One of the most overrated business leaders of the last ten years. His strategy for much of the 1990's was great - he used his overvalued currency to buy new technologies rather than having a big R&D department himself. When the stock got demolished he lost his currency and didn't know what to do. Rather than facing the downturn that everyone knew was coming, Chambers continued to sing a happy tune well after the rest of humanity knew the bubble had burst. Chambers had a strategy that worked well in the bubble era but it remains to be seen how his strategy will work in our more sane times.

A year ago, John Chambers was widely considered to be one of the most visionary business leaders in the world. The market downturn, however, has exposed Cisco to be at best a company in serious trouble, and at worst a house of cards. To understand why Cisco is being hit harder then most, you need to understand how Cisco got so big so fast. Cisco used the incredible performance of its stock to snap up promising young companies in hot sectors. Cisco does not manufacture anything, and they have minimal R&D - for years they were able to move faster than the Nortels and Lucents of the world by using their stock as currency, and becoming overnight players in whatever space they wanted. For Cisco, a plummeting stock price is more than just bad for morale - it is a devastating blow to Chambers' entire business strategy. The same strategy which made Chambers a genius has now placed Cisco in a death spiral.