Cisco UnAuthorized

Rating:
Summary: The Narrative Continues
Review: Any discussion of Cisco Systems either now or in weeks to come may soon prove inadequate, if not flat-out wrong. When Young wrote this book, neither he nor anyone else at that time (including decision-makers at Cisco) could have predicted what has since happened and not-happened in the company and in its industry. It was once said of Soviet historians that they could predict the past with absolute accuracy. The comments which follow are based on the book as published, not as it would have been written with the wisdom of hindsight.

Young organizes his material within four Parts: The Cisco Myth, Competition at the Speed of Light, Fault Lines, and Into the Void. He explains that his book "is particularly;y concerned with the period from the beginnings of the dot-com frenzy in early 1999 to the industry's winter of discontent at the end of 2000. It is a portrait of an extraordinary company, its charismatic leader, and the world it is creating, discovering, exploiting, and fashioning. But there is also a dark side to the story, a hollowness at the core of this great company that is symptomatic of much of the Internet generation, and an arrogance that afflicts Cisco particularly." Young makes it very clear that what he presents is his version of the Cisco "story" as of when the book went to press.

John Chambers, CEO of Cisco, is one of the focal points. Young quotes Chambers extensively and, I think, does so with circumspection. For example, "Make no mistake about it", Chambers asserts, "the Internet is nothing short of the second Industrial Revolution. Industry is going to change. You have to make the change or you won't survive. They key is how to do it without your existing business. And one of the toughest challenges is figuring out the new channels. Timing is the key." This has been one of the key verses of Chambers' mantra for almost a decade.

Throughout the book, Young offers his own analysis of the nature and extent of Cisco's response to "the toughest challenges" under Chambers' leadership. He concludes, "Maybe Coyote Valley is where the future is going to be created. Maybe it will not. But it will happen on Internet time supplied by Cisco. John T. Chambers and Cisco, have created the first great empire of the Information Age by selling pickaxes, Levis, and quicksilver to the early miners. Now they're going to sell them to everyone else too. In the process [if they succeed], they'll fulfill the vision printed on the plastic ID card that each of its wears....'We are going to change the way people work, live, play, and learn.'" Chambers remains wholly committed to that vision. Obviously, the full story has yet to be told but in his book, Young has made a strong effort to understand and then explain both Chambers and his company. He shares several rather strong opinions of his own about Cisco's acquisitions (70 companies in five years), its outsourcing model, and its competitors such as Lucent, Nortel, Juniper, and Redback.

His readers must now ask questions such as these: Can and will Cisco regain ground lost during the past 6-8 months? What are the most serious barriers to doing that? Young asserts that Cisco has relied on a "dangerous business model." To what extent (if any) has that business model been modified in recent months? Even if modified, can and will it prove equal to new as well as on-going challenges which lie ahead?

My own opinion is that Cisco will continue to experience problems but that it will regain much of its momentum and cap value, if not to the extent it once possessed. I share Young's concern about what he calls "one glaring hole: succession" but based on what I have recently observed, Cisco has a rather deep executive bench and Chambers, meanwhile, seems much more inclined to develop that talent than he once was. So, what we have with this book is one man's analysis of a CEO and his company, based on extensive research. Will every reader agree with Young's opinions? Of course not. If there is a revised edition, Young may well modify (if not repudiate) several of his own conclusions. For those who read this book, he increases their understanding of a great company within a major industry. He raises some very important questions about both and then offers his own answers. Each reader must then take it from there. Fair enough.

Rating:
Summary: Clueless writer on the hoof
Review: I don't know if Jeffrey Young understands the *business* of networking, but he sure doesn't have much of a grasp on the technical details. That'd be okay, except that he seems to feel compelled to try to explain the technical details.

The cherry on top of the sundae of misinformation: "Moving data around in a network or through the Internet [...] is inherently better with one standard. In networking today, that standard is IP, or Internet Protocol based on Cisco's software: IOS." IOS is just one implementation of IP, and certainly wasn't the first. If Young doesn't understand that the Internet doesn't run wholely on Cisco software, it seems to me that the rest of the book is going to be pretty suspect.

This is hardly the only poorly-stated, unresearched remark that Young throws out. His explanation of the Internet was perhaps the worst I've ever read. I'm giving the book two stars instead of one because I enjoyed some of the insight into John Chambers and the rest of Cisco. Alas, given Young's technical gaffes, I really don't know if I can trust these parts of the book, either.

Rating:
Summary: Clueless writer on the hoof
Review: I don't know if Jeffrey Young understands the *business* of networking, but he sure doesn't have much of a grasp on the technical details. That'd be okay, except that he seems to feel compelled to try to explain the technical details.

The cherry on top of the sundae of misinformation: "Moving data around in a network or through the Internet [...] is inherently better with one standard. In networking today, that standard is IP, or Internet Protocol based on Cisco's software: IOS." IOS is just one implementation of IP, and certainly wasn't the first. If Young doesn't understand that the Internet doesn't run wholely on Cisco software, it seems to me that the rest of the book is going to be pretty suspect.

This is hardly the only poorly-stated, unresearched remark that Young throws out. His explanation of the Internet was perhaps the worst I've ever read. I'm giving the book two stars instead of one because I enjoyed some of the insight into John Chambers and the rest of Cisco. Alas, given Young's technical gaffes, I really don't know if I can trust these parts of the book, either.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing and repetitive
Review: I paid the airport bookshop price for this book in desperation for something to do with 12 hours of flying. Guess what? With the induced sleep it took longer to read! I felt the information in this book was useful and insightful but was long and drawn out. I think that most people who buy this book will be looking for validation for their investment in or positive experiences with Cisco and, if they can make it through the middle of the book, will feel positively reinforced. There are detailed explanations for the author's viewpoints that are repeated over and over. I like the author's analysis of Cisco and the networking industry but this book could have been distilled down to a 40 page expanded outline form dissertation with 5 or 6 major points and 4 or 5 good stories and been easier to get through. Buy the book, the information is good, expect some sleep...

Rating:
Summary: Book is unabashed (and dated) cash-in on New Economy bubble
Review: I spotted this book at a retailer and bought it with tremendous anticipation, both because it is a genre I enjoy (business "biography") and because it is about one of the most successful companies started in the last decade of the 20th Century. Regrettably, I was profoundly disappointed when I read it. Admittedly, I was expecting more of a historical accounting than a technology vision paper, so perhaps my disappointment was my own fault. Nevertheless, the book struck me as unabashedly written for marketability and to cash in on readers still interested in how companies benefited during the New Economy bubble rather than for information or entertainment value.

I had no beef with the fact that in the New Economy timeline, a book copyrighted in 2001 was probably out of date in 2002. What did surprise me was that I had to wait until page 165 to start learning about the actual history of Cisco, a problem in a book that is only 296 pages without the acknowledgements and the index. Also surprising was the storyboard built on anecdotal observations rather than detailed interviewing, the retelling of lightly edited stories, and solid research. Strangely, there are occaisional gems included on companies and individuals NOT associated with Cisco, but it obviously could't save the book.

A better execution of this type of book was writted by T. Boyle on GE and Jack Welch (At Any Cost). For reporting on the history of technology companies, one obviously has to mention T. Kidder's Soul of a New Machine on Digital's rise in the market. And finally, for a timeless approach to entertaining company biographies, I would be remiss not to mention C. Hilton's Be My Guest.

Used copies of this book are available for less than it will cost to ship it to you. My advice, take a pass on this one.

Rating:
Summary: Book is unabashed (and dated) cash-in on New Economy bubble
Review: I spotted this book at a retailer and bought it with tremendous anticipation, both because it is a genre I enjoy (business "biography") and because it is about one of the most successful companies started in the last decade of the 20th Century. Regrettably, I was profoundly disappointed when I read it. Admittedly, I was expecting more of a historical accounting than a technology vision paper, so perhaps my disappointment was my own fault. Nevertheless, the book struck me as unabashedly written for marketability and to cash in on readers still interested in how companies benefited during the New Economy bubble rather than for information or entertainment value.

I had no beef with the fact that in the New Economy timeline, a book copyrighted in 2001 was probably out of date in 2002. What did surprise me was that I had to wait until page 165 to start learning about the actual history of Cisco, a problem in a book that is only 296 pages without the acknowledgements and the index. Also surprising was the storyboard built on anecdotal observations rather than detailed interviewing, the retelling of lightly edited stories, and solid research. Strangely, there are occaisional gems included on companies and individuals NOT associated with Cisco, but it obviously could't save the book.

A better execution of this type of book was writted by T. Boyle on GE and Jack Welch (At Any Cost). For reporting on the history of technology companies, one obviously has to mention T. Kidder's Soul of a New Machine on Digital's rise in the market. And finally, for a timeless approach to entertaining company biographies, I would be remiss not to mention C. Hilton's Be My Guest.

Used copies of this book are available for less than it will cost to ship it to you. My advice, take a pass on this one.

Rating:
Summary: Gorilla Of Networking
Review: Jeff Young gives a clear and indepth analysis of the networking industry-its past, present and future.The title 'Cisco Unauthorized' seems apt given that a networking giant like Cisco may influence writers to glorify itself in every page and line of the book.It carries an independent analysis of Cisco in the light of the changes that are taking place in the industry whether it is new & emerging technologies,competitors. or your next door neighbor.Jeff outlines the major competitors Nortel, Juniper, Redback, Lucent and others to try to tell a story about where the industry maybe headed and who's going to survive. The reader begins, thinking that the future is Cisco,the be all end all in networking, and leaves feeling that the race is far from finished.I had some important take aways from the book. It makes you wonder what Cisco would be like without John Chambers.Would the superpower be tamed after Chambers the way Coca Cola was after Goizuetta?Can it continue growing the way it used to?Is the stock beating today, saying something about tomorrow?Has Cisco lost the edge? More than giving you an answer, "Cisco Unauthorized' is designed to make you think about what the future is and how it will affect the common man. I highly recommnd this book to hard core techies who are highly insulated and blinded by their tech knowledge and qualifications. In addition i would recommend anyone to pick up a copy and try to picture the world 5 years hence and how it may affect each one of us directly or otherwise. A must read for all corporate executives and business school students.. BE AWARE & STAY AHEAD.....

Rating:
Summary: One Author's Look at a Giant
Review: This book takes a look at the huge corporate monolith (also called "the Borg" by a few friends of mine who work there) called Cisco Systems. It starts off by giving a short story of the company's current status. And since this book is almost a year old now, of course it's a bit dated. This book came out before the economy took a nosedive, taking Cisco along with every other company. I'd be intrigued to see what the author would have to say about Cisco now. Even so, Cisco appears to have weathered the storm well.

It takes a long hard look at John Chambers, the "country boy" turned Cisco CEO and his quest to do "whatever it takes" to keep Cisco on top. Pointing out along the way that Cisco seems to have stayed on top due to the competitors' failures as well as acquiring at breakneck speed any "start-up" with the latest and greatest technologies that Cisco can capitalize on.

The book also details the stories of the competititors, like Lucent, Nortel, Juniper, and Redback and how they may yet cut into some of Cisco's sales. While I found this book to be very informative not only about Cisco and its history, as well as some background on its competitors, I got the sense the author is silently waiting to see Cisco fall. Whether or not this actually happens of course is another story, one that may take years to unfold.