Thread regarding Cisco Systems Inc. layoffs

Great company run to the ground by greedy management

In Chuck Robbins defense, Cisco's downfall started long before him. And in all fairness, it wasn't the CEOs who ruined it but the fat chain of middle management. EVPs, SVPs, VP/GM, VPs, the titles were endless. These are the pieces of c-ap that need to be removed ASAP.

When I was a PE at Cisco long time back my manager (a VP) had taken a two month vacation to India and his absence was barely felt. When this happens, it is obvious that the company has too much fat that needs to be shed.

The layoffs need to be brutal at the senior/mid-management level. These fat c-aps need to go to save Cisco. If not, I will look forward to buy Cisco shares for $5 in 2022.

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| 2732 views | | 9 replies (last September 9, 2020) | Reply
Post ID: @OP+16ROE5aU

9 replies (most recent on top)

@izc looooooooolz. my boss is an azzhole. i will email him this link anonymously and direct him to read the part where the azzhole becomes the boss.

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Post ID: @pry+16ROE5aU

Lesson Number One
A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day. A small rabbit saw the crow, and asked him, "Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?" The crow answered: "Sure why not." So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow, and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Management Lesson
To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

Lesson Number Two
A turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree," sighed the turkey, "but I haven't got the energy. "Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?" replied the bull. "They're packed with nutrients." The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it actually gave him enough strength to reach the first branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fourth night, there he was proudly perched at the top of the tree. Soon he was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot the turkey out of the tree.

Management Lesson
b—s— might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.

Lesson Number Three
When the body was first made, all the parts wanted to be Boss. The brain said, "I should be Boss because I control the whole body's responses and functions." The feet said, " We should be Boss as we carry the brain about and get him to where he wants to go. The hands said, "We should be the Boss because we do all the work and earn all the money." And so it went on and on with the heart, the lungs and the eyes until finally the a–hole spoke up. All the parts laughed at the idea of the a–hole being the Boss. So the a–hole went on strike, blocked itself up and refused to work. Within a short time the eyes became crossed, the hands clenched, the feet twitched, the heart and lungs began to panic and the brain fevered. Eventually they all decided that the a–hole should be the Boss, so the motion was passed.

Management Lesson
You don't need brains to be a Boss - any a–hole will do.

Lesson Number Four
A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold, the bird froze and fell to the ground in a large field. While it was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on it. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, it began to realize how warm it was. The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy. A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out. Then he ate him!

Management Lessons
1) Not everyone who drops sh– on you is your enemy.
2) Not everyone who gets you out of sh– is your friend.
3) And when you're in deep sh–, keep your mouth shut!

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Post ID: @izc+16ROE5aU

Attracting and retaining top talent at all levels is critical for a company to innovate and stay at top.
Mentoring and training entry and mid level engineers is very important. Culture of making employees valuable and appreciated is very important at all levels.

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Post ID: @cpo+16ROE5aU

Cisco got billions :)
Milk it as long as you can when there's no oversight. Every layers are messed up.

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Post ID: @bsp+16ROE5aU

So sick of seeing DIR/Sr. DIR with 0-2 direct reports and not a clue about any of Cisco's technology. Sure some are BDM or vertical focus. However, those can be replaced with smarter younger and less expensive "worker bees". Far too many phat cats in the middle..

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Post ID: @ykf+16ROE5aU

It is CEO's responsibility if a great company falling apart and failed on market. Of course, a lot of lower level management folks care about compensation most. it is understandable because they are not in the position to make the decision on the company's future.

CEO is capable of choosing his staffs and the directions. And he is paid for this kind of responsibilities.

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Post ID: @sez+16ROE5aU

Yes - get rid of all layers from VPs to C-levels since they are just bean counters and useless to the business. They know they get their 25% to 35% bonus so they are just greedy and only care about their pockets. What's silly are the Execs above them who can't tell they're all liars.

Are there any projects that ever meets the first promised dates?
You would think this should be the first sign to know your business is in trouble, and start questioning what went wrong. Not sure why we have so many program managers when they can't even track anything.
All these turnovers and LRs are just excuses for Cs-VPs to not meet the dates. I've lost track what my business unit name is and didn't care so much since it'll change soon when the next guy comes in. All BS when top down is not seeing. Oh wait, it's because they're all buddies/friends/families!

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Post ID: @yia+16ROE5aU

You’re right, about a 30-50% cut in director and above sounds about right.

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Post ID: @hos+16ROE5aU

Cisco stock will still be $40 in 2022. Just expect the company to have another $30 billion in debt from buybacks.

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Post ID: @rlf+16ROE5aU

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