Executive Thought Leadership

At Cisco we talk about being "customer driven." What we mean is that our customers are at the center of every decision we make. We listen to our customers and are receptive to their feedback, which enables us to continually evolve in order to anticipate and meet their needs. And it's not just talk; there is a history to our customer-driven culture. Our founders, Len Bosack and Sandy Lerner, were the first to establish our commitment to evolving Cisco's business to address customer needs. Our breakthrough first product was born in response to a University of Washington professor's feedback that the translator prototype was "worthless" to him because it was incompatible with his computer system. Bosack and Lerner put the customer first, evolved the prototype, and the multiprotocol router was born.

Throughout our history, we have continually sought our customers' input to help us shape the vision and define the strategy against which we execute. Many of the most important decisions we have made, from the emphasis we placed on switching, to the need for an Internet Business Solutions Group, to the development of advanced services, and our investment in advanced technologies such as network-based voice, security, and video, were inspired simply by listening to our customers.

"Listening" is as important now as it was at our inception. There is a market transition taking place today that is driven by consumer participation, innovation, collaboration, and social networking--all of which are the result of an increasingly empowered and informed customer. This transition is driving what we refer to as Cisco 3.0. This is our ability to listen to and collaborate with our customers in order to take customer intimacy to an entirely new level. To anticipate our customers' needs in the future, we will have to listen, respond, and adjust to feedback like never before.

In the future, companies that win and maintain loyal customers will be the ones that succeed in providing not only a quality product or service, but also a series of consistently positive experiences. We believe that collaboration enabled by Web 2.0 technologies will fuel the next wave of innovation, productivity, and growth over the next decade. We will be successful only if we continue to focus on our customer-driven culture and collaborate with our partners and customers in a way that addresses their greatest challenges. In the end, the customer will determine those companies that are built to last and built to lead.

We've updated the Executive Thought Leadership Quarterly, and renamed it Thoughtleaders. This issue of Thoughtleaders focuses on how you can use the network as the platform to create the total customer experience. I hope you find it valuable and enjoy the new format.