I was reading my daily CEO newsletter that Alan Murray of Fortune writes and he quoted CEO Ann Chow of AT&T Business. Murray was highlighting her comment at one of Fortune’s convenings that he conducts regularly. Her quote is below. My, how things have changed.

Years ago, a female CEO would have been roundly criticized for pointing out the importance of “relationships” as a factor in business. Of course, she has it perfectly right. It is all about connections and relationships. Culture is about relationships and good cultures foster and strengthen relationships that drive reputation and growth. Just thought I’d point out that I have to admit that we’ve made some progress when a female CEO can state the obvious and the editor of Fortune calls it out as exemplary.

“Life is about relationships, okay? Life is about people. Every business, every organization is a people organization. So my advice to all of you is to embrace that fact…Your mission, your objective is to seek and foster meaningful relationships.”
—Ann Chow