| The Man &
the Vision
Much
of the credit of taking Cisco to dizzy heights goes to John
Chambers, the 50-year old non-engineer CEO who is a visionary
and strategist par excellence. As a visionary, he is very clear
about the advantage building for the Internet Revolution rather
than the Industrial Revolution.
Chambers leads by example.
"We are the most advanced users of the Internet," he
says. Internet is used in every aspect of Cisco''''s business.
Only two people manage the travel expenses of the 26,000
employees. The high use of technology enables Cisco to publish
its quarter end financial figures within a few days after the
quarter-ends. That over 85 percent of Cisco''''s business
in 1999 was done over the Net not only makes the company highly
efficient, but also sets the right example for its customers.
Cisco has been literally using this fact as an advertisement
campaign.
Believing in
Self
Chambers
might be a great leader, but he also has a great team of
dedicated people who have a firm belief in their technologies
and products. According to senior officials, the rate of
employee churn—a major nuisance in the industry at large—at
Cisco is one of the lowest. Why is it so? First, Cisco''''s
history in the stock markets has been one of "never looked
back" ever since it went public at $18 a share 10 years
ago. Since then the stock has been split nine times and the
shares have gone up by a whopping 8,000 percent! One Cisco share
quoted at about $14,000 sometime back. No wonder then that with
its Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP), Cisco has made 2,500 of
its employees millionaires.
Second, its work culture.
Its employees feel it is one of the greatest places on earth to
work in. Each of its buildings proudly displays whatever great
or pioneering work that came out of that. Chambers'''' motto is
"Never ask your employees to do something you wouldn''''t be
willing to do yourself". He sits in as small and simple a
cubicle as that of a new recruit. All employees from top
management or lower cadres fly executive class and have no
reserved parking places.
From 1986 when it shipped
its first e-mail router, Cisco has come a long way indeed. It
has acquired over 50 other companies and offers end-to-end
networking solutions. The 35 buildings spread over 5 million
square feet in San Jose is a testimony of its stature. It has
grown from 1,000 to 26,000 employees in less than 10 years.Page(s) 1 2 3 4
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