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Your Call Is Not Important To Us

September 15, 2026 · 51 min

Show notes

In 2023 the entire network of Optus – one of Australia’s largest telecommunications providers – went down for 12 hours. The outage caused major disruptions across Australia as 11 million people went without internet and phone access.


So how did the outage align with the company’s purpose statement of “Powering Optimism With Options”. And what the hell does “Powering Optimism With Options” even mean?


Charles and James unpack Optus’s response to the crisis, and in the process uncover some of the most ridiculous corporate jargon ever seen. You’ll hear about “Possibilities yet to be imagined”, the obsession modern brands have with being loved and a very weird story about an internet-enabled cat feeder.


It’s a best-practice tale of corporate bullsh*ttery with lessons for anyone wanting to understand how modern organisations work.


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