Sprint Nextel: A Case in Point in Bad Board Management

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  oakye12/20/07 Report as spam
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  i bet you this'll happen

  Yep the handwriting is on the wall that this is a FUBAR waiting to happen. What you didn't write about is what crazy-to-the-layperson exit package this individual will most likely get when he's revolved out the door.

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  Jim1311012/20/07 Report as spam
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  RE: Sprint Nextel: A Case in Point in Bad Board Management

  Hesse needs to stop the relentless revolving door of contractors. They hire people who have no idea about the job they are supposed to be doing.
  
  It is a culture where Sprint folks feel entitled to vendor payola and other political games. Lots of so called managers - never at work - on the golf course -running side businesses.
  
  Every group in Sprint hires contractors to get their work done. Time to sell off and shut down the KC Sprint Campus.

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  DanielJS12/20/07 Report as spam
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  RE: Sprint Nextel: A Case in Point in Bad Board Management

  Did you do any research before posting this blog? Hesse used to work for Sprint. Embarq was Sprint's landline service and Hesse has been running Embarq quite successfully from the "Sprint Campus" in Overland Park. There is no one more famaliar with the issues facing Sprint than Hesse. My friends that work for Embarq tell me he is a leader with a lot of common sense and they were glad (when Embarq was spun off) to be out from under Sprint's leadership. Embarq has thrived under Hesse. The board made an outstanding decision.

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  DEisenhauer12/21/07 Report as spam
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  Sprint Nextel: A Case in Point in Bad Board Management

  If Hesse is a superstar, hopefully, he will handle the situation well, but it will be intresting to see if he is given a free hand to do what he sees as necessary, or if he will be tied in red tape and just become another statistic.

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  invictallc12/21/07 Report as spam
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  Let's give Hesse a Chance

  We are a Sprint dealer and if anyone knows this we definately feel the pains of the Sprint/Nextel merger, but lets give Hesse a Chance. He has done a great job for Embarq and Sprint/Nextel definately needs an outsider in inject new ideas and clean up house. We believe this is exactly what Hesse will do to Sprint/Nextel. He's a man that is not afraid to stand up and make the right decision.
  
  Asif Ahmed
  www.heliocorporate.com

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  bholstein12/21/07 Report as spam
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  Sprint-Nextel: The Author Responds

  I'll keep an open mind and watch the situation for a few more months (I've been reporting on and watching Sprint for years, by the way.)
  But it seems clear the Hesse has a huge job on his hands. Changing the culture of a company is a multi-year task. It seems clear that Sprint developed a pretty dysfunctional culture and that the two camps, Sprint and Nextel, are at war with each other. In view of the problems Sprint Nextel is having in the marketplace, how long does Hesse have? What do you Sprint watchers think he should do now? Bill Holstein

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  DanielJS12/21/07 Report as spam
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  Sprint Needs Synergy

  Hesse needs to bring synergy to the company and this will be a difficult, time consuming, task. With the acquisition of Nextel, Sprint inherited a more complete billing system called Ensemble. Since then, Sprint has been migrating Sprint old P2K accounts to the new Ensemble billing system.
  
  Sprint owns Ensemble while they lease P2K. Also, Ensemble gives users better web account functionality (online upgrades, usage details, etc.). Under Forsee, Sprint direction was merge merge merge and then market customers on Sprint and Nextel phones. However, the bills remain different. The towers are not compatible and Nextel is largely still used only by business consumers. I believe it is clear the only way Nextel will survive is as a separate entity--under Sprint's wing or not.
  
  Sprint also has major issues with customer service. According to the American Consumer Satisfaction Index, JD Power, and a recent MSN article Sprint's customer service is horrible. This has got to be a major priority for Hesse. I will be curious to see what he does with Sprint's call centers. Were I Hesse, I would develop my plan of action and then put my own handpicked customer service management team in place. The old team has failed for too long.
  
  Clearly the company needs direction and it needs someone who can be effecient in implementing goals. I think we will know within the next 6 months whether Hesse is heading in a positive direction or if things are falling apart. From what I hear, Hesse has a lot of common sense. He is also very familiar with Sprint and far less familiar with Nextel. There seems to be a lot of tension between the Reston and Overland Park. Hesse needs to quell the tension by acquiscing to Nextel company loyalists (and letting them run Nextel as a seperate entity) or letting find employment elesewhere.

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  slanfer12/26/07 Report as spam
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  RE: Sprint Nextel: A Case in Point in Bad Board Management

  I agree, many of these board actions are indefensible, though it is worth noting that from Embarq, Hesse is not a complete outsider. Sprint spunoff its local phone division and christened it "Embarq" in May '06:
  
  http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7B8A43EAA2-DF42-47D8-9ADF-CD223E85A235%7D&source=blq%2Fyhoo&dist=yhoo&siteid=yhoo

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  bholstein02/29/08 Report as spam
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  Told you so

  Look at the numbers out today. Sprint is in a state of collapse, and it was failed management and a failed board who did it. Bill Holstein