Chambers' credibility lies in Cisco's success. It is the fastest-growing company in the computer industry, long since overtaking Microsoft. Its profits have doubled every year. Over fifteen years, its shares have appreciated by a factor of 1,200. A thousand new employees join each month, and those of its staff with stock options are seriously rich.
Chambers is a star in the American business press.
Cisco has grown by acquisition, swallowing up other hi-tech companies and embracing their engineers and technology. The acquisitions binge has gone on every year since 1993, totalling 59 companies so far. Having dominated the Internet, Cisco now wants to displace the makers of telecommunications equipment like Nortel, Lucent and Ericsson. Cisco has but a small share of that market, but wants telephone companies to junk their existing technology and adopt the Internet - the most efficient way of moving phone calls, data, and video, all at the same time. To achieve that, Cisco tries to persuade businesses to become all-internet operations, and it invites their bosses to Silicon Valley to see how Cisco runs itself entirely using the Internet.