Cisco went public on February 16, 1990 at a split-adjusted price of about 6 cents. Wow. 20 years as a public company. 20 years on the NASDAQ. We would not be here today were it not for our great employees, investors, partners…and, most importantly, customers! We have received a lot of corporate and technology accolades, honors and awards over the years and are proud to be listed among the best and most respected companies in the world. Want to know the secret to our success? The answer is…below…
The secret of Cisco’s success: Listening.
First and foremost, we listen to our customers. We also listen to our investors…we listen to our partners…we listen to our employees. Listening is an under-appreciated skill. And, it is a skill. When I was a teenager, my mom used to ask me if I heard her after she said something…which I, perhaps on occasion, gave her the impression that maybe I wasn’t fully listening. I would say very cooly, I’m sure: “Yes, Mom, I heard you.” “Great,” she would say, “but did you LISTEN to what I said?” There IS a big difference.
“We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” -- Epictetus, Greek philosopher -- 55 AD
Watch (and listen to) this video of Cisco CFO Frank Calderoni thanking customers, employees, partners and investors for 20 great years on the NASDAQ.
It is also our 25th anniversary this year, learn more about that here…or search “CSCO25″ on this blog.
I agree – listening and understanding your customers is vital. It is much easier these days to find out what your customers and potential customers want and need by looking at keywords, what articles people are looking at, refining and testing through split testing.Congratulations on 25 years.
Congrats to Cisco! Keep up the good work and best wishes in the future. They are for sure doing something right.
As a business owner I also find that it is very important to listen to my customers and employees. Here are a couple of things on my list to listen to:#1 You need to listen to your customers needs. This is a very important part of closing any deal.#2 How do they feel about the services or products they are using (i.e. What works, what does not and why)Congratulations Cisco with this very important skill you are sure to continue to do very well in the future.
Congratulations, I’m a loyal customer of yours and have bought many of your products over those years, software, routers, modems & switches – long may you continue your success!
I like this partThe secret of Cisco’s success: Listening”"I wish Cisco to grow much bigger than before. you have a fundamental listening philosophy there. Success!”
Way to go Cisco! Quite an accomplishment.
congrats to cisco
, best wishes with you. cisco is one of the best company in soft-tech
What a fantastic acheievement! Hats off to a great company that is customer focused. Well done and here’s to the future!) matt
Innovation! In my opinion Cisco’s success it due to innovation. Congrats on this amazing accomplishment.Cisco note: You are RIGHT, Sarah. Innovation is clearly a major part of our success…and part of our innovation stems from listening to what customers want and need.
Cisco is the one company we can always look forward to. Well, even if the customers don’t know what they want, Cisco knows them.
customers are most important remember this and you’ll never lose some
Waooo Cisco Congratulations! i must say…. The Company’s commitment to innovation, customers and giving back has been key of success over the years!
Congratulations. Like you said CISCO is a great company and getting more and more respect from its customers. It is great to hear that you listen to your employees, in some other companies is just the boss opinion what counts.
Starting at 6 cents and two decades just goes to show the value of hard work and skilled (not blind) persistence. I very much agree with the ‘listening’ aspect of corporations — far too many are so big that they simply don’t care about the needs/wants of the individual…
Cisco is one of the toughest companies which is stand still even during the tech bubble collapse in 2000, Cisco still able to pass through and I think the company is going to last forever.
First and foremost, we listen to our customers. We also listen to our investors…we listen to our partners…we listen to our employees. Listening is an under-appreciated skill”"very true! Gathering information is the key to a business success or failure!Great blog!Joe”
There used to be an old commercial with the President of Remington Shavers. His tagline was, I was so impressed I bought the company.”" That’s the way I feel about Cisco. I loved the products so much, I bought stock in the company. I’m happy to report that neither the products nor the stock have let medown. Thanks for a great 20.”
clear and as cisco not be proud if one of the largest internationally and each time going beyond himself
On the hills of watching CNN’s “TOXIC: Garbage Islandâ€ÂÂÂÂ, I was thinking about what is business hearing regarding Green Initiatives? Of course, most big companies recycle in some way, but is it selfish cost saving measures on raw materials or good ethics driving the efforts? What can we do with all the final products? These days, a product’s life cycle is a short 2-5 yrs and development cycles a lot shorter than that. I would be interested in hearing how Cisco and other “Big Business†are leading efforts to deal with our disposable economy.Cisco note: More info on Cisco’s approach to Green issues and recycling at http://www.cisco.comRecycling program: http://www.cisco.com/web/about/ac227/ac228/ac231/about_cisco_takeback_recycling.htmlDesign for environment program: http://www.cisco.com/web/about/ac227/ac228/ac231/about_cisco_design_for_environment.htmlReduction of Hazardous Substances: http://www.cisco.com/web/about/ac227/ac228/ac231/about_cisco_reduction_hazardous_substances.htmlEnergy Efficiency: http://www.cisco.com/web/about/citizenship/environment/energy_efficiency.html
It seems just like yesterday that someone told me that a little company called Cisco was offering stock……..I’m glad I bought a few shares back then , they haven’t done too badly at all
Congratulations Cisco! You’ve given us all an amazing ride along the way!
Congratulations!! It is always wonderful to grow as a company and see the results especially when they are this huge.
Cisco is real monster in telecom now. The only way i see is UP. i hold CSCO stock by the way
Congratulations Cisco! Keep the great technologies coming.
The secret of Cisco’s success: Listening. Fabulous stuff Cisco. 20 more years!
Congratz cisco, I am a cisco fan
I am thinking of perusing CCNA after my engineering courses. Also I heard we can write online cisco exams by paying the fees. Where can I get the resource materials for cisco?
Thanks for a great 20! I don’t know where we’d be without Cisco products. They’ve kept our organization going for a long time–and I hope that’s the case for a long time into the future.
Congrats Cisco, still wonder if I should do the qualifications
It’s a simply philosophy that the majority of the large corporations fail to understand – listen to what your customers are saying, and act on it. 20 years at the top is impressive.
Felicitaciones a Cisco, siempre en la vanguardia
This is wonderful to hear as I am have been a loyal Cisco customer for a while now. They sure have come a long way.
Congratulations to Cisco on this amazing achievement !
Congratulations Cisco! Without doubt one of the ‘big players’. And the reason why? Simple, they combine top quality solutions with great customer care. I think we should all take note and realise that to get ahead in business you have to ‘listen’ to your customers.
I worked for a small company that had the same philosophy. Listen to your customers, as it is they that ultimately decide what products and services you need to offer to be successful. Then we were purchased by a much larger corporation that does not have the same thoughts. They believe that they can design products and push them on customers and they will buy them. They’ll soon find out that doesn’t work. Don’t fall into the same trap Cisco. Keep doing what you’re doing.
Epictetus have good view of what is important for succes and this is so simple, thank’s for the refresh !
Great saying, i do also believe that listening properly from your close one can let you know how better you are in your field and if not how can you improve your performance better.
My brother in law works for Cisco after leaving another large company a few years ago. He’s pretty happy with the move.Also…my neighbor also is retired from Cisco and had nothing but good comments for them.
WOW! I wish I had invested back then! I wouldn’t still be driving a cab! http://southbostontaxi.com
One of the best company, wish you the best for the next decade !
Congratulations Cisco! We often talk about your company in terms of creating customer-driven customer service – where they help each other and defend against unwarranted attacks. Thanks for being a great example!
Congratulations, that is an incredible success story. I just wish I would have picked up the shares at 6c!
Congratulations Cisco,as a result of hardworking you get finally where you really deserved this.God helped you who reached such a good place on market.Keep up good working.Have a nice day
Congrats. I am sure there will be another 20 years of success. As a startup co-founder (http://www.dealam.com), I have a dream of bringing our venture to a higher level. It is tough and full of risk. One thing, however, I enjoy most is the challenge.
Congratulationsforever Cisco
Congrats to Cisco! Keep up the excelent work and best wishes in the future!
Congratulations to Cisco on this great achievement !
Cisco is such a great company, I have owned the stock for more than 8 years and I will never complain about cisco. Great job and I can’t wait for the next 20 years.
Congrats to Cisco…Keep up the good work.
Congrats to Cisco for all of their work doing for 20 years you’re the best.
Any person who were connected to IT sector know about CISCO.To-day I really comes to know that it’s such an old company.My Previous company,where I joined as a fresher developer before 7 years ago,had a well CISCO lab where much of time I spent with my network team. That time I am unaware about the fact of CISCO.When I read the blog today , I am happy and accept the fact that we really need to listen to out customer, employee. Congrats Cisco!
I wish I had a few thousand shares of Cisco at $0.06 per share. Yowza.
Congratulations Cisco! You’ve given us all an amazing ride along the way!
i buy alot of cisco products and hold their stock. this is excellent news and will hopefully drive up the share price.
Maybe we ought to let Cisco and Warren Buffet run our country. I think they would do just as well as we have seen in the last 10 years!
Wow! Happy 25th anniversary and congrats Cisco!If only I had invested in Cisco in 1990, LOL
Cisco Rocks! Thanks for a great 20! We’re proud to be a Cisco house!
The best company i know, Congratulations… it is amazing achievement…
Congratulations Cisco !Best wishes from Amsterdam, great accomplishment!
Congratulations Cisco! great technologies coming from u…….
wow congratulations! i love Cisco, you are a great company.
great bit of advice for any business owner. Such a simple thing can go a long way…Listening.