Most vendors adopt the attributes, the personalities of the businesses they serve. Slow moving, laggard companies tend to purchase products and services from slow moving, laggard vendors. That's because the market innovators are happier selling to the early adopters and market leaders.

This essay reviews the innovation cycle of Nortel and the recent history of the telecom equipment industry arguing that Nortel Enterprise should be split from the carrier operation since there is no longer any synergy between them.