Mr. Worldwide, a.k.a. Pitbull, says his nickname came when he moved from being Mr. 305 (Miami’s area code) to performing around the world.
Cisco is a lot like that. You’ll find employees everywhere around the world, in unexpected places, and in unexpected ways. I think we should trademark “Cisco Worldwide!”
I have first-hand experience with this.
I recently set off on a cruise aboard the Norweigan Getaway (interesting fact, Pitbull performed for her christening ceremony in Miami in 2014, and is the godfather of a sister ship, the Escape) during the annual Cisco “shut down.” That’s what we call the calendar week between Christmas and New Year where employees are encouraged to unplug and recharge – which is perfect, because that’s what you do on a cruise ship, assisted by pina coladas and pool chairs.
Within 24 hours of boarding the cruise, I was in the ship’s art gallery looking across the hallway at someone sporting a shirt with a big Cisco logo on it. As I DO work for the Talent Brand team, and I AM in social media I couldn’t NOT say anything. I walked up and introduced myself and started talking to this man and his family. Turns out, he just retired from Cisco, and we had a nice laugh about our “small world.”
While you’d think that a ship holding 4,000 people would seem like anything but small, the next day I ran into ANOTHER person in a Cisco t-shirt. (Did we all hear “shut down” and say “cruise time!?”) His wife asked “Do you know each other?” I said that yes, in a sense, because we’re all part of the #WeAreCisco tribe, but no, we’d never met before. All we had in common was our love for the company. She was amazed (as was I) that we’d bump into each other this way.
Do you want to join our logo-loving #WeAreCisco family? We’re hiring!
Just when you think the story can’t pack more We Are Cisco-ness in, the plot thickens.
While in port in Cozumel, Mexico, I was waiting at a meeting point for our Jeep tour driver, when lo and behold I see this couple walking down the sidewalk, and the woman was wearing my favorite We Are Cisco t-shirt. It’s my favorite, because the first year I worked at Cisco, my team held our first-ever #WeAreCisco #LoveWhereYouWork contest where we asked employees to post photos of why they loved being Cisconians, and this t-shirt was the prize for the winners.
I’m sure when she first saw a chick with purple and blonde hair approaching her, she had a moment of “who is this crazy person?” As soon as I said “That’s my team’s shirt!” and asked her if she worked at Cisco, we had an instant connection. We took pictures. We exchanged emails. We had a laugh. She said she won the shirt (also her favorite) in the contest, and of course I knew which entry was hers when she described it.
There’s power in the Cisco logo. There’s power in the people that wear it proudly. There’s power in being part of something as meaningful as Cisco.
This week is “logo week” – and it’s the last week of this year’s (now third-annual) #WeAreCisco #LoveWhereYouWork contest. For Cisconians, however, every week is logo week, because when you love what you do and why you do it, you can’t help but display your pride everywhere you go.
Whether it’s on a cruise ship, on an island such as Cozumel, or as a part of your daily style choice – #WeAreCisco and we love that logo!
Carmen, thanks for sharing! This is my second year at Cisco and it still amazes me how seriously Cisconians take the shut down! I love it! I have worked in other companies where the company shut down still felt like you were "on call". #WeAreCisco #LoveWhereYouWork