Thread regarding Cisco Systems Inc. layoffs

@aexa I think that's a good point - Cisco might be down the queue of who's sεxy in the valley, but in most of the rest of the (real) world, good people don't have a Google, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft(!) or Amazon down the street.

@amul: Cisco's reputation for mediocrity and politics might be well understood in the Silicon Valley community, but that is not the case outside of SV. I know some smart, driven people in my area who are happy here for various reasons, Cisco continues to be a Wall Street darling, and there's a ton of positive press around Cisco's plans to lead in the IoT space and digitize the world. So it can be easy to be misled. Unfortunately, it only takes a couple of weeks inside the walls of Cisco to realize your mistake.

Look...People who are driven and want to do something great will rarely have Cisco on their targeted companies to work.for....They will simply not be part of the politics and mediocrity at Cisco due to self selection. Usually they are very talented and great sense of belief that they can really do something bigger and better in Silicon valley. Their strong technical accomplishment is visible from early career.

Conversely, people who choose to come to Cisco and for whom Cisco is a dream company to work are mediocre people to begin with. They are from local colleges, holding on to bunch of outdated technical certifications, and have rarely higher ambitions. They exactly know why they want to come and work for Cisco...to work modestly, handle internal politics and stay in Cisco till retirement.

These are merely different personalities and degree of ambitiousness that separates from one to another.

So no point in demonizing one group against the other...Grow up.

I came back to cisco because life on the outside was even worse

Which company is worse than Cisco?

• I am an American of Indian origin, came to the US when I was 18.

• I stay away from Indian kiss asses and cringe every time I come across one, or hear something negative about an indian, because it is after all real - I am probably the only one who hates his own culture - call me sick, but what i have observed is sickening.

• I identify more with the traditional American value and culture, be at work or otherwise, and my team is 80% White, one black, two American women and one hispanic. I have two indians that I inherited but so far they have been rockstars.

• The entire culture at cisco needs to change, weed and destructive mentalities needs to be cleaned up from the top...all the way to rank and file. Meritocracy needs to be the only basis, and this needs to be watched by HR at all levels.

• I came back to cisco because life on the outside was even worse, in my case - not that it will be worse for everybody. I was lucky enough to find some good contacts - all White Americans whom I considered friends helping me out to come back, and I did.

Now some general advise for people who look at coming back.

• take your time to chill for a bit, spend time with family, kids, your hobby whatever that be, while making sure you spend atleast a couple of hours everyday spending time in Linkedin etc.

• If you have friends in cisco, ask them as to who the hiring manager and HR contact is for any postings you see on the external site, and also ask them to provide you with the same for openings that are not external, so you can call the hiring manager directly. I did it everyday.

• Watch out for your tax situation because of the lump payment - I got screwed.

• If you come back to cisco within a short period of time (check those time limits in your letter), you have to give back $$ based on how long you are out etc..

• Unless you screwed up big time on something else which is a HR red flag, you can come back to Cisco..., assuming that you want to come back. In the end, it is about doing your best at work, getting paid well, and be able to support your family..., work is never perfect, netter in cisco nor outside,..so watch out for that. I saw it first hand, and come back to cisco...given all the negativity that around.

good luck.

The morale in the group has dropped to the bottom after the layoffs or LR. Only those with personal ties to SVP and their Indian bosses remain happy. Others don't seem to care anymore. Everyone is waiting for the next round and it will be another six months.

Don't know how much money Cisco spent on acquired companies in last 10 years , may be more than 20 billions without getting good return , that is happening in political company as the company considered not as engineering company anymore, and the management doesn't care since the company belong to public.

I am on business side and I am white....I deal with executives frequently and can relate to this very well. My VP has the exact mentality and he is from a good school. But he plays this very well to his advantage by hiring only Indians. He would never hire a white guy as he mentioned once that Indians will do everything by killing each other. That way he can get the job done fast and go home early with weekends completely free for his family.

I can see Indians folks already butting heads...You seems don't know that is why they hire you...it is a bug asset for senior management to hire Indians below. There was one white game who interviewed in our team with a lot of credentials and great education, even smarter than the boss...but the VP decided to hire another Indian guy just because he will work harder and compete with other Indians for a burger. That way the VP gets all the credit, takes home million+ and Indian is also happy with the burger.

The fact is people on business side taker advantage the very fact that Indians are competitive and will go to any length to show that they can get the job done faster than the next Indian and this helps the VPs to free up their time for their family...Indians do not have a great work life balance because they come from very poor background and anything is gold for them. If one works 8 hrs, the other Indian will put 8.5 hrs, the next will put 9 hrs. This is increase in company productivity without any additional incentive...Some people have visa issues. You guys actually kill each other. Don't blame others.

I like all my Indian colleagues. I consult on many things as some of them extremely smart, but feel sorry that the system takes advantage of them.

indiafication, chinafication, and deawoodfication will thrive at Cischokes

The Original post is Most valuable. I wish someone told this to me, early on. I wasted so much of my life in cisco, believing in ideal world. I could not understand what was wrong.

But, I know this now, I will implement it in my life. Thank you for laying it out for us-dreamers.

Nope, you only need a degree from India

If this is the strategy of Cisco middle management, great. But as a favor to those of us who aren't as well compensated and still have mortgages to pay, be sure your recruiters make the situation clear to prospective employees. It s---s to leave another not-perfect-but-not-terrible job, come to Cisco believing in the ELT's commitment to innovation and transformation, and then find yourself stuck in the middle of this unholy mess. I did my research before accepting Cisco's offer, but nothing could have prepared me for this. "You want to do great things and be famous, go somewhere else."?!? Again, I have no problem with that, as long as Chuck and Fran make sure that's stated in Cisco's company profile on Glassdoor. I will NOT waste my time brown-nosing and enriching a bunch of "leaders" (to choose a word that won't get my post deleted) with less than half my skills and experience but making 3-4x+ my salary. Good luck retaining any IC worth having.

The best post so far....I am also a senior director in a business line...This guys has nailed it. I will never do anything to upset the status quo...I am making $220K salary+ $100k in stock/cash without any higher degree. Just have a Bachelor's in Science. Who else will pay me that much in the valley. I have survived 2 LRs...My kid is going to college. Who cares about the company/products and the idealistic view points as this guy has said...You want to do great things and be famous, go some where else. Do not come to Cisco...You will have peace of mind and let us me have peace of mind til my kid reaches college.

While this post is true, it makes me really sad. It saddens me to think that I should be teaching my kids to brown nose, not to do good work if they want to succeed.

So, it's just like most other companies then...got it.

This is the 'Gravy Train' principle. Everyone knows the ship is on a collision course with disaster but as long as the gravy keeps flowing, fawk it. I have a feeling this same vibe exists at IBM, NetApp and Yahoo.

OP, you nailed it. This is a true #GOLD post.

You Need a Masters Degree in Nepotism OR Masters Degree in Sycophancy to Succeed at Cisco

Indiafication is awesome!