Cisco Systems – “Very Meh”

Pros

* Good name recognition
* Breadth of non-engineering opportunities
* There are some really smart people
* Every so often, cutting edge tech

Cons

* Lots of maintenance
* Very slow moving company
* They're more than willing to cut benefits
* They turn off half the lights in the buildings
* Middle management is expanding
* Senior management seems clueless most of the time

Advice to Senior Management

* Listen to the engineers
* Respect the engineers
* Don't forget the engineers exist
* Let engineers do good work without being hampered by some arcane "process"
* Stop with the councils and boards
* Refocus on the core of Cisco, not the peripheral crap