The case for original thought

I'm going to miss Dan Moffat.

The founder and CEO of New Edge Networks is one of many smart, interesting people with whom I've had the pleasure to speak on a regular basis. Moffat announced last week that he is leaving New Edge, which was acquired by EarthLink in April.

His departure isn't too surprising — many entrepreneurs don't stick around when their companies are swallowed up by larger entities. However, Moffat's exit was characterized by the kind of candor that marked his tenure at New Edge. He was not only available to talk but he eschewed the clichés so often associated with an executive departure. Rather than leaving “to pursue other interests,” Moffat is going to take some time off — if you can call preparing for an Ironman competition taking time off — before he tackles his next entrepreneurial opportunity.

Or, as he said in an interview, “If I never hear the words Sarbannes Oxley again that's fine.”

Quotes like that made Dan Moffat a great interview, but there was something more. He didn't fit a mold and didn't expect his employees to do so either. Moffat is one of only a few executives who regularly mailed me books he thought I ought to read (thanks, Dan). After I'd finished asking him questions, he always had questions for me, and the conversations that ensued often went beyond the bounds of traditional telephony thinking.

I once visited the Vancouver, Wash., offices of New Edge, and happened to arrive a day before the annual cube decoration contest. Clearly, considerable thought, time and effort had gone into what I saw, and the atmosphere it created was one of ebullience and genuine team spirit, something hard to find in much of the post-meltdown telecom world.

One could make the argument that decorating office cubes does nothing to improve employee productivity, but I think that misses the point. Companies like New Edge, where managers work in cubes and used to zoom around the warehouse-like office on scooters, create a work environment in which original thought is welcome and put to use. Part of what made New Edge a valuable acquisition for EarthLink was its internally developed systems for rapid response to nationwide RFPs and quick service turn-up.

Rampant industry consolidation must necessarily focus on building scale and cutting costs, in order for companies like New Edge to survive. Arguing against those trends is spitting into a prevailing wind. But I hope some of the spirit of companies like New Edge and men like Moffat can survive the new corporate reality.

Dan Moffat will be back — after he's finished the Ironman and gone surfing in Fiji. I expect to see his name surface again, and I look forward to our next conversation.