Thread regarding Cisco Systems Inc. layoffs

You also have to be able to explain why it's the right thing in third grade language otherwise you are going to get nowhere.

Nah....you're just still thinking of Cisco as it was....where "yes men" were dismissed and challengers were praised and that's how Cisco innovated & grew.

I did the same thing over many years, and only understood that after I was pushed out.

• If you vocally speak out, you are a troublemaker, it doesn't matter how right you are
• If you don't speak out, you will have to put so much effort in to try to do the right thing.
• If you silently try to do the right thing, no-one will know or care how much effort you put in. You will have to manage everyone around you, your peers, your boss, execs, other managers, customers, while watching others destroying your effort. You will end up getting very frustrated.
• The higher on the ladder you have to deal with, the more frustrating it will be, and the more you will look like a troublemaker. The BS we get told is , management wants solutions, not problems. This is just another way of saying they are clueless, and don't care. Supposedly they are paid to solve problems at their level.
• It gets worse, if your boss cares about doing the right thing, then he/she is in the same boat as you, i.e. both of you are in the sh-t together, and he/she can't really help you. He/she probably will be leaving very soon.
• If you have the mindset of trying to do the right thing, you will not have a long future here, i.e. no retirement plan for you. The problem is you don't really know that when you are young, and by the time you realize that, all those years and extra efforts you put in does nothing for your future. The relationship Cisco has with employees is very transactional. You could be a top performer now and out of the door next month if you are not seen as "team player", or whatever excuses you boss comes up with. Cisco paid you for the works and that is it. It like marrying someone knowing it is just for the s-x :)
• Doing the right thing is harder than it looks or sounds, it does not mean you should spend all your weekends doing works so Cisco can dump more works on you. Unfortunately many Cisco employees do just that, setting bad examples.
• The majority of people in Cisco have no ideas what you are talking about. They are just happy doing their bits and don't see the issues. They are the lucky ones. It doesn't mean the issues are not there. Many of these probably don't want to hear about how much overheads the company has to carry them.
• Once you are stuck in this loop you are screwed for life. You know the issues and you can't run away from them. Even if you get into "don't care" mode, you will be frustrated just by things going around you. And that ki--s the job satisfaction. Not good for your health.
• The huge financial incentives for managers and higher grades do not help with these fundamental issues in Cisco. Why should anyone stand up for the right thing if they might look bad to their bosses, and risk that extra 50-100k of bonus? Much easier just report up as all is rosy. That is one of the reasons vocally speaking out is not appreciated by managers, you are affecting their take-home cash. This includes people that are lining up to join the club of management/higher grades.
• And the bottom line is, you are punished for being aware of of the issues in the company and try to do the right thing, either directly, or indirectly. The costs for you is more than just how you are treated by the company, how much unpaid extra works you have to do, or the financial impact to you at bonus/LR time, but also the negative impact to your health.

By the time i realised this it was too late for me. My manager had already gotten rid of me.
This whole pond stinks with one dirty manager looking after another.

You have to figure out, how to manage your managers..

OP... I completely agree and understand. I continue see this company going down the drain and "leadership" couldn't care less how they treat people. It doesn't matter how much you try to do what is right for Cisco or its customers, leadership has their own agenda which is to protect their best interests and that is from the EVP down to the managers.

Hi OP,

I know exactly what you're talking about, join the club. You're not alone. It took me time to figure that one out.

Maybe it's the way you are going about doing the right thing? There is that...