My Lucky Break

As much as it pains me to admit, I have been with Channel Partners (then PHONE+) since the beginning. (That's not entirely true; I missed the first year, but let's just agree that nothing interesting happened until I got there, OK?) I was 22, and this was my first real job after college. I didn't know anything about telecom, but I learned fast. When friends would ask me about my work, I would tell them and their eyes would glaze over. Inevitably, they'd say, "It sounds boring." But, in fact, it was anything but. I got lucky to have been assigned to cover telecommunications. Few, if any, industries have been through as much innovation and transformation in the last 25 years.

I suspect many of you feel similarly lucky to have gotten in on the ground floor of  this exciting industry. You picked up a telemarketing job for MCI, spent a few months or years "slamming" and then moved on to better positions in sales or business development. Some of you may still work for carriers (or started your own), but others have gone to the "dark side" and become indirect sales agents. Either way, at some point, this became your career. If you are like me, you can't imagine doing anything else to make a living.

What would you rather sell? Really. Think about it. Communications and information technology is the one thing that every business needs. And, they need it more than ever. Whether companies are big or small, communications technology mobilizes, globalizes and equalizes. It's inspiring new ways of doing business and new businesses. Plus, it's just cool.

I'm not trying to argue that it's an easy business, but which ones are? You might as well do some good and have some fun along the way. Speaking of which, we invite you to celebrate the past 25 years with a walk down memory lane (see Pages 22-33). We hope that you enjoy this blast from the past. The celebration will continue all year long. We'd love for you to chime in on our new blog, "25 Years of Channel Leadership," at www.channelpartnersonline.com/Blogs.aspx. Send your comments to me at khenderson@vpico.com

I hope to hear from you soon!