Business View - November 2014 33
CONSTRUCTION
For all you really need to know about S&N Communica-
tions, check the tagline.
“We’ve Got This.”
Oh sure, the company has been around since 1977
and its myriad of services include retrofitting existing
telecommunications networks, servicing and installing
copper, coax, fiber, joint-use and electric networks, as-
sisting in infrastructure construction and providing ac-
curate locating capabilities.
But in reality, the essence of the operation is summed
up in those three words. And for those who don’t cap-
ture the confident tone immediately, the elaboration
provided on the North Carolina-based company’s web-
site drives the point home with little need for addition-
al explanation:
We’re the closer who comes in at the bottom of the
ninth. We’re the guys who diffuse the bomb before the
timer hits zero. We get the phone number at the end of
the night. Why? Because we’re the ones who can walk
into a room and say, We’ve Got This.
The collective corporate swagger – according to Allen
Powell, the company’s president and CEO since Sep-
tember 2004 – arises from a convenient melding of
diligence, foresight and talent.
“We study what’s happening today. We study our cus-
tomer. Then we identify those areas where we can de-
liver a bigger, better bunch of apples, and that’s what
we do,” he said. “And we’re good at it.”
The precise “We’ve Got This” branding, he said,
stemmed from a two-day meeting in which 25 mid-lev-
el managers were summoned and charged with pin-
pointing a phrase that described the company to each
of them on an individual level, to their employees as a
