Cisco's main aim is to lay off older employees and hire a younger, cheaper workforce. What they keep overlooking is their different work ethic. Newer generations stick strictly to job descriptions, avoid sacrificing personal time, and easily switch jobs. This can easily lead to major future issues for Cisco once the old guard is gone.
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Technically, a coin has 3 sides.
Cisco lost the plot in 2001!
Cisco lost the stock price in 2000. Cisco was in full on acquisition mode more than half a decade before that.
Cisco is at the end of its lifecycle.
Cisco is likely past its peak but the downfall could last decades. Eastman Kodak is still out there and profitable despite massive revenue shrinkage.
all organizations have a lifecycle. Cisco is at the end of its lifecycle. It can layoff old workers, young workers, doesn't matter. It's the thrashing gyrations of an animal soon to die.
Medical term is "terminal lucidity". For individuals it takes days or weeks. For corporations it may take quarters or years. Yes, happening now.
Surviving execs: Yawn. What time we tee'ing off this weekend?
There used to be a type of unwritten social contract between successful companies and employees in the United States — "you take care of me, and I’ll take care of you — in good times and bad.” Those days are over in all but the smaller, private lifestyle-type companies.
You might want to look into why the few tech companies that are worth far more than Cisco have tenures of less than two years. Particularly Amazon which stacks all the stock in the last two years, vests annually and only pays out the 5% of your total grant in the first year before driving you out before you can collect the next 15% at the two year mark.
You might also want to look at something called the Powell Memo. That's when they changed the deal and no amount of praying will keep them from changing it further.
The flip side is many workers aren't any good at their job. Carrots only work for a short time and once their full people won't seek out new carrots, which is why the stick has been the effective long term solution.
Just like people, all organizations have a lifecycle. Cisco is at the end of its lifecycle. It can layoff old workers, young workers, doesn't matter. It's the thrashing gyrations of an animal soon to die.
in a world of AI I notice Cisco has a new strategy selling "refurbs".
Cisco lost the plot in 2001!
heads I win tails you lose
There used to be a type of unwritten social contract between successful companies and employees in the United States — "you take care of me, and I’ll take care of you — in good times and bad.” Those days are over in all but the smaller, private lifestyle-type companies.
The latest generations have been taught that there is no bilateral loyalty “contract” like that that existed prior. I can’t blame them for not putting in much more than is absolutely required, especially in a company that makes billions and makes sure the upper eschelon is enriched and the workers are fodder for quarterly earnings.
What they keep overlooking is their different work ethic.
Working a lot of overtime not fully fixing bugs isn't really an "ethic." Cisco had a lot of old people putting in significant overtime accomplishing about a month's worth of work per year. That "work harder, not smarter" attitude has choked out most of Cisco's development budget as people who might have known something about development coming in the door have had those skills beaten out of them. Like the mythical frog in a pot few of you have the slightest idea how useless most of you have become.
...and easily switch jobs.
Switching jobs is an excellent way to build new skills and cross train with a far broader range of people with a far broader range of experiences. I'm no super genius but for certain critical tasks I've easily bested people up to the Senior Scientist or Distinguished Engineer level depending on company because the narrowness of their experience prevented them from seeing alternatives that were common in other contexts.
When you reach a certain level of leadership you need to lead, not follow, and neither Cisco's technical nor management leadership has an ability to lead nor anyone to follow. It also has no motivation to change. Without massive changes to leadership the best you're going to do is pay less for people to sc--w up as they always have.
Newer generations stick strictly to job descriptions, avoid sacrificing personal time, and easily switch jobs.
In my experience, sticking strictly to job descriptions is hard to do given every job description I've ever had said "and other duties as assigned".
I had an a$$hole manager play favorites and I called it out in a skip-level meeting. Next thing I know, this manager has me on a PIP and my weekly goals were totally outside of my job title's main expertise and functions, but HR supported it by saying my job description said "and other duties as assigned". Luckily I was able to do the work they assigned, but it was work I hated doing which was why it wasn't on my resume and part of my normal job. Then the manager had to find yet another set of tasks that might be outside my skillsets to try to "manage" me out of the company. I made him work his a$$ off trying to find tasks I couldn't complete all while documenting his unreasonable expectations. When it came down to time to fire me, I showed HR the "proof" and suddenly I was allowed to transfer internally to avoid having a retaliation lawsuit filed for wrongful termination. They should have waited much longer after the skip level before putting me on a PIP.
why do tasks that are over pay grade?
Because if you don't show yourself capable of performing at a higher level, you won't get promoted. But, if you're working over pay grade and not getting promoted, you have to choose to wait for a promotion or find a new job elsewhere telling your interviewers how you're working above your pay grade and are looking for advancement and will bring that same expertise and hustle to their company.
why do tasks that are over pay grade? why stay at a company if you get paid low compensation? why stay if don't see professional growth? this shouldn't be a younger generation thing only lol
The younger generation is much more efficient and does not need to work the extra hours.
they're calling bs and aren't afraid to leave, good for them!
it's not just Cisco, friends elsewhere see the same, though I differ in the work ethic bc each generation is different, as it should be. I am happy they are choosing their own path, and this is coming from a boomer.