Ed Ketchoyian

Sprint Watch: A 12 Month Strategic Prognosis

Idenguy, you are correct. I went back to the replay of the earnings call and Hesse did say WiFi, NOT WiMAX. It seemed like he mumbled the word, but that's not an excuse for me getting it wrong. I'll submit a correction to Seeking Alpha in the next day. By the way, I appreciate the comments you make on Nextel / iDEN on my posts as well as the ones you've written elsewhere on the web, when I've come across them.

Nextel Better Off On Its Own?

Actually, 10% or less than the iDEN and CDMA sites have been integrated. Source: Kathy Walker, Sprint Chief Network Officer on Bear Stearns call. Replay is available at sprint.com

Vultures Already Inspecting Sprint's Carcass

There is a major factual error in this article. A correction will be added in the next day. My apologies.

Sprint's 'Against the Odds' Turnaround Looks Less and Less Likely

Thanks for the comments. KUJAYHAWK: Sorry for the typo on the Block spelling. For what it's worth, Henry Bloch, the founder, spelled his name with -ch, but I didn't have that in mind. Apparently, the crack editors at Seeking Alpha corrected the typo. REALITYKNOCKING: The aforementioned crack editors at Seeking Alpha pick the headlines. I would have chosen a less catchy headline. And for SAMBEAUREGARD: You forgot to mention the best Q by far in the world, a great live music scene every night, the wheat exchange, the former largest bakery in the world, one of the largest railroad hubs (second, I believe) in the U.S., and a little known natural underground storage facility that stores much of Hollywood's film archives. I've lived in Kansas City. My larger point was not to belittle Kansas Citians (although I believe some residents have a sensitivity to perceived criticism), but to point out that, while there are no doubt jobs there, for one to stay in the high tech or telecom field in Kansas, there are not many options. Biotech is a specialized field as is aerospace, neither of which can offer many opportunities for one to transfer skills from telecom, unless we are talking about factory labor or common admin functions. Oh, and one more thing, we also forgot to mention that Seville is KC's sister city.

Sprint's Hesse Continues to Show Leadership but Doubts Remain

Hi Stuck at Sprint,

Thanks for explaining. I don't believe the company is aware of all of it at the highest levels.

Ed

Sprint's Hesse Continues to Show Leadership but Doubts Remain

Hi Stuck at Sprint,

I'm aware that there is widespread discontent at Sprint. I think my point is that I believe the sample that posts comments on articles like these tend to be more passionate about the subject, just like people who call in to political or sports talk radio shows.

I also worked for Sprint PCS in Kansas City in the mid-90's and lived through the launch of the network, so I also remember what it was like then in the early days. It was a different company than what merged with Nextel in 2004-2005.

Congrats to you on walking the walk and walking out of the situation. It is a hard thing to do, whether it's voluntary or involuntary regardless of the situation if you've spent so much time there.

My perspective tends to be from HQ, since that's where I've worked, so I've found your insights and those of others from the field to be very valuable.

I've also talked to some current employees recently who have lamented NOT getting chosen to leave.

Having been in "management" I was amazed by two general things (nothing to do with Sprint): 1) Right after I was promoted, everyone treated me like an idiot, that is, all of a sudden people volunteered directions to conference rooms and restaurants, and 2) How easy it is to make snap judgments of managements' incompetence. While many times the judgments are justified, I believe a new guy like Hesse, deserves a fair shake of several months for setting out on a strategic direction before passing judgment. He has a lot going against him in terms of existing inadequacy at the management ranks, poor employee morale, the takeover clock ticking with the low stock price, etc. He may not have a clue as to how to save the company as a standalone business and he may not have the time to execute a plan, but to me he does come across as someone who understands wireless.

Sprint's Hesse Continues to Show Leadership but Doubts Remain

Hi All. I have to say I'm amazed and impressed by the level of discourse in response to my article. There's been a lot of very detailed, insightful and thoughtful commentary. People clearly have a lot on their chests. The anecdotes are all good and there's no reason to doubt them. I have a few of my own also, but my going rate is two glasses of wine or a car wash. While the current and ex-employees' comments are not necessarily a representative sample of the overall employee base, assuming morale is really as low as it appears to be, I wonder how long, in terms of months, management would have to walk the walk to persuade front line employees that change was happening for the better.

Undoing the Sprint Nextel Merger

Hi Mr. Crowe, I don't wish my old company any ill, but the facts are the facts. If you went to my blog, you'd see that I'm actually a fan of Mr. Hesse. It's just not clear that a good manager like him can help right the Sprint ship, if, indeed it has been hit by an iceberg and the damage is irreparable. I'm surprised the stock price is this low and has stayed this low. Investors must know something that I don't know to be hammering the price so much!