Success is about the 'AND' – not about the 'OR'

What makes a team pull ahead of others? What’s the secret to success? These are questions I’m often asked. The secret is not as easy as just doing this or that. It’s doing this and that.

And versus or. It’s not a play on words. It’s a management philosophy that can make the difference between leading your team to great success … or … to less than great.

The key is to get your teams to focus on the and instead of the or, like:

• Winning new customers and keeping the ones you have.
• Delivering a project on time and within budget.
• Meeting customer needs today and in the future.

If you, as a leader, believe you have to settle for one thing or the other—quality or quantity, for example—you’re accepting less than what’s best for you and your team.

A personal example: 2G and 3G

Let me share an example from my own career.

When Cingular Wireless merged with AT&T Wireless in 2004 we had to integrate the two companies’ networks. Both used 2G technology. However, it became very clear to me that 3G would render a superior customer experience, particularly for the new devices appearing in the horizon, such as smartphones. 

But our engineers said we should merge both networks as 2G first, and then evolve to 3G. That was the only way to meet the integration timeframe. But it  meant we would have to wait 2 years or longer to have a nationwide 3G network.

To me, this was a case of and vs or.  I told our engineers we needed to find a way to integrate the 2G networks and simultaneously build the foundation for a nationwide 3G network.

We did, and paved the way for us to provide a superior experience for customers using the next generation of smartphones.

Our team achieved what they did not think possible by focusing on the and instead of the or.

Capturing the and in 30 seconds

With that as a preamble, you’ll appreciate my enthusiasm when I first saw the "AT&T Power of &" advertising campaign.

It was as if the creative team had taken my management philosophy and used it to show how an integrated solutions provider like AT&T can help businesses:

• Operate locally and globally
• With a network that is open and secure
• So that their operations can be flexible and reliable
• Performing with speed and precision

I couldn’t t have said it better myself.

People who have been on my team for a while know that my belief in the power of and is real. They’ve heard me talk about it time and again. I hope they’ve been able to add it to their own management toolkits.

I also hope you will add it to yours. Let me know how the power of and has worked for you.

Ralph