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Title: Making the Cisco Connection : The Story Behind the Real Internet Superpower by David Bunnell ISBN: 0-471-35711-1 Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Pub. Date: 18 February, 2000 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $34.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.69 (29 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: A Glowing Perception of Cisco's Rise to Internet Power
Comment: Cisco has undoubtedly been the business success story of the 90's, and David Bunnell's book chronicles the company's rise from the halls of Stanford to the role of an international juggernaut very well. The authors explain the leadership techniques of the key members of Cisco's management, and they also make a good attempt to explain how Cisco has managed to stay on top of the Internet infrastructure industry. I purchased this book for its analysis of Cisco's leadership, and it didn't disappoint me. Unfortunately, the authors spend too much time praising John Chambers & Co. and not enough discussing what they did wrong, and why they might have done it. "Making the Cisco Connection" is a well-written, informative book, but I personally would have liked to have seen more in-depth analysis of the few mistakes the company has made.
Rating: 4
Summary: A Profile of an Irresistible Growth Enterprise
Comment: Reading this book provides a fairly compact history of Cisco Systems ascent from a start-up to the world's most valuable corporation in less than 20 years. As best I can tell from comparing the book to interviews with Cisco executives and news reports, the data included are pretty accurate.
The only significant thing missing from this book is enough context on why Cisco has been more successful than other companies. The details are there, but the highlighting of what is significant is too light.
The essential point is that a company needs a vision, strategy, values, culture, management style, and business processes that permit it to prosper from irresistible forces and trends, regardless of how these turn out. Cisco has adhered to this perspective more than almost any other company.
The aspects of what Cisco does differently come primarily in using acquisitions to add talent and provide flexibility responses to unclear, emerging technology trends. The accomplishment here is that the talented people stay, are more productive than ever before, and fit comfortably into the Cisco culture. Hardly anyone ever does these things well.
The authors also understate the significance of how Cisco has multiplied irresistible forces. The focus on the Internet allows the company to benefit from both Moore's and Metcalfe's Laws. Because of that, Cisco has a very high stock price. That makes for low costs in acquiring and keeping top people, through the use of stock-based acquisitions and stock options. Converging technologies mean that the Internet basis allows the company to impinge on other forms of communications as the convergence occurs. All this means that Cisco has the potential to be 10 times the size of Microsoft. The key difference: Cisco is much more adept at irresistible force management.
People who want to understand more about high tech competition, how to create a successful company, and find good investments will all find this book to be valuable. I especially recommend this book to people who are about to start up a new business.
Do take the material with a little grain of salt though. As good as Cisco Systems is, they're not quite as good as this book suggests.
Rating: 1
Summary: Could be alot better
Comment: After seeing CISCO profiled on one of Robert Cringley's Nerds 2.0.1 documentary, I was fascinated about how one of the giants of communications was created within a dining room.
I bought this book expecting to hear about the excitement and struggles of an organization as it is becoming very big, very fast. This book seemed to vaguely cover this period within Cisco's history. There is very little written about the struggle and difficulties within the management that must have existed at that time.
I would not recommend this book.
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Title: Inside Cisco: The Real Story of Sustained M&A Growth by Ed Paulson ISBN: 0471414255 Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Pub. Date: 14 September, 2001 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: John Chambers and the Cisco Way: Navigating Through Volatility by John K. Waters ISBN: 0471008338 Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Pub. Date: 22 February, 2002 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
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Title: The Eye of the Storm: How John Chambers Steered Cisco Through the Technology Collapse by Robert Slater ISBN: 0060188871 Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 04 February, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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Title: Platform Leadership: How Intel, Microsoft, and Cisco Drive Industry Innovation by Annabelle Gawer, Michael A. Cusumano ISBN: 1578515149 Publisher: Harvard Business School Press Pub. Date: 29 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $29.95 |
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Title: Net Ready by Amir Hartman, John Sifonis, John Kador ISBN: 0071352422 Publisher: McGraw-Hill Trade Pub. Date: 26 November, 1999 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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