Cisco without John Chambers---?

When AIG, Citi, and General Motors went into tailspins after the financial bubble burst in 2008, they abruptly changed leadership. Lehman Brothers had just declared bankruptcy after 158 years in business. Merrill Lynch had been snapped up in a fire sale by Bank of America. But Cisco Systems did not, and now in his 14th year as CEO, John Chambers has led one of the biggest comebacks of modern times. Cisco CEO John Chambers is one of the most revered executives in the history of the technology industry. Since talking over as CEO of Cisco in 1995, Chambers has grown the company's revenue from $1 billion to more than $40 billion. For 15 years, he has been a soothing, straightforward presence in the industry, free of the bombast and arrogance that so often characterizes big-league CEOs. But Cisco is in news these days.

The CEO of Cisco, John Chambers, admits that his company has disappointed investors, as well as leaving their employees confused. Chambers pointed out that Cisco lost some credibility that was crucial to its success, according Cnet. Chambers also said that Cisco and the marketplace are in a transition, and the company needs to help define the transitions. Chambers has grown Cisco's earnings per share over the past decade--Cisco's EPS have climbed from $0.36 in 2000 to $1.36 in 2010--but he has increasingly lost the confidence of the market.
Cisco, one of the valley's best performers over the past decade, has stumbled in recent months: Profits are down from a year ago, its core business is under attack, and the company's stock has plummeted to nearly its lowest point in more than two years -- costing shareholders billions of dollars and prompting Chambers to announce a corporate overhaul that could lead to significant layoffs this summer.

At a base level, a company's chief executive is responsible for two things: A strategy to create shareholder value, and the company's execution of that strategy.

For the past decade, Cisco's John Chambers has failed at both.

Chambers' shareholder-value-creation strategy has failed. His growth strategy has failed. His management structure has failed. And the result is that Cisco's stock has been dead in the water for more than a decade, even when measured from the bottom of the NASDAQ bust.

Ten years is a long time--plenty of time to evaluate a CEO's performance. And based on Chambers' performance, as Cisco begins its latest re-organization and rebuilding, it's time for Cisco's board to seriously consider giving John Chambers his walking papers.

Many analysts believe the company lost that focus as it expanded into a host of other businesses. Some have also blamed Chambers' reliance on interdepartmental "councils" and "boards" to steer new initiatives.

What do you think? Is John chambers solely responsible for Cisco's losing credibility among its customers or it is just a timely phase as John Chambers commented in Cisco Blog, " We are all responsible for driving operational excellence across Cisco. As you’d expect, I’m asking each of you to play your part in this transition. The responsibility does not fall on one leader or one team. It will not be easy and I expect your participation, flexibility and feedback along the way. As I’ve said before, we will look back at this time in Cisco’s history and remember it as challenging, and important to the future of our company. Plain and simple – we need to roll up our sleeves and work it out, together. I’m ready, your leadership team is ready, and I know you are ready."

http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_18211227?source=rss&nclick_check=1
http://blogs.cisco.com/news/message-from-john-chambers-where-cisco-is-taking-the-network/