Can Two Such Different Companies Find Success In Today?s Market? :: essays research papers fc

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Only a few years ago, Cisco Systems was a struggling company who only the technologically educated had heard of. Today, Cisco Systems ranks as the number one or two company in most Internet technology. Anyone using the Internet today, will use one area or another of Cisco Systems. The driving force behind Cisco is their visionary CEO, John Chambers. How does a man who is dyslexic and doesn’t understand much of the technology his company makes become so successful in the Internet age? He believes in empowering his employees and surrounds himself with people who do have the technical knowledge. Chambers believes in acquiring companies at an alarming rate to either acquire new technologies or the teams of people who are developing the new technologies. This saves Cisco money and time allowing it to lead the way in the Internet world instead of playing catch up. Chambers also believes in education as a major player in the future success of not only his company , but for the entire country. His vision of doing it first, before the competition, has built Cisco Systems into the giant of the information technology field it is today. Chambers wants Cisco to be the number one or number two company in any area they compete in. If that is not possible, Cisco will not compete in that area.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  John Chambers took over as CEO of Cisco Systems in 1995. Since his rise to power, Cisco has sustained a growth rate 100% per year. One of the reasons for this growth is the kind of people Chambers keeps himself surrounded with. One example of this is Howard Charney, a senior vice-president at Cisco. Charney could be a CEO at another company if he wanted to be. He was co-inventor of the Ethernet and then founded the first 100 megabit-per-second Etehrnet company. Charney later sold the company to Cisco and stayed on with the company. He says he stays because Chambers treats him as an equal and not as an employee. Chambers asks the advice of his officers instead of dictating to them and that is one reason they stay with the company instead of leaving for the competition. Many of the officers at Cisco have worked for other profitable companies in the information technologies field such as Wang, 3Com, etc. This experience coupled with Chambers’ vision of being t he company in the lead helps Cisco stay in the forefront of technology.