Abstract

The case examines the leadership and managerial qualities of John Thomas Chambers (Chambers), who transformed Cisco Systems (Cisco) into a market leader in the global networking industry. The case discusses how Chambers revolutionized the way sales and marketing were handled at Cisco. It details his contributions in transforming Cisco into an e-company and the measures taken by him to attract, recruit and retain human resources. The case also explains how Chambers attempted to develop a customer-oriented, performance-driven yet informal culture at Cisco. Finally, the case describes Chambers’crisis management abilities when he was able to steer Cisco through a bad phase in 2001.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Leadership qualities and management style of John Chambers.

Keywords

leadership, managerial, John Thomas Chambers, Chambers, Cisco Systems, market leader, global networking industry, Chambers, sales, marketing, e-company, recruit, human resources, customer-oriented, performance-driven, informal culture, crisis management abilities, bad phase, 2001