If we're going to acquire, what are we going to do differently? We came up with six rules of thumb. Whenever I've violated two of them, I usually get into trouble.

John T. Chambers

Do you have the same vision of where industry is going as the target of your acquisition? If visions differ, you might get together economically for a while, but then you are going to have problems.

John T. Chambers

What makes Silicon Valley really work? It's a unique combination of great educational institutions - especially at Stanford - that generate engineers and a culture that starts companies.

John T. Chambers

You have venture capitalists. We view them as experts who also help finance your company and give directions and also some pretty candid discussions about what you have to do better.

John T. Chambers

I think at least my philosophy of leadership is you focus more on the areas you have to improve or the mistakes than you do on your successes. And that's just how I am in real life. I don't want to let down my customers, my employees, my shareholders.

John T. Chambers

I like to believe that I got my business knowledge from my dad. He was able to see trends a long way off. And my mom is very good with people and emotional.

John T. Chambers

When you're a large company with significant market share, it's tempting to view market disruptions as a threat, but we view them as an opportunity.

John T. Chambers

When a market isn't in transition, gaining market share is hard - you're fighting to take one or two points of share from competitors.

John T. Chambers

I wasn't always interested in technology. I had been a student for a long time - I'd earned a bachelor's degree, a law degree, and an MBA - and decided that I wanted to work in a large corporation, focusing on finance and law, in either New York or Chicago.

John T. Chambers

The political gridlock in Washington leads us to conclude that policymakers don't have the ability to put the public finances of the U.S. on a sustainable footing.

John T. Chambers

I think, as time passes, people will come to see that the United States' credit standing is really not quite the same level as the ones that we rate AAA.

John T. Chambers

The industry has to learn how to do CEO succession well. If your definition of success is Intel or Microsoft or HP or IBM, that's not a good track record, and yet they are the most successful ones.

John T. Chambers

We're very much focused on full shareholder-value return. We have to get our stock moving. But I won't do something in the short run that I don't feel is right for the long run. That, I've watched many CEOs do.

John T. Chambers

The definition of success is that the company doesn't miss a beat. Do I love what I do? Oh yeah - I love it more than ever. You've got to have that energy level 24/7. But you've also got to make sure the transition is smooth. Being realistic, most high-tech companies haven't done that well.

John T. Chambers

I think we have a tax policy that was designed before Microsoft even went public. I think we've got to change - we're at a huge disadvantage around the world.

John T. Chambers

Every company, city, and country is becoming digital, navigating disruptive markets, and Cisco's role in the digital transformation has never been more important.

John T. Chambers

Our next CEO needs to thrive in a highly dynamic environment, to be capable of accelerating what is working very well for Cisco and disrupting what needs to change.

John T. Chambers

In 2001, we were like most high-tech companies, with one or two primary products that were really important to us.

John T. Chambers

We want a culture where it is unacceptable not to share what you know.

John T. Chambers

Some people need a command-and-control environment.

John T. Chambers

John T. Chambers Quotes

If we're going to acquire, what are we going to do differently? We came up with six rules of thumb. Whenever I've violated two of them, I usually get into trouble.

Do you have the same vision of where industry is going as the target of your acquisition? If visions differ, you might get together economically for a while, but then you are going to have problems.

What makes Silicon Valley really work? It's a unique combination of great educational institutions - especially at Stanford - that generate engineers and a culture that starts companies.

You have venture capitalists. We view them as experts who also help finance your company and give directions and also some pretty candid discussions about what you have to do better.

I think at least my philosophy of leadership is you focus more on the areas you have to improve or the mistakes than you do on your successes. And that's just how I am in real life. I don't want to let down my customers, my employees, my shareholders.

I like to believe that I got my business knowledge from my dad. He was able to see trends a long way off. And my mom is very good with people and emotional.

When you're a large company with significant market share, it's tempting to view market disruptions as a threat, but we view them as an opportunity.

When a market isn't in transition, gaining market share is hard - you're fighting to take one or two points of share from competitors.

I wasn't always interested in technology. I had been a student for a long time - I'd earned a bachelor's degree, a law degree, and an MBA - and decided that I wanted to work in a large corporation, focusing on finance and law, in either New York or Chicago.

The political gridlock in Washington leads us to conclude that policymakers don't have the ability to put the public finances of the U.S. on a sustainable footing.

I think, as time passes, people will come to see that the United States' credit standing is really not quite the same level as the ones that we rate AAA.

The industry has to learn how to do CEO succession well. If your definition of success is Intel or Microsoft or HP or IBM, that's not a good track record, and yet they are the most successful ones.

We're very much focused on full shareholder-value return. We have to get our stock moving. But I won't do something in the short run that I don't feel is right for the long run. That, I've watched many CEOs do.

The definition of success is that the company doesn't miss a beat. Do I love what I do? Oh yeah - I love it more than ever. You've got to have that energy level 24/7. But you've also got to make sure the transition is smooth. Being realistic, most high-tech companies haven't done that well.

I think we have a tax policy that was designed before Microsoft even went public. I think we've got to change - we're at a huge disadvantage around the world.

Every company, city, and country is becoming digital, navigating disruptive markets, and Cisco's role in the digital transformation has never been more important.

Our next CEO needs to thrive in a highly dynamic environment, to be capable of accelerating what is working very well for Cisco and disrupting what needs to change.

In 2001, we were like most high-tech companies, with one or two primary products that were really important to us.

We want a culture where it is unacceptable not to share what you know.

Some people need a command-and-control environment.