A lot of companies talk about how they’re changing the world. But how is that taking place, and how often are the people within that company the ones participating in meaningful projects that actually create change? There are a lot of reasons I love working at Cisco, but the biggest – for me – is that I am just one of 70,000+ people who are changing the lives of real people, every day.
It’s true, I’m still early in my career journey with Cisco – just a few months shy of two years. Which may not seem like a lot, but when you’re surrounded by folks who have been with Cisco for 10, 15, and even 20+ years? Well, two is still pretty new. And, before this, I had been with my previous company for nearly thirteen years!
Yeah, there was lots of mobility and opportunity to move between exciting projects and to even make a difference on those projects, products, and the company’s bottom line. But I started feeling like I wanted more. I wanted to make a real difference that I could be proud of.
Around that time, I had a few friends tell me that they were going to go work for Cisco. I couldn’t stop myself from thinking, “Wait. Cisco the hardware company?!” But that thought led to a little research – I had no idea that Cisco was so much more than just hardware! For example, it’s a Top 5 SaaS vendor in the world, literally connecting 350M+ people every month as they do their work.
And thank goodness for that – because it’s given me a chance to help change a little part of the world.
Since joining Cisco, I’ve had the pleasure and privilege of working with customers from around the globe and changing the way their work gets done every day. It’s one of my favorite parts of my job – finding new ways for our customers to transform. It’s been especially rewarding because many of these customers aren’t the customers that you (or I for that matter) would necessarily have thought of as wanting to transform.
Healthcare. Government. Financial Services. Education. Oil and Gas. Just to name a few.
Although, for me, the highlight has been in healthcare.
My work with these customers has been about finding ways to help hospitals provide better, and more proactive, healthcare to their patients. They’re real people who come from all backgrounds and live at all distances from their primary care facility – something perhaps many of us take for granted.
Through Cisco collaboration and by leveraging our Webex portfolio of products, we’re helping to solve problems – like how care teams can connect with patients virtually to help answer questions or check-in after procedures. It may not seem like a big change for those who live in or near a city but think about those remote and rural communities where it may be a two, five, or even ten hour trip to see your doctor!
This is where Webex and our Cisco collaboration tools shine, and we’re able to spare patients from having to make a long trip until it’s really necessary.
Not only is this more convenient – but it improves the quality of care for patients and means they can have more frequent contact with their doctors. As an extra unintended side effect of the goodness we’re bringing to healthcare – by saving the patients a commute, we’re also helping the environment.
What’s even more impressive? We’re not doing this alone. Cisco has an amazing reach and an unparalleled network of partners that is helping us to transform the healthcare industry (and others) together.
Our partners look to Cisco to help drive collaboration, and we’re happy to be in this together. There are few places in the world that I can think of where you can find this combination of product, people, and a willingness to engage and truly change the world.
That’s the magic of Cisco – and I’m glad it’s something I’ve gotten to experience. There is truly no better opportunity than to #LoveWhereYouWork and change the world.
Want to help us change the world? We’re hiring. Apply now.
Nice to see you sharing a personal story, Jono — thanks for your post and for all you do for Cisco. The healthcare possibilities are exciting and edifying. And GOATS too!