Sprint’s CTO – Half Hearted Defense of His Own Company’s Initiative?

Implications: West tried to interject some humor at the Wireless Communications Association conference and it did not quite come off well. I give him credit for finally opening his mouth to say something to defend WiMAX.  You can see Hesse’s fingerprints all over this; not the words just the effort.

Analysis: First thing they say in Public Speaking 101 is never tell a joke unless you know how.  But West made several good points about WiMAX.  WiMAX has been deployed commercially; albeit not on as grand a scale as an entire city but LTE is still in the lab.  WiMAX has technology support and product from over two dozen device manufacturers and over two dozen infrastructure vendors.

Let us not lose sight of the facts.  WiMAX is here today.  LTE is not here today except in a lab and someone’s mind.  That all being said and yes in a defiant manner; Sprint is facing a very uncertain financial future and needs something that will propel it quickly ahead of AT&T Mobility and Verizon Wireless.

I am not a believer in seeing stupid jokes made by C-Level officers as the lead in to an article supposedly supporting a company's business case.  The joke takes away from the company.  Clever comments are one thing.  Lame jokes are another.

As for West’s humor, I think he should have gotten his remarks cleared by his company’s PR group.  My advice to West is: have a list (in his mind) of prepared (and approved) remarks about the WiMAX and LTE fight.  The joke was silly and did nothing to highlight WiMAX’s positive attributes.  Reporters are only interested in sound bites and interested in the interviewee saying something that will sell papers.  He may have actually made the joke at the end of his public remarks but the press decides what order to present those remarks.  He made some good points about WiMAX but they showed up after the eye catching silly joke.

Maybe West is not convinced that WiMAX is the answer?  One thing is for sure; iDEN needs to go; hopefully Sprint’s CTO understands that.

West’s comments also did not raise any of the negatives of the industry’s current LTE efforts.  Then again he probably came across differently if you had actually heard him say the words.  Then again maybe West has a grand plan to be that “lovable approachable interviewee for the press”.  Okay I am really reaching.  Oh well, this is a lesson learned for West; speak the words and then see what they look like when printed.

Pubic Speaking 101 for C-Level Officers:  Whenever you say anything in public make sure it either supports your case or shoots down the other guy’s case.

Yes this is another lesson also.  I just spent the majority of this analysis commenting on the nature of his remarks and not the substance of Sprint’s business initiative.  Talk about blowing an opportunity to make your case in the press.