THE CISCO SUCCESS PLAYBOOK

Below are the four elements to creating success as stated in the Wall Street Journal article: Silicon Valley Survivor

• “Be realistic”
• “Assess your situation”
• “Get ready for the upturn”
• “Get closer to your customers”

For the full details on each, visit the full article on the WSJ website.

Here are three unwritten rules to add to the four above.

• “Watch the stock market.”
• “Always have more cash, not less.”
• “Be aggressive.”

Again, these are from the article linked above. It is one thing to talk about these rules and quite another to have such strong execution on them. Cisco has successfully acquired several billion dollar businesses and not missed a beat in doing so. They have been a nimble M&A machine.