How about that crazy tech boom? Remember that? From After the Boom, Cisco Is Learning to Go Slow
In a way, 19-year-old Cisco is learning how to run a real business. Its efficiency moves might be natural for older companies accustomed to economic cycles. But Cisco had never experienced such cycles: Between 1995 and 2000, Cisco’s revenue grew an average of 53% annually, an unheard-of rate for a multibillion-dollar company. Just keeping pace consumed all of Cisco’s energy, leaving little time for rules or reflection.
Fortunately, it sounds like they’ve adapted.