The apparatus business in BT – a team story

Recounts a team approach to turning round British Telecommunications plc′s (BT′s) £1 billion turnover business in the highly competitive UK telecommunications apparatus market. Under BT′s license the apparatus business had to have separate accounts and, by 1991/92, losses had reached levels which led the UK′s then telecommunications regulator, Sir Bryan Carsberg of Oftel, to intervene. Between 1992 and 1994, author Adam Scott led the team which managed the business into profitability. The team operated within BT′s management matrix, with a clear set of values, using product teams, team objectives, program and project management and driving for clarity about the benefits and milestones to be achieved in each element of the planned recovery. The program addressed indirect and functional costs and, latterly, worked up a “balanced score card” – a technique on which the article provides references – to provide a framework for future management.