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The Eye of the Storm: How John Chambers Steered Cisco Through the Technology Collapse
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by Robert Slater
Sales Rank: 1233568
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$0.01
At Amazon
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Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Collins; 1st edition February 4, 2003
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0060188871
ISBN-13: 978-0060188870
Product Dimensions:
9.3 x 6.4 x 1 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
From Publishers Weekly
Slater, a biographer of Jack Welch and George Soros, here profiles John Chambers, the leader of Cisco Systems, one of the Internet economy's greatest success stories. The author traces Chambers's rise from a dyslexic West Virginia childhood to the head of what became, at its $500 billion peak, the most highly valuated company in the United States. While a trajectory like that could make one helluva business tycoon biography, Cisco's sharp decline during the recent recession-which occurred just as Slater finished his first draft-made Chambers's success a thing of the past and forced Slater to completely rethink the book. And though the author believes he "had a better story to tell as a result of Cisco's setback and the early stages of its recovery," he never quite integrates the two halves of the tale. Slater provides plenty of detail on the firm's rise, including its strategy of acquiring other technology firms, but fills the sketchy outline of the events that constitute the alleged "recovery" with generalities. Slater also repeats phrases, like a magazine headline asking if Chambers is "the best CEO on earth," and his quotes from sources are repetitive and too long. It's easy to understand why Slater wouldn't want to let so much research go to waste, but perhaps he could have gained some perspective on what happened to Cisco and to the economy at large by holding off a while longer.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Prior to the stock market crash in 2000, Cisco Systems was one of the most valuable companies in the country. Slater (Jack Welch & the G.E. Way) writes about the company's rapid rise and sudden fall, focusing on the leadership of John Chambers, who became CEO in 1995. Cisco was founded in 1984 to build routers and switchers, but Chambers oversaw its rapid expansion, fostering its "focus on the customer" philosophy and driving Cisco to enter into partnerships with vendors and to acquire a number of companies. The fall came in March 2000, when Cisco was forced to lay off nearly 8000 employees. Throughout, Chambers is presented as a maverick who turned Cisco into a phenomenally successful company but who was reluctant to take responsibility for its decline. The book concludes with Cisco's recovery story and lessons that other executives can learn from Cisco's experience. Recommended for academic, public, and corporate libraries.
Stacey Marien, American Univ., Washington DC
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Customer Reviews & Comments
As the author readily admits, his book was rewritten when his subject, Cisco CEO John Chambers, was suddenly presiding over a shrinking, rather than expanding, company. The rewrite shows in the final product. Robert Slater explains Cisco's fabulous rise well. The key players granted him interviews and seemed happy to discuss the company's glory days in length. The company's subsequent decline beginning in 2000 is not treated as well. I didn't learn nearly as much about Cisco's fall as the book's title would suggest I should have. After covering business icons such as Jack Welch and George Soros, I wonder if the author was really prepared to take the critical approach necessary to cover the decline of Cisco that John Chambers oversaw. And as if he felt the need to justify the subject matter, Slater repeatedly mentioned the fact that Cisco was the most valuable company in the world, if only for a second. The reference got annoying. Overall, anyone who wants insight into the roots and management team at one of the world's most important tech bellwethers should read this book. There are some fascinating revelations here such as how close Cisco came to acquiring hub maker SynOptics Communications in 1993. At the same time, I was disappointed he completely omitted information about Cisco's close M&A relationship with Silicon Valley venture capital firm Sequoia Capital in the late 1990s. While Slater's ninth chapter about Cisco's dealmaking techniques comes to the conclusion that most of its deals had little or no effect on the company, true M&A junkies might be better off reading Ed Paulson's adulatory book, Inside Cisco, to learn more about the communications equipment maker's aggressive corporate development program.
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The Eye of the Storm: How John Chambers Steered Cisco Through the Technology Collapse
Available from Amazon
Price: $0.01
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