Thread regarding Cisco Systems Inc. layoffs

FLM here. F off whining losers.

Splunk is cratering. Hypershield is complete vaporware.
Cisco's customers are leaving in droves. tech spending is being frozen as we speak.

FLM's are absolute toast

There was a reason in the 90s and early 2000s Cisco was at the top at what it did.

The company was founded by people who stole hardware designs and software from Stanford, and it's growth and major product lines came via acquisitions. Cisco's success was acquiring to fill every niche so its competitors couldn't maintain a foothold. When the stock couldn't maintain its absurd valuation and collapsed from $82 to $8 the infighting, including in front of customers, was brutal. By that point IOS, IOS-XR and the foundations of NX-OS were well on their way so the great forking of stupidity had already occurred.

I was a customer back in the first half of the 1990s and new images had to be rolled back so many times after they failed immediately after fielding that one wonders why Cisco ever bothered to release them at all. Little has changed, even for large companies that can afford to do a year or more of testing before attempting to field an image.

@jp i beg to differ. There was a reason in the 90s and early 2000s Cisco was at the top at what it did. It all seem to have started with the woman empowerment, H1b abusing, poor and corrupt leadership, not able to see 10 years down and let competition go past you, acquiring every single company we could, forget what Cisco originally stood for. Just look at the quality of leadership we have and think for a second if they are able to lead in these times. Then compare with the successful companies

then hire the right skilled individuals. It's not that fu--ing hard

Cisco has been failing to do this for more than 40 years and it's not the only top 25 tech company producing extremely low quality software. The fact that the companies that haven't reached perceived legacy status and can pay integer multiples of what Cisco pays still can't get even the most trivial things right says it is "that fu--ing hard".

@fs then hire the right skilled individuals. It's not that fu--ing hard

Playskool Mayors, that’s hilarious!

@f8+1jh8vh504 - and Cisco's code bases prove most software ICs are neither productive nor useful.

I knew a couple good FLMs at Cisco but their reports and their management chains were hellbent on repeating all the same failures for the rest of their lives. The same holds for the few good ICs I knew. It's easy to depersonalize this with phrases like corporate culture but the reality is people either can't or won't work together to make things better.

@f5 your post proved why we don't need FLMs here

As a FLM, I disagree ... generally. ICs (especially earlier in career) need direction. You also need someone who is really involved with the day to day operations especially in sales to spot trends and areas of improvement, provide coaching, solve problems for your ICs so they can be more productive and so on.

Don't get me wrong though, most ICs (especially good ones) want to be left alone so it's a be of a double edge sword. I do agree that it is riskier but assuming you went into management the idea is you are not going to stay at the first line forever because otherwise you'd probably make more as a highly competent IC. You're taking some risk and short term losses for long term gains but it doesn't always work out.

VPs are better at wearing masks and manipulating people. They don't care

FLM Playskool Mayors good one

@et there is nothing cutthroat political about it. It's pathetic insecure behavior. One good honest VP and all these will be out looking for jobs

Don't join a dysfunctional legacy company filled with bureaucrats then complain that the company is dysfunctional.

Either play the cutthroat political games or find a different place to work.

@cv you sound like a manager. You do realize you are the folks who hire the ICs. Mostly DEI based, cheap H1bs. So who is the real problem?

FLM here. I try to lead my team by example. I do everything I did as an IC, plus all that management stuff and a he-l of a lot more. He-l, I still fix bugs and commit code.

Why would anyone want a FLM is absurd. It is right up there with the DEI hires

First Line Managers are the first to get fired.

1. They have surrendered their productivity and technical usefulness in order to "lead" a small group of productive and useful employees.
2. Management layers are collapsing due to Gen AI. The nonsense busywork that managers do is now (or soon will be) largely automated.

If you are an individual contributor ask yourself--
"What value is my manager adding to my role? What value is my manager adding to Cisco?"

99% of employee tasks are self serve. managers actually slow down most processes "approving" things that really should not need approval...by anyone

most are overpaid, egotistical micromanagers who believe their own marketing.

OP, your view is kindergarten-level myopic

Don't forget you get to manage some people that have no business working at csco in the first place. People making $125k+ that can't hold a conversation with an operations team or refuse to do the simplest tasks. You get to manage people that have taken down networks, costed jobs of customers and millions in revenues and other costs. Then you get to defend all of this stupidity and the jobs of the over rated prima donna's. Right, managers are the problem. csco needs to hire better ICs and quit baby sitting people.

There’s not a ton of advancement opportunities for people who want to stay an IC. Cisco seems to think the only progression is into leadership. Grade 12/13 ICs can be tough to find in orgs at Cisco.

Remove 1:1s and quickly most of these playskool mayors will be out of a job.

Stock

FLR looks good on your resume when you get LRed.

Life is short, be happy.