Why Sprint?

The holiday season provides many opportunities to visit with friends and extended family. "How's the new job going?" is the obvious conversation starter. "Great!" I always say. The fact is, I love my new job. I'm surrounded by a team of incredibly smart and highly skilled people who are passionate about what we do, including Dan Kneeshaw, Kami Brady, Mark Kochanowski, and Terry Pulliam just to name a few. I've been asked to lead intranet portal (internal web) adoption and usability. The legacy Sprint and legacy Nextel intranets were only just merged onto one platform in September. I am grateful that this huge and daunting task was completed prior to my tenure with Sprint. Now I have the opportunity to help with the fun stuff...developing a strategy to continually improve the user experience over time. And with that charge, I have the opportunity to touch many systems that drive intranet usability. Those of you who know me well and who have worked with me in the past will understand why this is such an exciting opportunity for me. This is the kind of work that I love to do. Its what I am passionate about.

The next question (the one people really meant to ask in the first place) is, "Why Sprint?" Just to help validate the implied "are you crazy?!" tone that accompanies this question, Sprint does have a terrible reputation. Everyone knows a Sprint customer service horror story. Everyone knows someone who "used to work at Sprint." Its not on Fortune's "100 best companies to work for" list. The benefits are not quite as terrific as the benefits I had at American Century. Judging by the view from the streets that surround Sprint, it has a somewhat prison-like appearence. The news is plastered weekly with negative articles that confirm our suspicions. And it just seems scary to go to work for an organization that does not have a CEO or a COO at the moment. Why would anyone try to build a career at Sprint?

So, here are my top 10 reasons for working at Sprint:

10. Free employee phone service and $15 phone plan for friends
9. Beautiful environment--I'm amazed at how pretty the campus is!
8. Competitive benefits package
7. Leadership direction to fix customer service
6. Personal and professional growth opportunities
5. Exceptional salary
4. Resources available to achieve results at a "world class" scale
3. I can reduce frustration and make work life easier for 60,000+
2. Flexible schedule allows me to take care of my family needs
1. Working with passionate people who love what they do

One final note... I recognize that this is a time of great change for Sprint, and that the strategic direction Sprint chooses could have significant impact on my job. No doubt, my time at Sprint (or anyplace else) is temporary--who knows if I'll be here 2 years or 10 years or more. But the relationships I create, the experiences I gain, and the reputation I keep are not temporary. And the opportunity I have at Sprint to grow all of these things is well worth the risk.