"It's going to happen," he told Business Insider at the time. "And the recession is where most companies get wiped out."
Chambers, who led Cisco for 30 years through multiple downturns, says that tech companies, especially startups, should brace themselves for a crisis that could last a year. "Cut your other expenses," he said. "Cut travel like crazy. Look at where perhaps you are overspending in marketing. You're not going to be going to key shows, at least not for a while. Pull that money back in. Get frugality back in the company in terms of the overall approach."
Leaders shouldn't "fall into the trap" of feeling like they need all the answers, but they should move forward with conviction, anyway: "Once you've decided to make a decision, do it very aggressively."Chambers also said that the "number one" step for startup founders and CEOs is to "be realistic about how much was external, how much was internal" regarding any problems they're facing.
For this to happen CEOs must at least have the brain some bigger than a chicken, which is not the case in our time.