bolts of the business. In fact, what I need to do is stay naive and push for simple solutions. AT&T needs leadership, not more management." In fact, we needed both. Vying to outdo each other in archness, the next day's papers vari- ously described Walter as "a bolt from the blue," "a distinct letdown" (New York Times), "a Telecom Novice," "a curveball," "found in the Yellow Pages," "John Walter Who?" (Wall Street Journal), and "heir un- apparent" (New York Daily News). Morgan Stanley's research analyst headlined her investor note "AT&T: My Mother Warned Me There Would Be Days Like This," but reiterated her strong buy on the stock. Most analysts expressed surprise at Walter's selection, particularly in view of his relative youth and his lack of industry experience, but they generally adopted a wait-and-see attitude. We also surveyed employees following the announcement. Most rank-and-file AT&T employees either didn't have an opinion about his appointment (27 percent) or thought it was a good idea (38 percent). But among AT&T executives, 53 percent were unfavorable, citing espe- cially his lack of industry experience. However, a whopping 69 per- cent of those same executives said that, now that Walter had the job, he should make changes, and he should make them quickly. Personality Matters One of the biggest surprises I had when I finally reached top manage- ment was how much personality quirks influence corporate decision making. In early 2000, a dog-eared document began making the rounds of Tough Calls AT&T's executive offices like a corporate samizdat, the underground press of Communist Russia. Several copy generations old, it was blotchy, and parts of it were hard to read. The copy I received was underlined and had scribbled asterisks and exclamation points in the margin. It was an article from the January-February issue of the Harvard Business Review by psychoanalyst Michael Maccoby entitled "Narcissis- tic Leaders: The Incredible Pros, the Inevitable Cons." While Maccoby had done work for AT&T in the past, he