Rumor and Reality

As I mentioned earlier this week, on September 21 I will transition from Sprint to Ericsson. This transition was not a shock, in fact it could have been the worst kept secret at Sprint for the last year.The trade press was regularly commenting on the rumor. Sprint vendors were offering their knowledge of the matter very freely. This abundance of unofficial information only served to increase the uncertainty with the employees.

Sprint employees have had a rough ride since 2001. The cycle of lay off rumors, lay off announcement, lay off effective date, coming to terms with a lay off, and functioning with a smaller group of resources repeated each year, including 2009. The outsourcing rumors only served to increase fear and concern within the employee base.

On July 9th Sprint and Ericsson formally announced the plan to "rebadge" 6,000 Sprint employees to Ericsson. Since then, a steady stream of information has come from both companies. It is now a good time to compare the rumor to the reality. Employee fear and concern was largely due to the unknowns. For each unknown, we would fill in the blank based on our own understanding. These fears were largely unfounded.

• Rumor: For Sprint to save money by handing day to day operations, Ericsson would need to lay off people, cut salaries and benefits to become profitable.
• Reality: No lay offs are planned.
• Reality: Salary for each employee remains unchanged.
• Reality: Benefits package is at least as good as Sprint's was, and in some cases better.
• Rumor: Laid off employees would not receive a severance package.
• Reality: Any former Sprint employee laid off during the first 1 year of the agreement would receive the generous package that Sprint provides. After the 1 year anniversary, the Ericsson package of 1 week per year of service will apply.
• Rumor: Ericsson does not provide 401k or retirement plans.
• Reality: Ericsson provides a 401k plan with same matching benefit (0%).
• Rumor: The Ericsson outsourcing business model was to do the same with fewer people.
• Reality: The Ericsson outsourcing business model is leverage their investment in work flow systems and gain efficiencies Sprint could not. With that efficiency, they plan to bring on additional network services clients.
• Rumor: Ericsson plans to take the Sprint work overseas.
• Reality: Ericsson has create a new subsidiary in the United States for services business and based it in Kansas City.

And there are many more examples. The point is that all rumors I heard were false, other that the actual outsourcing. We tell ourselves stories in uncertain times. Those stories are based on what we think is true, however we have no way to tell if it is actually true. Rarely does the reality match the stories we tell ourselves.

It's like my grandmother always said, for every 100 things we worry about, 99 will never happen. She would have liked Bobby McFerrin. "Don't worry, be happy".

The Boys

I am sure that most of my acquaintances are not aware that I have 2 boys. Nothing scandalous here. In 1984, Terri and I became pregnant. A you can imagine, we were excited to add to our family. Lyndy was turning 4 years old, so the timing was perfect.

Around the third month of the pregnancy, it became apparent that either Terri was going to bear an elephant, or she was sacrificing her girlish figure for the next bon-bon fix. She was getting huge. A trip to the doctor followed by a sonogram confirmed that neither was true. Terri was pregnant with twins. That caused a shock wave across the Bryant household. We were living in a small two bedroom home. We could have shoe horned one additional child into the space, but two was really not possible.

We immediately began to plan an expansion. We thought of building a large bedroom over the garage, but dropped that plan due to high cost and low effectiveness. After a few contractors provided their recommendations, we decided to build out the back of the house with a large great room, second bathroom and third bedroom. Since I am relatively handy, we only wanted the addition roughed in. I would finish the interior and paint the exterior.

The work began. Terri continued to grow. A church friend was our contractor and he neared completion of his part of the work about the time we learned the pregnancy was not progressing normally. A trip to a specialist found that Terri was taking on inordinate amounts of amniotic fluid. In large part, this was the reason for her size. Terri was admitted to the hospital and put on total bed rest.

She remained in the hospital for several weeks. Periodically, the doctors would drain amniotic fluid from her belly. The reason was that with so much fluid, the twins could move about rather freely, and the risk of tangled umbilical cords leading to death was high. Back then, premature infants typically did not survive unless they had reached 29 weeks. At 27 weeks we learned that instead of two heartbeats, there was only one. We were determined to get the surviving twin to the 29th week and a premature birth.

About a week later, there were no heartbeats. Terri was induced to deliver our stillborn children. This was a very difficult time for both of us, but especially for Terri. Amid her own labor pains, she heard the cries of other mothers and their newly born infants, knowing that hers were already dead. The mental anguish and her physical pain stretched over 24 hours until my sons were born.

The nursing staff asked if we wanted to see them before they were respectfully disposed of. We did, so each was brought in, wrapped in a blanket for us to see and hold briefly. That is the only time in my adult life that I had freely cried. It is also the time that I realized why I am pro-life. I remember holding my son who looked as if he were sleeping. I realized that infants that looked just as he did were routinely slaughtered every day for the sake of convenience. The horror of abortion became very real and unimaginable. It was also the time in my life where I began to appreciate the work of the March of Dimes. Today, and through their support, premature infants at 27 week gestation routinely survive.

The rest of our story is that we finished the addition and enjoyed it for years to come. We waited 4 more years, until Allison was born, before we were able fill the 3rd bedroom. I still think of the boys occasionally.

There will be a day when I will see them again.

How I Got This Job

On August 13th I will hit my 13 year anniversary with Sprint. The changes over this period are gargantuan. When I started working for the local phone division of Sprint in 1996, they were a monopoly in the markets they served. Expense budgets were flush with cash, and little scrutiny was placed on travel or business entertainment. Layoffs were virtually unheard of. The story of how I was hired on would be quite different in today's economy.

I worked for the local cable company from 1981 until my move to Sprint in 1996. In May of 1996, Jim, the former general manager of the local cable company called me out of the blue and asked if I would be interested in a job at Sprint. I was so ready for a change. The Sprint local phone company was launching a project to construct cable TV networks in their markets. This new network would provide voice, video and data to their customers. Sprint needed people with cable TV network experience. Jim put me in touch with Russell, and director in the technology laboratory at Sprint.

Russell asked me to come by for an interview, which I did within a few days. He grilled me as much as he was capable on cable TV technology, and I must have passed the test. At the end of the interview, Russell said he would like to offer me a job, but had to go through his HR contact before an offer could be made. He gave me his business card and told me to call him if I was not contacted by HR within 2 weeks.

I was exuberant. I returned to my current job and gave them a sloppy 2 weeks notice. Sloppy in that I said it could be 2 or 3 weeks, but wanted them to know. I had a great relationship with my leadership at the cable company, and they were willing to let me stay on until the offer from Sprint was made.

Two weeks came and went. No contact from Sprint. I called Russell, and he explained there was some debate on where I would best fit in the organization. He asked if I could interview again with a different person. Later that day, I interviewed with James. James was a technologist that was very opinionated on how cable TV networks should be built and operated. That view must have differed with mine, because I was given no hope that a job offer would be extended by James.

Anther 2 weeks passed without contact from Sprint. I called Russell and Jim asking about the progress. Both said that they were still working on it. I was asked to come in again and interview with the lab manager. I did, but did not get the feeling that he was that interested in bringing me on.

Two or three more weeks passed. My current employer was starting to ask questions. Was the 2 week notice still in effect after 7 weeks? I continued to call Russell. He asked me if I would talk to one of his peers over the phone on Friday evening. I was beginning to wear out, but agreed. The phone conversation was in fact a very informal interview with Dave and lasted a mere 15 minutes. Dave was the Director of Network Operations in Sprint. He sounded interested, but I was beginning to question whether a legitimate offer would be made. If 3 face-to-face interviews did not bring in an offer, how could a 15 minute phone conversation?

But it did. Within a couple days, an offer was extended to come work for Dave. I had hoped for a nice raise, but the offer was pretty comparable to what I was making with overtime at the cable company. I accepted the offer and 9 weeks after my interview with Russell, I worked my last day in cable TV and moved over to Sprint.

The first few weeks were overwhelming. Here I was, a high school educated cable TV technician knuckledragger, thrown into the management world and surrounded by very smart people, even some with PhD degrees. What I quickly found was that while smart, they were not smart in the areas I was. They were looking for someone who could answer the questions that seemed so simple to me. I began to add value, and with that became more and more comfortable with the new job.

Then a bombshell was dropped. The project I was hired to support was cancelled. Sprint would not be deploying cable TV networks. Panic set in. THAT'S ALL I KNOW! WHAT WILL I DO NOW? The building I worked in was full of Vice-Presidents. I spent the new few weeks avoiding them in the hallways. I did not want them to see that the guy they brought in to help with cable TV network operation was still drawing a paycheck. As I look back on that time, I now realize I was in no danger of lay off. Money grows on trees when you are a monopoly, and executives would build empires with that money. Headcount was the way you measure an empire.

Yet, I was rather skittish. I cornered Dave, my director, and asked him what I should do now. He was not concerned, but gave me good advice. He said to carve a niche for myself. With help from the manager I reported to, I began to get involve with any and all "emerging technologies" . The thought was that nobody was an expert in the brand new stuff so I would not be at a disadvantage. It worked. I expanded my skill set from cable TV to fiber to the curb, and DSL technologies. My niche was carved, and that led to other opportunities as time passed which eventually led to wireless services.

I was fortunate to have gotten the opportunity with Sprint. It has been good for me and my family. The "sideways" move was only temporary. In fact, I now realize that I had moved from a career path that was reaching it's top end, to a career path where I had lots of headroom. I owe a debt of gratitude to 3 men for this opportunity.

First and foremost, to Jim. My general manager at the cable company. He gave me my first real job. I was loyal to him, and he returned that loyalty by thinking me when a position opened up at Sprint. I have learned many lessons from Jim, but the best one is that whatever happens, keep it real. It is easy to get caught up in the current program or initiative, but honest, common sense, realistic counsel will lead you or your boss to the best decisions.

Secondly, Russell. I am sure that after my first interview, he began to catch signs of the cable TV project demise. Yet, he remained true to his word to find me a position. I am convinced this is the reason why it took 9 weeks and 3 more interviews to land that position.

And finally, to Dave. Dave took a chance in hiring me. I do not know what he saw (or heard) from me that convinced him to offer a position. Maybe he just lost a bet. Regardless, that 15 minute phone conversation on a Friday evening changed my life. Since then I was able to watch Dave move up the corporate ladder. He is no longer at Sprint. Dave is now an officer in one of the world's largest telecommunications companies. During his time at Sprint I learned many lessons on leadership. His example seemed effortless, quickly blending logic, common sense, accountability and humor into any conversation.

Dave has a fantastic dry humor. Here are a few examples that come to mind:

• Immediately after the cancellation of the cable TV project and my "carve a niche" conversation with him, he would stop in to my bosses' cube (right new to mine), and whisper just loud enough for me to hear "Are we still paying him?" "Does he still work here?"
• After my stroke, and while in the hospital he left me a voice mail saying "You don't get extra points for almost dying on the job."
• If anyone answered a phone call, or tried to leave during his staff meetings, he would ask "Is that Kathy on the phone" or "Do you have an appointment with Kathy?" Kathy was his boss.
• If he caught you leaving a few minutes early, he would ask "Will you be returning after the Chemo treatment?"

Points were made with humor. We had a lot of laughs over the years from Dave wit. Not only was Dave my boss in several different positions, he and his family became friends of my family. My daughter Lyndy coached Dave's daughter's soccer team once his skills were exhausted. That milestone was reached when the girls reached the 1st grade.

Dave was very uncomfortable with non-competitive youth sports. I remember a quote from him when describing his daughter's soccer league. He said "We don't keep score in the games, or season won-loss records. But I do. We won 7-0 last Saturday to bring us 8-1 for the season." That statement says a lot about Dave. He was either in "it" full speed to win, or "it" was deselected. "It" could be a project at work, or a personal activity.

My time at Sprint is winding down. On September 21st, I along with 6,000 fellow employees will be rebadged to Ericsson. With that will be new opportunities and new leadership. I need to carve a niche for 13 more years before I retire.

MJ

Up until now I have resisted blogging on any subject related to Micheal Jackson. I figured that he's dead, so let it go. My mistake was in responding to a poll on facebook. The poll question asked if Micheal Jackson's birthday should become a national holiday. The first 3 votes were "No", a national holiday was not warranted. I should have moved on, but I didn't.

I find the idea so absurd that my natural tendency became overwhelming and I turned to sarcasm. I responded that he "would be the first pedophile celebrated with his own day". (Well at least known pedophile as there may be others.)

The first response was a snotty "It was never proven he was a pedophile. Do not judge lest you be judged." Okay, that was pretty tame and maybe even called for. But I took the bait, mistake #2. I left the following comment:

He wasn't charged with pedophilia, he was charged with child molestation. As I remember, he paid off a couple of the children's families to have the charges dropped. Nothing was proven, but he was never found not guilty. He did however, admit to sleeping with young boys. No judging here. I am just taking the sicko at his word. You can defend him if you desire. It is a sick society that celebrates such a freak.

Okay, I shouldn't have done it. But remember that I am an old guy, one of the ones that ruined facebook for younger people. You would have thought that I'd left a floating snickers bar in the punch bowl. My facebook friend then responded with a litany of excuses for MJ's behavior and that we should all accept it. A summary of that response was:

• MJ did not have a normal childhood, or even a childhood so he was in regression
• The regressive MJ chose to have a life as a child, so when he slept with young boys it was just a sleep over, completely innocent and not molestation
• Nobody has charged that he molested him since his death
• MJ was kind and did a lot for charities
• Everyone who knew MJ said nice things about him

I am not convinced. I still say that he is likely a pedophile and most certainly a self-mutilator. I do not believe his life should be celebrated in any way. Despicable people can be talented, and are capable of saying or doing good things, but they are still despicable.

I am clumsy with the facebook etiquette and realize I shouldn't have used it to inflame others with my comment. That's what blogs are for. So let me know what you think. Am I right or wrong? I promise to behave.

http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=105925959649&h=bsTAN&u=eIZFb&ref=nf

More Simple Thoughts

Just a few random bursts of semi-conscious thoughts, and some bathroom observations:

• The people who once claimed that the earth’s population would become too large to feed are now the tree-hugger, global warming crowd. They were wrong then and now. Everyone will know this once real debate is allowed.
• I hate it when the person in the next stall exits the restroom without washing their hands.
• Assuming the bill is read, (Knee)Cap and T(ax)rade will not make it through the Senate.
• Judge Sotomayor will be confirmed. Her vote will replace that of another liberal, so it is a wash. The conservative hope is that she becomes to Obama what Justice Souter's was to George H. Bush – a disappointment.
• The worst thing about vacations is that you need another the day after you finish one.
• Most liberals are good people and live their lives as conservatives. My only problem with them is they are the ones who elect the liberals in Washington.
• The birthplace of basketball is Kansas!
• Some think that Barrack Obama, after completing his capture of the US economy, will attempt to revoke the 2 term limit for the office of President. I predict that he will fail that, and fail winning a second term.
• Public bathrooms stay much cleaner now that most have the little cameras installed over the urinals and behind the toilets.
• President Obama continues to make the George W. Bush administration look good.
• Private insurance companies will not be able to compete with a government plan that can deficit spend and print its own money.
• Senator Al Franken is the most accomplished clown in the Senate. Want some proof? Take a look at the youTube video of Senator Boxer telling Harry Alford to get to the back of the bus with the rest of the black folk:
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FE_jGD5nZ6U&feature=player_embedded

Absolutely priceless!

How I Met My Wife

July 30th marks the 32nd anniversary of my marriage to Terri Lee Hansen. I think it is also a good opportunity to blog about how we met, and our courtship.

I first met Terri around 1973 or 1974. I was a cook at Red Lobster and she was a waitress at JB Big Boys in Shawnee. Since I normally worked the late shift, I would not get off work until midnight or after. I and my buddies would sometimes go to a local restaurant for coffee and to unwind. JB’s was a frequent stop for us since it was open 24 hours. I don’t think Terri remembers me. I am sure that I blended in to the hundreds of customers she waited on over the years. Still, I am surprised she can not remember the group of guys who showed up often that reeked of shrimp and bad oysters.

I distinctly remember Terri. Her father worked for International Harvester, and was recently transferred to KC from Memphis. Terri had no choice but move, so reluctantly followed leaving her older sister in Memphis. Terri had a distinct southern drawl. We nicknamed her Arkansas Sexy. She had shoulder length black hair with a little bit of curl, and would keep her hair bundled in the back under a hair net. I immediately found her attractive, but not because of the hair net. She put up with a lot from my crew, but I always remember her as cheerful and patient. She would let us have our good natured ribbing, send a little of it back our way, and then take our order.

Our relationship never went beyond that of a waitress and customer during that time. In 1975, our paths crossed again through a mutual friend. I and 5 buddies occupied 3 apartments in the same building. We were all around 19 or 20 years old, so weekends at the apartment were, shall we say, active. Apartment management did not like any of us and were busy plotting to kick us out. More on that in a future blog. During one weekend party, Terri and her friends showed up. At the time, she was dating a friend of mine. It was not serious, and as I later found, Terri was planning to move back to Memphis and resume a relationship with a former boyfriend. The relationship with my friend was not working. My friend was not great at impressing the ladies. While he was very outgoing, he tended to turn them off when he asked for gas money when on a date. I saw my opportunity and swooped in.

We started talking a lot. She began showing up at my apartment since it was the happenin’ place every evening for all of our friends. While I do not believe I asked her if she wanted to start dating, we started going out alone. She informed me that her heart was in Memphis, and that she would soon return there. I pursued anyway. Soon we were an item. Hardly a day passed when we did not get together. After several months, I confided in our mutual friend as to the nature of Terri and my relationship. I was pleased to learn that Terri was also confiding in that person, and her feelings had changed. That gave me the courage to tell her that I loved her the next evening. She laughed. I think she might have replied with the same, but all I remember is the laugh. It was the first time I had told a woman that I loved her, and she laughed!

The courtship continued, but not for long. It would soon turn into an engagement. I started to jewelry shop and settled on a jeweler in downtown Kansas City. He convinced me that when shopping for diamonds, quality is more important than size. Terri has come to deal with that many times over the years. I bought a $400 engagement/wedding ring set on payments. I asked Terri if she would like to dine at a local restaurant named Sam Wilson’s. It was an establishment slightly more elegant than Stuckey’s. It was February 12th, 1977, two days before Valentine’s day, so a Valentine’s dinner was all that she suspected. I asked her to marry me before the meal was served. A punch line would be that she laughed, but that is not how I remember it. I think she said, "Alright". Whatever the words were, she accepted my proposal of marriage. I was 20 and she was 18 years old.

The parents were told with differing reactions. Her parents did not believe it, mine were eager to get the first kid married off. We married 5 months later (before the ring was paid off) and the rest is history. As we approach the start of our 33rd year a few things leap to my mind.
Terri is a good woman. She has improved me, turning a lump of coal into a polished lump of coal. I have not regretted a single year of our marriage. Each year has been better than the one before. If I had it all to do again, I‘d do it all again.

Terri, I love you (don’t laugh). I am grateful that you decided to stay in Kansas City.

Global Warming, an article of faith

I have often thought for a while that many of the modern liberal beliefs were more akin to a religion than to logical thought. Take for instance the current request by liberals of Judge Sotomayor to say she supports Roe v. Wade. It's not enough to simply be a liberal, you must also pledge your loyalty to abortion, the sacrament of the liberal's religion.

The global warming myth is another of their religious views. The earth is heating up and we will soon reap the consequences is another article of faith. Science tends not to support man made global warming, so that science is ignored and stifled. Do you know that global temperatures have decreased over the last 11 years? The recent cooling is more consistent with the cyclical nature of the sun's activity than CO2. Do you know there is no evidence that ocean levels are rising? Do you think this would be good information to know, communicate, and debate?

There was little reporting from last last week's G-8 meeting in Italy, that the 8 apostles, (a.k.a. the G-8 leaders), pledged not to allow the Earth's temperature to rise more than 3.6 degrees F. What absurdity. As if they can control the climate. Do you think they have a god-like view of themselves?

I recently found a great article from the San Francisco Chronicle that does a better job at describing this bizarre liberal behavior than I can. I have posted he link below. Enjoy!

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/12/IN5618I1DR.DTL