Connecting the Dots

By: John Chambers, Diane Brady

Narrated by: Allan Robertson, John Chambers - introduction

Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's Summary

Legendary Silicon Valley visionary John Chambers, one of the world's greatest business leaders, shares the playbook and philosophy that transformed Cisco into a global tech titan and now inspires a new generation of leaders.

When Chambers joined Cisco in 1991, it was a company with 400 employees and one toaster-sized product - a router - and $1.2 billion in revenue. When he left 20 years later, revenues had reached $47 billion, and Cisco was a global tech giant that was the backbone of the Internet, a leader in areas from cybersecurity to self-driving cars. He acquired 180 companies along the way, turning more than 10,000 employees into millionaires. Over those years, he received awards for innovation (the Edison Achievement Award) and as one of the best-performing CEOs in the world (Harvard Business Review), not to mention several awards for his leadership in philanthropy and social responsibility. He outlasted and outmaneuvered practically every rival that ever tried to take Cisco on - Nortel, Lucent, Alcatel, IBM, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard, to name a few - with a track record that is studied at business schools worldwide.

Now, Chambers shares the leadership principles behind it all. From his early lessons and struggles with dyslexia in West Virginia to his bold bets and battles with some of the biggest names in tech, Chambers developed a series of playbooks for beating the odds and anticipating trends. Using stories and insights from his career, Chambers shows how to act before the market shifts, use your customers as your chief strategy officers, acquire and partner for growth, find the right people and build the best teams, and how to disrupt yourself. 

Today Chambers, who has been listed among the "World's Best CEOs" by Barron's and named one of Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People", has adapted his lessons to help transform government, becoming a trusted advisor to global leaders like French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to create new models for growth. He's also coaching and investing in the leaders of a number of game-changing startups through JC2 Ventures. 

In the digital era, companies can go from zero to a billion to bankruptcy in a matter of years. The winners won't be the biggest or richest players, but the ones who can connect the dots - in any size enterprise and in any industry.

©2018 John Chambers (P)2018 Hachette Audio

Critic Reviews

"Great leaders are distinguished by the ability to move their society or company from where it is to where it has never been. They act on the basis of a set of core principles, both intangible and inspirational. John Chambers, an accomplished executive in his own right, distills those principles in Connecting the Dots with elegance and common sense." (Henry Kissinger, former US Secretary of State)

"Over the years, I've seen John Chambers achieve the virtually impossible, and all by following his blueprint, which he finally reveals in Connecting the Dots. He has done us all a service by making it available, and the smartest thing you could do for yourself and your company is to make it your bible." (Meg Whitman, former president and CEO, Hewlett Packard Enterprise)

"John Chambers shares his secrets for building and leading one of the most innovative and customer-centric companies in the world. This is an invaluable resource for any CEO, entrepreneur, or leader looking to compete in the digital age." (Aaron Levie, cofounder and CEO of Box)