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Summary. In his youth Chambers had no interest in technology—until an IBM recruiter suggested that he think of it as a tool for helping customers transform their businesses. Then stints at IBM and Wang taught him that even great companies are imperiled if they miss a market transition, such as the shift from mainframe computers to minicomputers or from minicomputers to PCs. In the 20 years since he became Cisco’s CEO, a whole series of transitions have occurred in the kinds of technology companies rely on and in how organizations consume solutions. Anticipating those transitions and getting ahead of them has driven Cisco’s evolution from routers and switches to mobile and video technology to application-centric infrastructure and cloud computing. The company has three ways to adapt. (1) If it sees a shift early enough, it develops the new technology in-house, as part of the traditional R&D process. In addition, its Entrepreneurs in Residence program financially supports and mentors early-stage entrepreneurs working in areas where Cisco sees huge potential, such as big data analytics and enterprise security. (2) It may make an acquisition—as it has done 174 times. (3) It may use a “spin-in,” assembling some engineers and developers to work on a specific project outside the company, as if they were at a start-up. “You have to be bold,” Chambers writes. And you need “a resilient culture with an appetite for change.” HBR Reprint R1505A
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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. Today we’re navigating several fundamental technology transitions, including cloud computing, mobility, and the internet of everything. These transitions force us and our customers to think about data, security, and business models differently. That means making tough decisions and immersing ourselves in a process of disrupting the market and at times ourselves. 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. 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. That’s why we’re transforming our entire business, expanding to capture growth, and thinking very differently about the future of information technology.
A version of this article appeared in the May 2015 issue (pp.35–38) of Harvard Business Review.
