• In the 1950s

    "I was a good student, but not in English or foreign languages, in part because of dyslexia.

  • With Peter Lynch, vice chairman of Fidelity (left), and Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, 2001

  • Presenting to staff, 2014

  • "I sent out about 100 résumés, and no offers came in. It was very humbling. So I networked.

  • "Cisco was a company nobody knew, with 400 people and $70 million in sales.

  • "In July I become executive chairman. I'll work half-time. Chuck [Robbins] is the CEO, and he'll make the decisions. Usually when high-tech companies transition, the next leader struggles, so we knew we had to do it differently.

  • Middle row, center, with managers at Wang, 1985

  • "My friend asked me to interview. I said, 'Steve, I didn't go to school for nine and a half years to do sales.' I thought technology was a little geeky. He said, 'I got two tickets to the basketball game.'

  • "Wang made minicomputers. There were 12 geographies, and only two were making money. I knew how to fix that, and 11 out of 12 were profitable within a year.

  • "When I became CEO, sales were $1.2 billion. Today sales are about $48 billion.

  • At a leadership retreat in Alaska, 2009

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