y. The real issue was one of fundamental business definition. It was not going to be solved in year one and possibly not even during Armstrong's tenure. But if we had succeeded in defining our goals in those terms, with clear milestones against which to measure progress, we might have had a fighting chance. The Power of a Company's People The word company comes from "companion"-people who are on a journey, or a mission, together. It was fashionable for a while at AT&T to avoid referring to its workers as "employees." Rather, they were Practice Ambidextrous Leadership "associates." I never got comfortable with the idea because it seemed artificial and a distinction without a difference. I don't propose calling employees "companions," but I do believe that they should be treated as such. Everyone who works for a company is on a journey that draws its meaning not from the salary we all draw along the way, but from the mission we share. Such a mission cannot be described in terms of cost cutting, sub- mitting bills, or even stringing the most sophisticated fiber-optic wires. It must serve a higher purpose that gives dignity to our journey together. A well-considered mission can reconcile apparently unre- lated actions, if those actions are indeed directed at accomplishing that mission. Such a mission gives context and meaning to the daily administrivia of corporate life, as well as to the grand strategies. It addresses the emotional, as well as the intellectual, needs of a com- pany's first public: its employees. That's why I wish I had focused even more on internal communi- cation. On the one hand, we were very successful in communicating the company's business goals in a way that employees could relate to. About one year into Armstrong's tenure, we fielded a survey of top and mid-level managers that showed a startling level of agreement that Armstrong and his senior team had communicated the com- pany's long-range goals and strategic direction effectively. Fully 96 percent agreed, 3I points above the norm. A simila