Cisco Unauthorized: Inside the High-Stakes Race to Own the Future

by Jeffrey S. Young

Book Overview

This text looks at Cisco, its CEO John Chambers, and the way it does business. Cisco is at the heart of the computer technology revolution and how it spots trends, developments and opportunities affects the larger world.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0761527753
• ISBN13: 9780761527756
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: Prima Lifestyles
• Length: 310 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

One Author's Look at a Giant

This book takes a look at the huge corporate monolith (also called "the Borg" by a few friends of mine who work there) called Cisco Systems. It starts off by giving a short story of the company's current status. And since this book is almost a year old now, of course it's a bit dated. This book came out before the economy took a nosedive, taking Cisco along with every other company. I'd be intrigued to see what the author would have to say about Cisco now. Even so, Cisco appears to have weathered the storm well.It takes a long hard look at John Chambers, the "country boy" turned Cisco CEO and his quest to do "whatever it takes" to keep Cisco on top. Pointing out along the way that Cisco seems to have stayed on top due to the competitors' failures as well as acquiring at breakneck speed any "start-up" with the latest and greatest technologies that Cisco can capitalize on.The book also details the stories of the competititors, like Lucent, Nortel, Juniper, and Redback and how they may yet cut into some of Cisco's sales. While I found this book to be very informative not only about Cisco and its history, as well as some background on its competitors, I got the sense the author is silently waiting to see Cisco fall. Whether or not this actually happens of course is another story, one that may take years to unfold.

The Narrative Continues

Any discussion of Cisco Systems either now or in weeks to come may soon prove inadequate, if not flat-out wrong. When Young wrote this book, neither he nor anyone else at that time (including decision-makers at Cisco) could have predicted what has since happened and not-happened in the company and in its industry. It was once said of Soviet historians that they could predict the past with absolute accuracy. The comments which follow are based on the book as published, not as it would have been written with the wisdom of hindsight. Young organizes his material within four Parts: The Cisco Myth, Competition at the Speed of Light, Fault Lines, and Into the Void. He explains that his book "is particularly;y concerned with the period from the beginnings of the dot-com frenzy in early 1999 to the industry's winter of discontent at the end of 2000. It is a portrait of an extraordinary company, its charismatic leader, and the world it is creating, discovering, exploiting, and fashioning. But there is also a dark side to the story, a hollowness at the core of this great company that is symptomatic of much of the Internet generation, and an arrogance that afflicts Cisco particularly." Young makes it very clear that what he presents is his version of the Cisco "story" as of when the book went to press.John Chambers, CEO of Cisco, is one of the focal points. Young quotes Chambers extensively and, I think, does so with circumspection. For example, "Make no mistake about it", Chambers asserts, "the Internet is nothing short of the second Industrial Revolution. Industry is going to change. You have to make the change or you won't survive. They key is how to do it without your existing business. And one of the toughest challenges is figuring out the new channels. Timing is the key." This has been one of the key verses of Chambers' mantra for almost a decade. Throughout the book, Young offers his own analysis of the nature and extent of Cisco's response to "the toughest challenges" under Chambers' leadership. He concludes, "Maybe Coyote Valley is where the future is going to be created. Maybe it will not. But it will happen on Internet time supplied by Cisco. John T. Chambers and Cisco, have created the first great empire of the Information Age by selling pickaxes, Levis, and quicksilver to the early miners. Now they're going to sell them to everyone else too. In the process [if they succeed], they'll fulfill the vision printed on the plastic ID card that each of its wears....'We are going to change the way people work, live, play, and learn.'" Chambers remains wholly committed to that vision. Obviously, the full story has yet to be told but in his book, Young has made a strong effort to understand and then explain both Chambers and his company. He shares several rather strong opinions of his own about Cisco's acquisitions (70 companies in five years), its outsourcing model, and its competitors such as Lucent, Nortel, Juniper, and Redback. His readers must now a

Gorilla Of Networking

Jeff Young gives a clear and indepth analysis of the networking industry-its past, present and future.The title 'Cisco Unauthorized' seems apt given that a networking giant like Cisco may influence writers to glorify itself in every page and line of the book.It carries an independent analysis of Cisco in the light of the changes that are taking place in the industry whether it is new & emerging technologies,competitors. or your next door neighbor.Jeff outlines the major competitors Nortel, Juniper, Redback, Lucent and others to try to tell a story about where the industry maybe headed and who's going to survive. The reader begins, thinking that the future is Cisco,the be all end all in networking, and leaves feeling that the race is far from finished.I had some important take aways from the book. It makes you wonder what Cisco would be like without John Chambers.Would the superpower be tamed after Chambers the way Coca Cola was after Goizuetta?Can it continue growing the way it used to?Is the stock beating today, saying something about tomorrow?Has Cisco lost the edge? More than giving you an answer, "Cisco Unauthorized' is designed to make you think about what the future is and how it will affect the common man. I highly recommnd this book to hard core techies who are highly insulated and blinded by their tech knowledge and qualifications. In addition i would recommend anyone to pick up a copy and try to picture the world 5 years hence and how it may affect each one of us directly or otherwise. A must read for all corporate executives and business school students.. BE AWARE & STAY AHEAD.....