You know that John Chambers has been a CEO. After all, he spent more than 25 years at Cisco, helping grow the company from $70 million when he joined in 1991, to $1.2 billion when he became CEO in 1995, to $47 billion when he stepped down as CEO in 2015.
What you may not know is that Chambers is also – perhaps foremost – a teacher. In fact, it’s a big part of what he does now as founder and CEO of JC2 Ventures, which describes itself as “mentors of digital innovation, who coach each company on their journey, using our experiences to help them see around corners, accelerate markets, and create entirely new ones.”
Teaching is also a big part of what he’s put in his new book, “Connecting the Dots: Lessons for Leadership in a Startup World.”
Now don’t get the impression that Chambers thinks he knows it all. He makes clear – in the book and in our conversation – that he’s always learning. Always asking questions. Always trying to discover what’s next.
That spirit and energy come across in reading his words – a playbook of his unique strategies for winning in a digital world –and they came across when I talked with him. I’d never met Chambers before. I really enjoyed the conversation. I learned a lot, and I think you will, too.
Julian Francis: Empathetic Leadership in Action
Mary Kay Orr: How Nazareth Housing Helps Families Unlock Their Potential
Rep. Stephanie Murphy: What D.C. and Business Can Learn From Each Other
Christopher Leonard: The Lords of Easy Money
Maja Lapcevic: Mastercard Innovation, from Fintech to AI to Money 3.0
Walter Isaacson: The Science and Business of CRISPR
Gregory Zuckerman: A Shot to Save the World — The Race for a COVID-19 Vaccine
Moving Forward with Purpose: Leadership in the Next Chapter
Hive Health – Co-winner of Harvard’s New Ventures Competition
Victoria Sakal: How Brands Can Build Trust
Jordan Ellenberg -- Why Math Matters in Business
Roberto Quarta: What Makes an Effective Board of Directors
Nicholas Dirks -- The Impact of Science Today
Ben Rhodes on What Happened to America -- and the World?
Daniel Feder on the State of Endowment Investing
Dr. Alexandria White: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion -- and Business
Dr. Josh Lerner — Future of Diversity and Inclusion in Private Equity
Joe Coughlin: The Science & Art of Managing Business Risk Today
George Nguyen: What Does Gen Z Want from Brands?
Vindi Banga: Business Outlook in a Changing World
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Commercial Edge: Unleash the Power of People
The emPOWERed Half Hour
HCI Leadership Revolution
Human Capital Leadership
The Power of Music Thinking
BusinessWISE
Business Wars