Levels of Planning at SBC

Southwestern Bell Communication Inc. is a diversified communications company, owning several of the worlds' leading data, voice and Internet Service Provider. What made SBC transform from a regional telephone into a global communications provider was the leadership of Edward E. Whitacre. Mr. Whitacre, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, did an analysis of the company's weaknesses and strengths when he took over the company in 1990. He knew where the company was at and he knew where he wanted the company to be in the future. At that point SBC was only accessible to certain regions of the United States. He then created a plan to run more fiber optics to different regions and aimed to get more customers. Mr. Whitacre's leadership of the SBC family of companies, once the smallest of the original "Baby Bell", has become one of the largest telecommunication companies in the world. Over the past decade his leadership has gotten SBC named the "world most admired" telecommunications company by Fortune magazine for the sixth consecutive year in 2003, making SBC the only telecommunication company to hold the number one spot since the award was published. …