Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Legendary Silicon Valley visionary John Chambers shares his playbook and philosophy that transformed Cisco into a global tech titan and now inspire a new generation of leaders. Over 20 years, John Chambers transformed a company with 400 employees and one toaster-sized product (a router) into a tech giant that's the backbone of the Internet. Along the way, he's outlasted and outmaneuvered practically every rival that ever tried to take Cisco on-Nortel, Lucent, Alcatel, IBM, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard, to name a few-and turned more than 10,000 employees into millionaires, more than any company in history. When Chambers stepped down as executive chairman in December of 2017, he left a company that didn't just shape the first Internet era but is leading the next wave of innovation in areas from cyber-security to self-driving cars.
Now, in collaboration with award-winning journalist Diane Brady, Chambers shares the stories and strategies that helped his company win again and again through multiple market shifts. From his early lessons and struggles with dyslexia in West Virginia to his bold bets and battles with some of the biggest names in tech, Chambers developed a series of playbooks for beating the odds and staying on top. He shares the playbook that helped Cisco buy 180 companies with a track record that's now studied at business schools worldwide. He explains how he built winning teams and a distinctive culture, and created a process for spotting market shifts and managing through periods of disruption.
Perhaps the most powerful playbook from Chambers is the one that's still being formed: how to reinvent yourself. He is adapting his playbook for government, becoming a trusted advisor to global leaders to create new models for growth. He's coaching a new generation of leaders of game-changing startups. Now, he's taking those lesson to West Virginia to transform his home state into a digital leader.
Connecting the Dots is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how to lead and win in a digital world.
Synopsis
Legendary Silicon Valley visionary and one of the world's greatest business leaders, John Chambers shares the playbook and philosophy that transformed Cisco into a global tech titan and now inspire a new generation of leaders. When Chambers joined Cisco in 1991, it was a company with 400 employees and one toaster-sized product--a router-and $1.2 billion in revenue. When he left twenty years later, revenues had reached $47 billion and Cisco was a global tech giant that was the backbone of the internet, a leader in areas from cybersecurity to self-driving cars. He acquired 180 companies along the way, turning more than 10,000 employees into millionaires. Over those years, he received awards for innovation (the Edison Achievement Award) and as one of the best-performing CEOs in the world (
Harvard Business Review), not to mention several awards for his leadership in philanthropy and social responsibility. He outlasted and outmaneuvered practically every rival that ever tried to take Cisco on--Nortel, Lucent, Alcatel, IBM, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard, to name a few--with a track record that is studied at business schools worldwide.
Now, Chambers shares the leadership principles behind it all. From his early lessons and struggles with dyslexia in West Virginia to his bold bets and battles with some of the biggest names in tech, Chambers developed a series of playbooks for beating the odds and anticipating trends. Using stories and insights from his career, Chambers shows how to act before the market shifts, use your customers as your chief strategy officers, acquire and partner for growth, find the right people and build the best teams, and how to disrupt yourself.
Today Chambers, who has been listed among the "World's Best CEOs" by Barron's and named one of Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People," has adapted his lessons to help transform government, becoming a trusted advisor to global leaders like French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to create new models for growth. He's also coaching and investing in the leaders of a number of game-changing startups through JC2 Ventures. In the digital era, companies can go from zero to a billion to bankruptcy in a matter of years. The winners won't be the biggest or richest players, but the ones who can connect the dots-in any size enterprise and in any industry.
Synopsis
Silicon Valley visionary John Chambers shares the lessons that transformed a dyslexic kid from West Virginia into one of the world's best business leaders and turned a simple router company into a global tech titan. When Chambers joined Cisco in 1991, it was a company with 400 employees, a single product, and about $70 million in revenue. When he stepped down as CEO in 2015, he left a $47 billion tech giant that was the backbone of the internet and a leader in areas from cybersecurity to data center convergence. Along the way, he had acquired 180 companies and turned more than 10,000 employees into millionaires. Widely recognized as an innovator, an industry leader, and one of the world's best CEOs, Chambers has outlasted and outmaneuvered practically every rival that ever tried to take Cisco on--Nortel, Lucent, Alcatel, IBM, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard, to name a few.
Now Chambers is sharing his unique strategies for winning in a digital world. From his early lessons and struggles with dyslexia in West Virginia to his bold bets and battles with some of the biggest names in tech, Chambers gives readers a playbook on how to act before the market shifts, tap customers for strategy, partner for growth, build teams, and disrupt themselves. He also adapted those lessons to transform government, helping global leaders like French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to create new models for growth.
As CEO of JC2 Ventures, he's now investing in a new generation of game-changing startups by helping founders become great leaders and scale their companies.
Connecting the Dots is destined to become a business classic, providing hard-won insights and critical tools to thrive during the accelerating disruption of the digital age.