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Like Jamie Dimon, AT&T CEO says if you attend a meeting, you need to show up prepared—he ‘craves’ people who don’t just sit back and observe

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06.09.2026

Like Jamie Dimon, AT&T CEO says if you attend a meeting, you need to show up prepared—he ‘craves’ people who don’t just sit back and observe

Surrounding yourself with a bunch of yes-men is not a recipe for success—at least according to AT&T CEO John Stankey. Instead, he wants employees to come to meetings prepared to share their ideas and perspectives—not simply sit back and listen.

“I love discourse,” Stankey said in a recent joint interview with JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon hosted by LinkedIn. The telecommunications executive added that one of the principles in his company’s cultural documents is to not show up to meetings without having done your homework.

“Don’t walk in there and just be an observer,” Stankey said. “When you have a point of view, it shouldn’t just be some uninformed opinion. It should be a point of view that’s built on facts, information, and data. I crave that.”

If employees aren’t willing to speak up—or don’t have a constructive point........

© Fortune