Barry's Blog

The American journalist and satirist Ambrose Bierce, best known for his Devil's Dictionary, once defined an inventor as: "A person who makes an ingenious arrangement of wheels, levers, and springs, and believes it civilization." Most of us would beg to differ with his jaded view of modern-day inventions, and yet oftentimes we are not so sure of the proper place of technology in the world of business.

I recently came across an interview with John Chambers, CEO of tech giant Cisco Systems, in USA Today's Executive Suite, where Chambers talked about the important role of  technology in the business world. Here are some of his more important observations when interviewed by USA Today's corporate management reporter,  Del Jones.

Q: Retired Citigroup CEO Sandy Weill says he didn't use a computer, not even for e-mail. Yet he was successful. Maybe an understanding of technology isn't important at the CEO level.

A: Brilliant leaders will be successful even if they play with one arm behind their back. But the great leaders of the future will absolutely know technology. Not from a geeky perspective, but from a practical business approach.

Q: What opportunities are lost when a CEO is technologically ignorant?

A: The most basic thing is catching market changes, what I call market transitions or what you might call inflection points or tipping points. Your ability to use technology to identify those transitions with customers, supply chains, is very key.

The two hottest areas right now in technology are getting closer to your customer and getting a larger share of their wallet. Second, is productivity.

Q: You worked at Wang, IBM and Cisco. How did you remain fluent in technology over the years and to this day?

A: You get around people who challenge you, who give feedback and information on what you ought to be reading. When somebody travels with me, they have to teach me a topic. When I review engineers, at the end they have to teach me two topics. I listen.

Q: Do you find it harder to learn new technology the older you get?

A: Not necessarily. I think that is more the way a person is taught and how they approach life. It fascinates me more. I'd argue that I'm faster now at picking up the intricacies than I've ever been. It's not an age phenomena, but a learning approach.

Q: Have you considered writing a blog?

A: Yeah, I thought about it a lot. I can talk 200 words a minute. You'll probably see me in the video world. I like that better. My interest is in convergence. I will communicate to different targeted groups. I already do that. We're just constantly evolving, if you will.

Q: Should other CEOs blog?

A: It's important to communicate. Blogging is one way.

Q: You've convinced aging executives that technology isn't a passing fad. Is there anything else they need to know going forward?

A: The good news will be the dramatic ease of use. Also, what is 10 times too expensive today will be right in your sweet spot four or five years from now.

For FinishingWell,

Barry Morrow