to the point he wanted to make. So when she asked how he felt about AT&T's $20 stock price, he said, "I'm far from proud of a $20 stock, but I'm proud that we've given AT&T everything it needs to control its own destiny in an industry undergo- ing such tumultuous change." Armstrong said the right words, but he was on a different wave- length from the reporter. She was writing about AT&T the institution, the company that people had grown up with, the ubiquitous "Ma Bell" that brought traveling dads home to say goodnight to their kids, that reunited far-flung families for a few minutes on Sunday evenings, and that was always there when you needed her. Perhaps revealing a mind- set that got him into this fix in the first place, Armstrong was talking about AT&T the investment, and when the Fortune reporter mentioned "industry consolidation," he didn't hesitate to say, "Some people talk about consolidation as failure, but it can be good for shareowner value." Internally, it was like putting a "For Sale" sign on the com- pany. Then, on September 26, a Business Week reporter asked for com- ment on a story he was writing that AT&T and BellSouth were in "advanced merger discussions." He said that Dorman had been seen in BellSouth's headquarters, code names had been assigned, bankers had been hired, and a deal was "imminent." When the story appeared on Business Week's Web site, editors at other publications put their reporters into the chase. By the weekend, the story was everywhere. As often happens, the same rumor mill that ignited the story quashed it just a week later when word spread that BellSouth had been spooked by the "leaks." Neither company has ever officially acknowledged talking. But the damage that I had been afraid of had been done. Tough Calls Reimagining a Company's Mission Rumors of merger discussions contributed to a sense that AT&T was not only under siege but probably destined for the dustbin of business history. There was an atmosphere of futility around the company as people waited for AT&T Broadband