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John T. Chambers: Cisco's Live Wire
But Chambers isn't pausing to savor his success. The fiercely competitive exec--who tosses off phrases like ''it feels good to win'' with utter sincerity--is now turning his attention to a new and even bigger target, the vast $175 billion telecommunications-equipment business. And Chambers isn't leading his troops on bravado alone: With military precision, he's building his management team and acquiring key technologies. Above all, he's practicing his specialty--courting customers. Chambers has selling in his blood, and his focus on service is a big part of Cisco's success. Obsessed with customer satisfaction, every night before he goes to bed Chambers listens to about 10 voice-mail messages from staffers in the field reporting the status of Cisco's top accounts. Winning business in the telecom arena won't come as easily, but Chambers thinks Cisco can become the dominant supplier of gear for next-generation networks that carry data, voice, and digital video. His ace in the hole is Cisco's mastery of Internet technology, the basis for such networks. The old-guard telecom companies are getting Net-savvy fast, though--Nortel, for example, bought Cisco's longtime rival, Bay Networks Inc., in mid-1998. The showdown will test Chambers as never before. But with a track record like his, he's no one to bet against.
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Updated Dec. 30, 1998 by bwwebmaster
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