Pros

- Ability to work remotely
- Easier to sell Cisco than selling a niche product in this economy.
- Good on-site facilities if you live in the Bay Area

Cons

1) BIG TIME Politics
2) If you want to learn the art of Kissing !@$, this is the place for you
3) Too many layers of management
4) No work life balance

Advice to Senior Management

There is no need for EPM's (employee reviews) if you are going to reward those that do do #1 and #2 well (in Cons). In order to do this, you have to minimize the number of management layers in order for the folks doing their job well to be recognized. Not everyone is wired to play into politics. If you continue rewarding those that tell you what you want to hear, changes are not going to be made to maintain Cisco's leadership position in the marketplace.

Salary alone is not going to keep people happy. When the market turns, I would suspect our competitors will go after our best talent because if anyone is reading what is being posted on Glassdoor.com, there are obviously employee satisfaction issues. As much as we all think Cisco is THE PLACE to work in Silicon Valley, I beg to differ. Any company that is in growth mode would get my attention if the right opportunity was offered.