In today’s Cisco only politics and nepotism win. If you have good relations, you will get promoted every year while laying off hundreds other capable engineers. I have seen a someone from Sr.BDM -> Director -> Sr, Dir -> VP in last 5 years. I doubt, the person got enough time to learn the job in new role before he/she got promoted. I have had chance to work with this person in a project, humanly and nice person but hardly fit to make decisions (not even bold decision, simple decisions) – slowing down project because of meetings after meetings (almost like we are providing basic training) because person doesn’t have a clue about the how to build a strategy to defend existing install base and wining more market share. No clue, I was surprised. Imagine, if Cisco is embedded with such culture from top to bottom under this leadership – how on earth we are going to build new competitive products.
All VPs and SVPs are trying to save their own a-s because they don’t have the enough experience and exposure to make strategic decision. So “play safe” …what I know in past, use that limited knowledge, apply it here today, do it again and again – and the financial results are the evidences. Product booking was/is negative for last few quarters.
Quality of people in Cisco’s leadership team is very very poor than ever. You never going to get promoted into that circle (Sr.Mgr and above), how good you are with your merits - no chance, you “must” behave like them – don’t question, say yes to their ideas and blame market and global economics crisis for any failures. EN and SBG, especially SBG Sales (GSO) is a political hub. Cisco desperately need leadership change to move forward.