9 Lessons from John Chambers - Connecting the Dots
Connecting the dots is a wonderful book by the legendary former CEO of Cisco John Chambers. I really enjoyed this book and found it inspiring. The four main things which helped turn around Cisco were an ability to anticipate and deal with market transitions, innovations processes that could be replicated at scale, a strong culture that was focused on customers and a network architecture that gave incredible flexibility. Here are the major lessons I gleaned.
Disrupt or be disrupted - This is the key for any 21st century leader or organization. Be nimble and flexible in the midst of chaos and uncertainty. Having the ability to anticipate change is one of the keys.
Keep learning – With the amount of change that is literally mind boggling leaders have an averse to learning. Keep reading, listening to podcasts, connect with experts in your field, read their blogs, books and document what you learn. Think weeks for Bill Gates was a famous example of learning at the highest level.
Take risks and move fast – It is always better to get first into the market than last. Release products early and don’t ever wait for perfection. Iteration is more important than perfection which doesn’t exist anyway.
Get outside your comfort zone – Everything you want is just outside your comfort zone. The greater fear is not that we set a goal and not reach it. The greater fear is that we set it low and reach it. That was the famous quote from Michelangelo. All progress happens outside your comfort zone.
Dream big dreams and be bold again – This is the crux of the book. All leaders who have won big were big dreamers. They had a great vision which propelled them to anticipate and get around all obstacles. Some people call this blue sky thinkers where they think of the clear blue sky where anything is possible.
Outline exactly what success looks like – You can’t hit a target that you cannot see. So you cannot really make progress unless you know what success looks like for you. Once you define your success then you can measure the progress.
The bigger the crisis the calmer you get – The only certainty in a leader’s life is crisis. What we need now more than anything else is leaders who are calm in the midst of uncertain times.
Vision and Strategy – The number one responsibility of a CEO is to set the vision and then the strategy for the vision.
Own the culture and communicate constantly – Another responsibility of the CEO is to manage the culture of the organization and communicate constantly on what is working. Keep moving the organization towards the culture you want to create.
This is a book worth reading and helps you maintain an optimistic stance of the world. Thanks for reading this post.
The views expressed here are my own and do not represent my organization.
Disrupt or be disrupted - This is the key for any 21st century leader or organization. Be nimble and flexible in the midst of chaos and uncertainty. Having the ability to anticipate change is one of the keys.
Keep learning – With the amount of change that is literally mind boggling leaders have an averse to learning. Keep reading, listening to podcasts, connect with experts in your field, read their blogs, books and document what you learn. Think weeks for Bill Gates was a famous example of learning at the highest level.
Take risks and move fast – It is always better to get first into the market than last. Release products early and don’t ever wait for perfection. Iteration is more important than perfection which doesn’t exist anyway.
Get outside your comfort zone – Everything you want is just outside your comfort zone. The greater fear is not that we set a goal and not reach it. The greater fear is that we set it low and reach it. That was the famous quote from Michelangelo. All progress happens outside your comfort zone.
Dream big dreams and be bold again – This is the crux of the book. All leaders who have won big were big dreamers. They had a great vision which propelled them to anticipate and get around all obstacles. Some people call this blue sky thinkers where they think of the clear blue sky where anything is possible.
Outline exactly what success looks like – You can’t hit a target that you cannot see. So you cannot really make progress unless you know what success looks like for you. Once you define your success then you can measure the progress.
The bigger the crisis the calmer you get – The only certainty in a leader’s life is crisis. What we need now more than anything else is leaders who are calm in the midst of uncertain times.
Vision and Strategy – The number one responsibility of a CEO is to set the vision and then the strategy for the vision.
Own the culture and communicate constantly – Another responsibility of the CEO is to manage the culture of the organization and communicate constantly on what is working. Keep moving the organization towards the culture you want to create.
This is a book worth reading and helps you maintain an optimistic stance of the world. Thanks for reading this post.
The views expressed here are my own and do not represent my organization.
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