d way that perception matters more than ever." After the SEC began a probe into the agreement, Welch altered the deal, giving up free access to baseball tickets, corporate jets, and a Manhattan apartment. 5. For a good explanation of the divestiture agreement, see Von Auw, Heritage and Destiny. For background on AT&T in its mo- nopoly days, see John Brooks, Telephone: The First Hundred Years (New York: Harper and Row, 1975). 6. AT&T's net income from continuing operations in 1996 was a record $5.6 billion. Its debt ratio (excluding its Universal credit 274 Notes card, which had its own receivables) was 18.7 percent, down from 41.3 percent the year before. (Source: Company annual reports.) 7. New York Daily News headline, October 24, 1996. 8. Michael Schrage, "Daniel Kahneman: The Thought Leader Inter- view," Strategy + Business, Winter 2003. 9. Daniel Boorstin, The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America (New York: Vintage Books, 1962), p. 43. IO. Charles Handy, "What's a Company For?" Harvard Business Re- view, December 2002. Chapter 1 I. Michael Meyer, "AT&T's New Operator?" Newsweek, October 27, 2. The foregoing is from a transcript of the telephone conference call held on July 16, 1997. 3. Roger Lowenstein, "And Now, Some Questions for AT&T's Board," Wall Street Journal, July 24, 1997. 4. John Keller, "How AT&T Directors Decided It Was Time for a Change at the Top," Wall Street Journal, October 20, 1997. 5. Walter Lippmann, Public Opinion (New York: Penguin Books, 1946 reprint of original 1922 edition), p. 61. 6. Quoted in, among other places, Frank Rich, "So Much for 'The Front Page,'" New York Times, November 2, 2003. 7. "We may live in a modern metropolis, but in many respects, we still harbor a Stone Age mind within our skulls." William Allman, The Stone Age Present: How Evolution Has Shaped Modern Life- From Sex, Violence and Language to Emotions, Morals and Commu- nities (New York: Touchstone Books, 1995), p. 35. 8. "Building CEO Capital," Burson-Marsteller Public Relations, www.bm.com, 200I. 9. From