This article was originally published in The Denver Post on
December 15, 2002  Qwest executives could see their company on
the edge of a sinkhole. They could see it as clearly as chief
executive Joe Nacchio's glare across the conference table.  It
was October 2000, and the leaders of the phone-book division
were frantically explaining to Nacchio that they couldn't meet
his lofty new revenue targets.  They couldn't do it, the
QwestDex team explained, without crippling their business. And
they couldn't use an accounting maneuver he ordered to boost
immediate revenues - shifting a directory's shipping date from
January 2001 back to December 2000 - without falling short $30
million the next year.  On the other side of the room, Nacchio's
face showed strain, annoyance.  "Listen, this is your problem,"
he said, elbows planted firmly in his armrests. "Be creative.
I'm looking to you people to see what it takes to get this done.
What can you do to get it done?"  A chill went through some of
the QwestDex officials. Th