John Linton This time of year is always very demanding. I don't know whether late May/June or late November/December requires more 'thinking' than any other times of the year but right now I would put my money on Nov/Dec. I can't seem to get my mind around some of the issues that need to be dealt with and that, in itself, is extremely frustrating. I spent a pleasant hour or so yesterday exchanging views with someone I think knows more about this industry than anyone else but can relate to the difficulties a company of Exetel's size faces in these particular times. He also has a PA who makes great coffee and a really nice office (the size of a small football stadium with paintings, sculpture and books that most museums would envy) with stunning views and furniture that is perfect both to look at and use.
I am not sure that you could actually do any work in such surroundings but what a great place to spend your working days. It was a very pleasant place to spend an hour or so and the advice is always well considered and referenced in detail....a great rarity in my personal experience. So we discussed how Exetel should proceed from here in the marketplaces that have now changed so completely they no longer bear any resemblance to what they were four years ago and looked into the near future to see what they were likely to become - as realistically as such estimates can ever be. It was not a pretty sight. So much has changed and, in my opinion, so much is going to continue to change that it is pretty difficult to 'plan' too much for the present and virtually impossible to plan anything for the 'future' - where the future is defined as a time more than three months away.
However discussing a range of issues with a 'disinterested third party' was very helpful and, as I said, the coffee was the best I have had anywhere in Sydney (probably the only place that uses Blue Mountain beans freshly ground for each cup). As I drove 'home' I realised that I hadn't considered, for a very long time, what I was getting out of Exetel as a person and as a person who is reaching the end of his commercial life....one of the questions we had briefly touched on as he courteously walked me to the lift. I must give that some thought over the next few days.Whether I can actually address such a question rationally is highly problematical but it is the most important issue for me at this and all other remaining time.
Certainly as we decide what we are going to change for the coming year it is going to be necessary to consider just what our new overall business objectives should be given that providing the lowest cost residential internet services at the highest level of quality and speed is no longer possible given Telstra's likely objectives over the coming year and what those objectives will mean to other providers to the residential marketplaces. How we could go about making such a significant change to our operations to manage such a major change will need some careful consideration over the remaining weeks of the 'planning period'......and will almost certainly require more objectivity than I seem to be able to muster these days. I doubt that there is enough time for any realistically 'correct' decision to be made.
I am coming to the conclusion that this year we will not complete any sort of reasonable planning on time - there are just too many variables and, far too many, just plain unknowns. I need a holiday.
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