Voices for Change

I, along with 14 others, was honored to be given the privilege to serve as Ambassadors for Our People Deal and participate in a panel discussion at Cisco's 2018 Executive Summit.

Our People Deal Ambassadors (L to R) Michel van Golberdinge, Alli Walton,Olivier Bastard, Yosi Kossowky, Seema Hyne,Ramon Tancinco, Phillipa Waller (Facilitator), Aviva Jia Chen, Bryan McCarthy, Jill Shaul, Andy Stoker, Lori Paschall, Nish Parkar, ChaoZhuo, Jharana Vasavada, and Jerome J. Sanders

So, how does it feel to represent more than 70,000 people by simply speaking from your heart? I’m not a blogger…an author…or a poet…but I’ll do my best to put it into words. 

It’s Friday, March 16th, and I board the plane for the flight to San Diego. I welcome the long trip, as it gives me time to truly think about the impact of my words, though at this moment, I struggle to find them. As I sit in my seat listening to music (the one thing that helps me relax), I feel excited, nervous, vulnerable, scared…proud and humbled. At this moment I am overwhelmed…but in a good way.

I think about standing on stage and speaking on behalf of over 70,000 employees from all around the world, and somewhere between Houston and San Diego, I realize the gift I have been given because you see…

What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make. - Jane Goodall

I finally arrive in San Diego and catch a Lyft to the hotel. I’m exhausted…but I can’t sleep…not now. Too much adrenaline…too many thoughts racing through my head. The team is eating dinner at a local restaurant. I decide to have a drink and a quick bite at the bar. I “Spark” them to let them know I’ll catch up with them later. Alli Walton messages me that she didn’t go to dinner either. So I talk her into joining me at the bar. She and I talk and share stories and quickly become friends. It’s like we’ve known each other for years. I think to myself, “Wow…I can’t wait to meet the rest of this team”.  

Fast forward 48 hours. I now call this group of brilliant, authentic individuals my brothers and sisters. I quickly realize that family truly “is a place of unconditional love”.

It’s now Monday…the big day…the panel discussion, where we all gather in front of a room packed with hundreds of senior leaders at Cisco.

We are led into the room, each of us with sweaty palms, lumps in our throats, butterflies in our stomachs, and…fear. All I hear in my head are Eminem’s lyrics, “palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy”. Yet we walk with courage and purpose, as we know we are there to make a difference. My brain switches to Dr. Seuss:

So, open your mouth, lad, for every voice counts!

Standing on stage, we look out into the audience – a room full of senior leaders, including our CEO, Chuck Robbins, seated less than 15 feet away in the front row. Our task – to answer challenging questions about our company’s culture. Oh, did I mention that we had no knowledge of the questions we would be asked? I think to myself, “I’ve got this. I can do this. My voice can…my voice will make a difference”. 

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear. - Mark Twain

The questions begin and we rise to the challenge – with courage, dignity, and purpose. Each of us responds, first one and then another. Some of our responses are emotional…and we try to maintain our composure, though there are times when we can’t. Our voices quiver…our eyes water…but we swallow hard and speak from our hearts. As we stand there, looking out across the room, answering some tough questions, I notice some amazing things happen: 

1. Someone places his or her hand on my back. I follow suit by putting my arm around someone as they try hard to share “their story”…and this show of love and support continues.
2. I notice winks and nods and whispers of “Great job” and “Thank you” from our senior leaders, as they listen intently, while we speak our truths.
3. A calm washes over us and the fear dissipates, as we now understand just how much our leaders care. 

The panel discussion ends, and Chuck joins us onstage, shaking hands with each of us and thanking us for our courage and commitment to Cisco.  

Wow! We did it. The panel discussion is over and our fear has now been replaced with inspiration, motivation, and determination, as we know our work is not yet done. We all have a shared responsibility to do what is best for our people and our company.

Each one of us can make a difference. Together we make change. - Barbara Mikulski

Since the panel discussion, we have been approached by many of our senior leaders - a testament to the kind of people who make up our senior leadership team. 

The ambassadors are now tasked with solving a long-range strategic planning process and business model evolution project for the remainder of the year, with the support of our Executive Leadership Team.

I’d like to personally thank those who shared their thoughts, praise, and offers to help us with the work we have yet to do. Know that we appreciate every single one of you who took the time to reach out to let us know that we are not alone.

I would like to acknowledge Maria Abeyta Moreta and Phoebe Leet for developing Our People Deal Ambassador Program and preparing us for this amazing opportunity.

I want to express a heartfelt thank you to the 14 ambassadors who have become my friends...my brothers and sisters...my family.

Finally, a sincere thank you to our CEO, Chuck Robbins, and our Chief People Officer, Francine Katsoudas, for making our people the heart of Cisco’s culture.

To all of those who stood with me on stage and all of the leaders in the audience, Winston Churchill surmised, quite eloquently...

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.

After this experience, I am reminded once again of the many reasons why I love working for this amazing company. For me, #LoveWhereYouWork has never been truer than it is right now. I am forever thankful to work for Cisco – a company that believes in listening to our people and makes a conscious commitment to taking action.

We are many. We are one. We are Cisco.

#WeAreCisco #ExecSummit2018 #LoveWhereYouWork #OurPeopleDeal #MomentsThatMatter