The year was 1995. Jim Crowe, then CEO of MFS Communications, held a meeting in Oak Brook Terrace, Illinois. Oak Brook Terrace-20 minutes straight west of downtown Chicago-has a 20 story blue glass structure that can be seen from miles away. It is in this shiny blue landmark that the meeting called “The Internet” was held.
I was one of the first to arrive at the meeting, as I was perplexed that I was even included in this meeting of MFS’ 25 most senior executives. The meeting room was shaped like a classroom, all chairs in rows facing the front. In front was a computer, an overhead projector and white movie screen. I sat near the back and all the way to one side, as I thought it best to blend in.
Today, projecting a computer onto a big screen in meetings is commonplace. In 1995, this was done far less frequently. So as people gathered, curiosity was the sentiment.
Once the senior executive team settled in, Jim Crowe called the meeting to order. He sits in the front of the room, next to the computer, and types while he speaks. Again, I need to stress that this setup, though common today, was very unusual in 1995. More common was the use of slide transparencies. If a senior executive needed a computer for a preso, it was an underling or administrative person doing the clicking. However, Jim wasn’t clicking through a PowerPoint presentation. He was going online.
On Line? Huh? What? In those days, employees used corporate networks for email. To the extent they used the Internet at home, it was AOL or Netscape via a dial up connection. As hard as it is to believe, the Internet wasn’t really viewed as a business tool. But Jim knew this was changing, and he decided his executive team needed a wake-up call.
“The Internet is going to be a powerful force in all of business,” Jim told the group. “To show you what I mean, I am going to log onto the Internet.”
In general, the MFS senior team saw Jim as somewhat out of touch with the day-to-day goings-on at the business. As such, his opening statement almost certainly triggered a few smirks being exchanged across the room. “Doesn’t he know we have work to do?”, had to have crossed several minds as the group watched him log onto the Internet.
[To Be Continued]
Leave a response (0 so far)
Subscribe via RSS
