Welcome to a treasury of wisdom from one of the most influential figures in the world of technology and business, John T. Chambers. As the former CEO of Cisco Systems, Chambers revolutionized the networking industry and left an indelible mark on the global business landscape. His strategic insights, leadership acumen, and forward-thinking philosophy have not only shaped Cisco’s success but have also inspired countless entrepreneurs, executives, and innovators worldwide.
Throughout his illustrious career, John T. Chambers has shared invaluable pearls of wisdom on leadership, innovation, and the future of technology. From navigating the complexities of digital transformation to fostering a culture of innovation, his quotes offer profound insights into the challenges and opportunities facing businesses in the digital age. Whether you’re a seasoned entrepreneur, a budding startup founder, or simply seeking inspiration for personal growth, the words of John T. Chambers resonate with timeless relevance and practical wisdom.
What NDS did is allow us to move into video capability with large service providers or cable providers – and the ability to do this out of the cloud. And that allows you to do it faster. John T. Chambers
If you asked would I have done a startup in India, the answer is yes. John T. Chambers
We’re living through the second Industrial Revolution. John T. Chambers
We know that veterans have valuable skills and experiences that are highly sought after in today’s workforce. John T. Chambers
To go back to a 1950s voice mentality with Title II and net neutrality would be a tremendous mistake for our country. John T. Chambers
Often, what I tell a new CEO asking for advice, or one of my own new leaders, is the two most important decisions that your team is going to watch is the first person you hire and the first person you promote – because you are saying that’s the type of person I want. John T. Chambers
When I look at the success of the Cisco Networking Academy program, which has reached more than 4.75 million people since 1997, I know it could have never achieved this scale without our partners. Together we provide the tools, equipment and training for our students and teachers. John T. Chambers
It’s important to remember that finding a job is only the beginning of a smooth transition to civilian life for our troops – as employers, we must also ensure their ongoing success. John T. Chambers
Cities, too, are embracing digitization. Barcelona has installed in-ground parking sensors and launched connected public transportation as part of its Smart City strategy. John T. Chambers
I learned another lesson from Jack Welch. It was in 1998, and at that time, we were one of the most valuable companies in the world. I said, ‘Jack, what does it take to have a great company?’ And he said, ‘It takes major setbacks and overcoming those.’ John T. Chambers
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
The No. 1 country in the world to do business in is which one? To locate where you want to create jobs, where you want to have a great market? It’s Canada. Even in Russia, you can build a Silicon Valley outside of Moscow. John T. Chambers
I think Mr Trump is going to be a good president. 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
Understand what you are acquiring and protect it at all costs. You are acquiring people and next-generation products. You are making an investment that together you can grow faster, make more profits, and take more market share. John T. Chambers
Government leaders need to ask themselves if they are positioning their country to reap the full potential of the digital economy. John T. Chambers
Digital is going to have five times the impact than the information era. Just because you led the first transition as a company or country, that doesn’t mean you will lead in this one. John T. Chambers
The ‘No.1 IT company’ isn’t by volume, it’s in relation to business customers because those are my customers, not the consumer. Who do they view as their most important partner? That’s my definition of the ‘No.1 IT company.’ John T. Chambers
In France, President Francois Hollande is leveraging the next wave of the Internet to jumpstart economic reforms and create jobs for hundreds of thousands of citizens. A historically socialist government, France has had the courage to quickly implement unique partnerships with the business community to drive entrepreneurial spirit and thinking. John T. Chambers
I am a proud moderate republican. But I like democrats as well. John T. Chambers
The window was open for us to play in the consumer as data, voice, video came together. This is where you have to have the courage to take good business risks because if you don’t, you never win. John T. Chambers
As a leader, you don’t get too high on the highs or let the bumps balance down. Every leader over time has probably equal amount of good luck or bad luck – or, you could argue, has good opportunities or challenges. John T. Chambers
I would say my strengths are vision and strategy. John T. Chambers
I think technology can change every country regardless of political party. John T. Chambers
A well-run organization turns over 10% of their organizations, including senior leadership. I don’t have the heart to do that. John T. Chambers
I don’t make fun of people. I call people by what they want to be called. What does your best friend call you? What does your spouse call you? It helps you emotionally connect to people. John T. Chambers
As a country, we must come together to provide the training, certifications, and jobs that our veterans have earned and deserve. John T. Chambers
Wearable technology will tell us how well we are sleeping and whether we need to exercise. Sensors in the street will help us avoid traffic jams and find parking. Telemedicine applications will allow physicians to treat patients who are hundreds of miles away. John T. Chambers
In 2008, we began an initiative to outsource projects from our Israeli office to three companies in the Palestinian Territories. John T. Chambers
There is no secure data center in the world; they have all been broken into. We can help you prepare for it and minimize the damage when it does occur. John T. Chambers
At Cisco, we are moving to collaboration teams, groups coming together that represent sales, engineering, finance, legal, etc. And we’re training leaders to think across silos. John T. Chambers
I hope that the new leader, whoever they are – and I hope that it will be Hillary – will bring our country back to participation by all groups and will talk about how technology will enable not just 10% of our population, but all of our population. John T. Chambers
Organized crime and rogue nation states and terrorists are very much focused on the Internet of things. The challenge that goes with connectivity is always security. The bad guys go wherever the return is, and now it’s more lucrative for bad guys to focus on cybercrime than traditional crime. 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
I had an issue with dyslexia before they understood what dyslexia was. One of my teachers, Mrs. Anderson, taught me to look at it like a curveball. The ball breaks the same way every time. Once you get used to it, you can handle it pretty well. John T. Chambers
The number one objective is that people who make the investment in digitization, whether they are governments or service providers, get a reasonable return. John T. Chambers
When I think about developing solutions, I think about how we can use technology to make a difference. John T. Chambers
We will see growth in the U.S., and we will selectively acquire in the U.S., but we prefer to use our global opportunity. John T. Chambers
What I’ve realized is most leaders cannot reinvent themselves at the CEO level or at the operational level. John T. Chambers
Once you put in backdoors, once you allow a government to intercept anything they want, you have to give it to other governments around the world. Once you do that, there is no privacy; there is no security. There is no protection for democracy. John T. Chambers
It would surprise you how many government and business leaders with dyslexia. Some people view it as a weakness, and maybe it is. What dyslexia forces you to do, you don’t go A, B, C, D, E… to Z. I can go A, B… Z with speed. John T. Chambers
There are two equalizers in life: the Internet and education. John T. Chambers
I think it was a major mistake to revisit Title II. John T. Chambers
It’s easy for me to see how a business proposition is going to play out, or who our next-generation competitors are, from taking this data point from this customer and another data point from another customer… and jump to Z. 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
Our line of business structure has served us very well in the past, when customer segments and product requirements were very distinct. 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
Never ask your employees to do something you wouldn’t be willing to do yourself. John T. Chambers
There’s a lot to learn from President Clinton. It kills me as a strong Republican saying it, but he was the most effective president during my lifetime. And when business got out of line, he smacked them. John T. Chambers
We’ll have a sales leader go run engineering. A lawyer go run business development. A business development leader go run our consumer operations. We’re going to train a generalist group of leaders who know how to learn and operate in collaboration teamwork. I think that’s the future of leadership. 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
We changed the world many ways with the Internet. John T. Chambers
Almost every move in the market is either a move to align with where Cisco is going or to align to compete against us or to utilize that technology. John T. Chambers
The business community is very comfortable with Romney. John T. Chambers
My mistakes are always around moving too slow or moving too fast without process behind it. And it’s something that, if we’re not careful, we’ll repeat again and again. John T. Chambers
I think India should be our top ally in Asia Pacific. And the two countries have so much in common, including being the largest and most powerful democracies. John T. Chambers
Today’s world requires a different leadership style – more collaboration and teamwork, including using Web 2.0 technologies. If you had told me I’d be video blogging and blogging, I would have said, ‘No way.’ And yet our 20-somethings in the company really pushed me to use that more. John T. Chambers
The start of 2016 offers great promise as the world awakens to the power of connectivity and increasing digitization. The new Digital Age is upon us, and it is unlike anything we have experienced before. John T. Chambers
You want to select the right applications at the right time for your industry. John T. Chambers
Since I became CEO, 87 percent of the companies in the Fortune 500 are off the list. What that says is that companies that don’t reinvent themselves will be left behind. I also think that’s true of people. And I think it’s true of countries. John T. Chambers
By exciting citizens about the new digital opportunity, breaking down silos of competing groups to form a truly open innovation ecosystem and shifting day-to-day resources to focus on big long-term investments for the future, countries can ensure that they break through and bridge the digital gap. 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
This will be the first time in my lifetime I’m voting for a Democrat. I’m going to vote for Hillary Clinton. I’ve already voted. 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
People who might normally have to travel hours to a distant city to see a cardiologist can now do so virtually, through Cisco technology, at their local hospital or health clinic. Clinicians use technology to share patient reports and diagnostic images and collaborate on cases. John T. Chambers
Some people need a command-and-control environment. John T. Chambers
We don’t go into a market without a chance of a 40 percent share and sustainable differentiation. We wouldn’t get into wiring oil rigs if we didn’t believe we could get 40 percent. John T. Chambers
Widening the talent pipeline sufficiently will require a generational commitment to teaching math and science, providing technical training, and mentoring young people of all backgrounds so they understand the full range of possibilities that a career in technology affords. 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
It’s connectivity that really makes the industrial Internet work: it’s giving the right information at the right time to the right person or right machine to make the right decision. John T. Chambers
Everything becomes connected, and cyber security becomes the top issue for CEOs. An average company has 40-60 security vendors, and they have a violation every three months with viruses. John T. Chambers
I don’t enjoy politics. I like to get things done, and I like Republicans and Democrats, and that doesn’t always work well. John T. Chambers
In September 2014, the USIBC members indicated an investment figure of $41 billion that was likely to be invested over a 2-3 year period. 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
If every company becomes a technology company, business models and transitions are going to occur. From a CEO’s perspective, this is going to be the biggest technology transition of all times. John T. Chambers
We want a culture where it is unacceptable not to share what you know. John T. Chambers
I had two parents who were doctors, and my mom was valedictorian in multiple classes. 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
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
There are two types of companies: those that have been hacked, and those who don’t know they have been hacked. 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
To create a truly digital Europe will require a foundation of high-speed, high-quality broadband, both wired and wireless. 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
When a leader doesn’t do his or her job, it isn’t just a problem with the person. They take their whole organization down. John T. Chambers
Our success at Cisco has been defined by how we anticipate, capture, and lead through market transitions. Over the years, I’ve watched iconic companies disappear – Compaq, Sun Microsystems, Wang, Digital Equipment – as they failed to anticipate where the market was heading. John T. Chambers
I have interacted with several top leaders. Modi is among the three smartest leaders I have met. John T. Chambers
I support both Democrats and Republicans on many issues. I’m more interested in where they are on technology. John T. Chambers
The Internet will change the way we work, live, learn, and play. John T. Chambers
If you agree with everything I have said, then I have failed. 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
We’re going to become the number one security company. 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’ve got to really enable the next generation of start-ups. 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
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
