BT: And for my next trick...

Step One: look busy. Step Two: walk slightly faster than normal in a purposeful fashion. Step Three: don't forget to carry a pen, a pad and a serious (but concerned) frown.

Sir Christopher Bland, chairman of BT, clearly subscribes to the 'busy' management model.

Barely two weeks into his part-time role, he has overseen the sale of BT's Japan Telecom stake to arch-rival Vodafone. His latest trick, announced this morning, consists of a heavily discounted cash call, a company split and the sale of BT Wireless. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Will the Bland Plan work? The answer very much depends on the objective. On the one hand the cash call and proposed sale is all about cutting the telco's £30bn debt down to size. On the other hand, we have a company split presumably designed to put what's left of the company - Future BT - in a strong position going forward.

Selling the family silver, however, is rarely the best place from which to move forward. The objectives, in short, appear contradictory.

Bland will doubtless argue that the split will force a company characterised as slow moving to smarten up its act. No more feet dragging over ADSL roll out or free internet access.

If so, good luck to him. But if you detect a degree of scepticism, it's only because we've been here before.

Cast your minds back to April last year when BT declared its intention to split the company into four discreet units. The goal, we were told, was flotation. Apart from some modern looking logos, the only evidence of that particular strategy is the protracted and still unresolved sale of Yell, the directory services business.

At the time we concluded on this very page: "...a credible strategy and executing it effectively are two very different things". Thirteen months on, our sentiments remain pretty much the same.