[dcurtis]

Wow, I did some quick research on Padmasree Warrior, and she's incredibly smart. From the Mobilize '08 keynote:

"We have this question today, this question of where mobile devices will go in the future. So the question at hand is, 'What is mobility, really?' And in my view, mobility is not the device. It's not the network. It is the mobile experience.

Mobility as a term has existed for quite some time, and for most of the time it has been synonymous with 'cellular network' and 'device'. This is because cellular networks were the first time we were truly free of wires. I think this has changed though, mostly because of the massive, enormous scale of adoption. More than three billion people on earth use a cellular device to communicate. Every second, four babies are born. In that same second, thirty mobile devices are sold. And we're just now starting to see the innovation beyond mere two-way communication in mobility."

This is a really, really amazing talk: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5K-xXUKlec

She gets mobile. And she understands the future of the internet.

[jyothi]

I was a fan of warrior till the day she made a blog post on her first day at cisco, with her heart swaying the other way within hours. How can any passionate individual swing their strong opinions in hours, ofcourse it is just projected and fake. I lost the respect for her that day.

Her blog on motorola was extremely popular. Motorola took it down when she quit. Why would any large company do that unless there was huge amount of disconnect and disharmony with the leader who quit.

I was a fan but it all fell like a landslide, guess in reality she had captured many in a charm. I feel she is an impressive self promoter, probably a strong techie but weak at strategy. My cousin worked at Motorola and from what I hear, she probably was one of the key reasons why motorala doomed in the mobile run. She apparently predicted iPhone would be a massive failure when moto let the popular Razr phones die.

[nostrademons]

"How can any passionate individual swing their strong opinions in hours"

Umm, most smart, passionate people can swing their strong opinions within minutes, when presented with the appropriate data. George Soros is legendary for this; he's been known to back out of billion dollar investments the next day. Most good managers are like this too.

The crucial part is data, and how they evaluate that data. And not having read the blog post, I can't say whether Warrior's thought process makes sense. But I really hate the idea that "Passionate people cling to their ideas at all costs" - that's responsible for most of the failures and wasted effort in the world today.

[dcurtis]

Well, she saw that Motorola was failing and she bailed. I can see how that would create some disconnect and disharmony.

[corentin]

The central planners running the economy in soviet Russia were incredibly smart as well.

[ardit33]

not really. They were usually idiots, that were good at politiking. At least in my country, this was the case. If you came from a rural/villager family, you had a greater chance to move up, as long as you didn't step in the wrong toes, no regardless of your skills.

[ryuio]

I read her blog once. She didnt sound honest at all - assuming that she wrote her blog herself.

[ryuio]

The follwoing is her first Cisco post - a tad too rabid for a CTO.

It is an exciting time to join Cisco.

Cisco is the company whose leadership legacy defines “The Network” in many ways. Today, it is a company driving many new paradigms in communications and information technology. In the future, it will be a company poised to lead the industry to the next phase of Internet evolution.

What are some of the characteristics of solutions driving the next wave of Internet evolution? We already see many precursors for this such as, Collaboration, Web 2.0, and Always-on Demand. Cisco has been at the forefront of this shift, where the network becomes the platform to deliver the next wave of applications and services.

Throughout its history, Cisco has demonstrated the ability to anticipate changes with a proven record of accomplishments for capturing market transitions. The company’s customer centric culture, unwavering commitment to technology, and passion for innovation, mark the platform for leadership. Leveraging the reality of globalization, integrating outside and inside ideation through well-executed acquisitions, a relentless focus on financials and flawless delivery of results, delineate Cisco’s platform for talent.

[daniel-cussen]

That's the most Dilbert thing I've ever read.