Kenneth Conner

'What is
your legacy?'

March 27, 2007

His career in telecommunications has taken him from his native Rochester, New York, to Monroeville, Alabana, to Conway, Arkansas, and now to Tyler, Texas, as Suddenlink's Vice-President for Business Services. But what's important to Kenneth Conner is not the "great things, but "the personal things -- the people with whom you work, and the customers you serve."

From North Carolina to California, Suddenlink has 4,400 employees serving 1.2 million customers.

"Some managers working with employees and customers," he says, "operate in a mode of 'win-lose.' They never seem to realize that you can often 'win-win.'"

Every decision in a large company affects many people. Too often there is a failure to consider some of the consequences of your actions. "Every decision," he says, "needs to be examined from different experiences."

The difference in management philosophy is vast: Do you influence people, or do you manipulate them.

Conner seeks to manage by influence. "What's inportant," he says, "is the way you work with people day in and day out, both in the of work place and out -- your spouse, your children.

"That's the legacy you leave behind," he said. .