession gone awry* ongoing battles with the Bells* more than $100 billion in acquisitions* AT & T?s second break-up in five years A cautionary tale that all businesses should heed, Tough Calls takes readers behind the scenes to show:* how the media decide what is business news on any given day* the outsized influence of small groups with big interests* how hardball public relations tactics can backfireTo be sure, AT & T retains its position as a key player in the ever-expanding telecommunications industry. But it has had to struggle to remain competitive. Tough Calls draws valuable business lessons from AT & T?s experience, and illuminates paths to take as well as those to avoid at all costs Don't dance to the music of your own buzz Understand the power of symbols Take control Complete the CEO Expect the dumbing down of reality Work inside out toward your customers Don't let plugging leaks become an obsession Casting is everything Pay attention to the power of the few Don't confuse politics and public relations Say good-bye to the rah-rah brother- and sisterhood Stay off the treadmill of expectations It's okay to change your mind Credibility breaks all ties Reimagine your company's mission Practice ambidextrous leadership. Through good times and bad, few companies have been so prominently and constantly in the public eye as AT&T. Unblinkingly honest, "Tough Calls" is an insider's firsthand account of how AT&T tried to cope with fierce competition, economic turmoil, and intense media scrutiny. This is the story of the phone company - and there isn't anyone who knows the story like Dick Martin. "Tough Calls" reveals how the strategies that drive major business decisions are disastrously wrong as often as they are right. "Tough calls is the ultimate inside look at how AT & T tried to cope with a "perfect storm" of fierce competition, economic turmoil, and punishing media scrutiny. It is also a cautionary tale to be heeded by all businesses, using AT & T's experience in the brutal telecom wars as a backdrop for new strategies in weathering unforgiving business conditions."--Jacket Tough Calls is the ultimate inside look at how ATand T tried to cope with a "perfect storm" of fierce competition, economic turmoil, and punishing media scrutiny .This book is itself a call to attention and to arms, in preparation for the many battles that every business must eventually face, against fierce adversaries, and even within its own camp Mike Armstrong boarded an AT&T corporate jet for the first time on Sunday, October 19, 1997.