Inside Cisco: The Real Story of Sustained M&A Growth

There's no reason to beat around the bush: This is not an objective history of Cisco. It is an unabashedly adulatory look at one of the most influential companies of the New Economy. If you're looking for a critical assessment of Cisco's business model and execution, look elsewhere. That does not mean that you should ignore Inside Cisco, however. On the contrary, we from getAbstract strongly recommend this book for its detailed dissection of Cisco's acquisition methodology, from its target identification and selection to integration and employee retention. Anyone in business would do well to read this book, study these processes and make them their own.

"To date, your book Inside Cisco: The real story behind sustained M & A growth is my favorite regarding the topic of mergers and acquisitions. I used to work at a Merchant Bank in Irvine doing financial analysis in connection with mergers and acquisitions for a summer and a lot of the work we did involved growth through acquisitions. Your book clearly explains a lot of the rationale behind M & A strategies."Douglas Lee

This is an easy to read book that covers a lot of what made Cisco succeed in the 1990s. I liked the conversational writing style but also got a lot out of the content. A solid book that anyone looking to grow their business through acquisition should read.

A detailed history of one of the most successful M & A companies in American business. Paulson's added insights and suggestions make this more than a narrative history, this book is a practical handbook for anyone doing M & A work. Well-written and fun to read. Another source of keen business advice from this author. Check out his other books, particularly the Idiot's Guide to Starting a Small Business, which I have kept within arm's reach of my desk since it came out.

Paulsen does a commendable job in clearly explaining the Cisco methodology which John Chambers apparently adapted from the M & A strategists Clemente and Greenspan. This orientation,coined as market-focused and detailed in "Winning at Mergers & Acquisitions" seems to have been employed rather broadly throughout Cisco. Similar to Clemente/Greenspan's core methodology which analyzes the people, products and processes from strategy through integration, Paulsen explores the integration at Cisco of personnel, products, and production. It's hard to ignore the incredible similarity or get beyond the fact that so much of the guidance has already been introduced to the genre by Clemente and Greenspan in articles, white papers, and books over the last decade. Still for those who have read Winning at Mergers, there remain many interesting anecdotes and discussions in Inside Cisco. What I find most interesting is Cisco's incorporation of M & A into every facet of its being, and its quest for culturally compatible targets. Paulsen stresses that this is a mjor reason for acquisition success and I agree. John Chambers has developed an efficient and successful machine that -through no fault of his own - became unraveled as his industry did. I wonder how a share price in the teens will impact the strategy in the future. Nevertheless, the book is well written and therefore keeps the reader interested.