Cisco is headquartered in San Jose, California, USA, and its branches in chelmsford, Massachusetts and Research Triangle Park, North Carolina are responsible for some important business operations of Cisco.
Cisco and its customers are working hard to promote the development of the Internet every day. Cisco believes that the development of the Internet will greatly change the operation mode of enterprises and produce a "global network economy" model. This model enables enterprises of any size to use information exchange technology to maintain a strong interactive business relationship.
Cisco itself is the beneficiary of the "global network economy" model. By using network applications across the Internet and Intranet, operating costs are greatly reduced and direct income is increased. This has increased Cisco's annual revenue by $825 million, and also improved the satisfaction of customers and partners. Cisco's competitiveness in customer support, product reservation and delivery time has also been greatly improved. Cisco currently has the world's largest Internet business website, and 90% of its global business transactions are completed online.
Cisco is one of the most successful companies in America. Since the first router was produced in 1986, Cisco has occupied the first or second market share in every field it entered and become the market leader. Since the listing of 1990, Cisco's annual revenue has increased from $69 million to $22.29 billion in the fiscal year of 200/kloc-0. The company has more than 36,000 employees worldwide.
When college dropouts such as Bill Gates, Larry Ellision, michael dell and Steve Jobs appeared like Cheng in 1970s and 1980s, IT seemed that the whole IT industry would be dominated by "college dropouts". Today, it seems that this "open plan" is basically successful.
Apart from several IT "antiques" such as IBM and Hewlett-Packard, which are still in their prime, the IT industry famous for its high technology is basically the territory of these "low-diploma" heroes. However, it is gratifying that some companies founded by highly educated people have also "seized" some sites, among which Cisco, founded by two Stanford teachers, is the most beautiful. In 2000, Cisco became the most valuable enterprise in the world with an astonishing figure of $532 billion (in the last 20 years, only Microsoft and Cisco have reached the highest peak in the world). Of course, things quickly got worse.
Because Cisco does not provide products to mass consumers, Cisco is a strange company outside the industry: we know the rise of Cisco stock, but we don't know its ins and outs; We know that Cisco sued Huawei with intellectual property weapons, but we don't know why Cisco has its own intellectual property rights. We know that Chambers is the helmsman of Cisco Navigation, but we don't know morrissey, the founder and chairman of the company. We know the news of Cisco's recent painful layoffs, but we don't know the great pain of Chambers breaking his oath of "never laying off employees".
Yes, when it comes to history, Cisco can't compare with IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Oracle and so on. When it comes to culture, Cisco can't compare with Apple and Hewlett-Packard. However, Cisco is indeed the God of Wealth in Silicon Valley, the embodiment of the peak of the Internet and the symbol of the new economy. Cisco represents the glory of the Internet in 10 and the glory of Silicon Valley in 10.
Let's go into the depths of Cisco's history, listen to its progress more truly and grasp its beating pulse.
Cisco, a company founded in 1984, has the same market value as the blue giant IBM. Cisco's stock is one of the hottest stocks in the past 10 years. Since 1990 went public, its value has increased by more than 100 times. The company's market value once surpassed Microsoft and Intel and became the world's number one.
From 65438 to 0995, Cisco became the largest network equipment manufacturer in the world. In 2000, Cisco's annual sales reached $65.438+08 billion, with 36.5438+million employees, and its market value reached $444 billion, second only to GE's $505 billion and Intel's $446 billion, and also surpassed Microsoft's $358 billion for the first time.
March 27th, 2000 is a historic moment. With a total market value of $555 billion, Cisco once surpassed Microsoft to become the most valuable company in the US market, although it took only a short time to reach the top of the world. However, for this moment, it took Microsoft nearly 25 years to climb to its present position, while Cisco only took 16 years.
Cisco is one of the most successful companies in America. Since the first router was produced in 1986, Cisco has occupied the first or second market share in every field it entered and become the market leader. Since the listing of 1990, Cisco's annual revenue has increased from $69 million to $22.29 billion in the fiscal year of 200/kloc-0. The company has more than 36,000 employees worldwide.
Cisco is addicted to mergers and acquisitions. Since 1993 acquired Crescendo, it took Cisco less than ten years to acquire 8 1 companies. No company in M&A has been so successful. ..
1984, leonard bosack and Sandy Lerner founded Cisco in San Jose, Silicon Valley. They are a teacher couple in Stanford. Posack is the director of the Computer Center of the Computer Department of Stanford University, and Lerner is the director of the Computer Center of Stanford Business School. The marriage of two computer executives is also a story. Of course, more importantly, they designed a new networking device for the Stanford Campus Network (SUNet), which integrated incompatible computer LANs on campus to form a unified network. This kind of equipment is called "multi-protocol router", which indicates the real arrival of the network era.
These routers were developed in the late 1970s, and the couple planned to start their own company and commercialize it. Therefore, there is an intellectual property dispute between the couple and Stanford University. After all, these products are "job inventions" and universities have intellectual property rights. Fortunately, Stanford University did not adopt the traditional rigid attitude in intellectual property rights, but was lenient and did not investigate further (of course, it also charged a certain patent fee). Today, it seems that it was wise for the school not to "kill the goose to get the egg". Otherwise, there would not be today's network equipment overlord, and there would not be astronomical donations from Posack and Lerner. Open Stanford has gained a huge "return on investment" by giving up intellectual property rights. After getting rich, the couple also thanked the school and tried their best to give back to their alma mater.
Both husband and wife are smart, diligent and, of course, lucky. They seized an excellent opportunity at the right time. 1March 1986, the first product was finally launched. These routers have become the cornerstone of the company's road to prosperity. It is these routers that pieced together different networks in the world and formed today's huge Internet. Cisco's name comes from San Francisco, where there is a world-famous Golden Gate Bridge. In the information age, it will also be more famous because of the unimpeded "Golden Bridge" between networks built by Cisco. The couple 1990 quit Cisco.
John Chambers is the president and CEO of Cisco Systems, a leading global manufacturer of Internet. 199 1 joined Cisco systems as vice president, the company's sales income in that year was only $70 million, with a market value of $600 million. During his last four years as president and CEO from 1995 to 1, Cisco Systems established a leading position in the main fields of the network industry and expanded into new market areas. By fiscal year 1999, the sales revenue of Cisco system has reached1265438+400 million USD.
Recently, Upside magazine, located in Silicon Valley, USA, named john Chambers "the king of the digital world"; American Business Week also named him as one of the top 25 senior corporate presidents for the second time in just three years. In the opinion poll of top executives in the world conducted by E-commerce magazine, Chambers was elected as "CEO of the Year" with 1997. In addition, as one of the most innovative and enterprising business leaders recognized by the global business community, Chambers was also elected as a member of President Clinton's Trade Policy Committee.
Recently, at a White House meeting, President Clinton and Vice President Gore talked about Cisco Systems, saying that Cisco Systems is "the best company not only in the network industry, but also in any field". They also believe that Chambers is a real leader in the network industry, the American economy and even the global economy.
Cisco Systems, founded 19 years ago, is the fastest growing company in the information industry. In just over ten years, the market value of Cisco Systems has exceeded $400 billion, making it one of the top ten companies with the most competitive strength in the world. How to use the opportunities provided by the Internet to gain a stable competitive advantage is a model of Cisco system. 1997, e-commerce transactions of Cisco system accounted for one third of global transactions. At present, 73% of Cisco Systems' ordering process is conducted through the Internet. From 65438 to 0998, Forbes magazine rated Cisco system as "the most powerful company in America" and Fortune magazine listed Cisco system as one of the "25 best companies in America".
Another representative of the myth of Silicon Valley
Chambers, in his fifties, is of medium build, well-proportioned, with blond curly hair, slightly sparse hair, focused eyes and always smiling. When Chambers walked into the meeting, he looked like an energetic country doctor, not a serious CEO. He wanted to see the clinic full of patients. This guy moves fast, talks like an auctioneer and has a southern accent in West Virginia. He is good at listening and observing each other's body language. His smooth expression and natural and unrestrained manner are always impressive. However, such an ordinary American southerner has no technical background. Today, the CEO is becoming the hottest star in the computer industry and leading the most advanced technology company in the world.
Chambers' success is an alternative representative of the myth of Silicon Valley. There is a popular saying in Silicon Valley that there are only two possibilities for business success: either you are the founder of a company or you are an outstanding engineer. Chambers, on the other hand, is neither. He didn't participate in the creation of the Cisco company he leads now, nor was he an engineer, and he didn't even know some more in-depth technical details of Cisco products. However, Cisco occupies the first or second market share in almost all its fields; After its listing, its stock continued to rise rapidly and became the company with the highest market value. Cisco's success should be attributed to Chambers' excellent strategic vision and operational ability.
Learn from failure
Cisco is the first successful company that Chambers worked for. His previous positions at IBM and Wang An Company coincided with the decline of these two companies. He understands that this decline is caused by the outdated concept of the computer industry, so he knows that if he makes this mistake himself, Cisco will still make the same mistake.
Chambers traveled around and made friends. And has established an unusual alliance with Compaq, Microsoft and Intel. The calm, confident and personable boss is full of energy and looks far younger than his actual age. He knows very well that it is not easy for him to join the ranks of Bill Gates and Andy Grove. He has this self-knowledge, his humility is sincere, and he is not the kind of president who is always looking for the spotlight. When he was a child, Chambers was afraid to speak on the stage. He never liked public speaking. When he entered primary school, he was told that he had dyslexia, but it didn't scare him. He tried to overcome his shortcomings. When he was studying law at West Virginia University, he liked playing basketball very much, from which he realized the importance of team spirit. Later, he obtained a bachelor's degree in law, and then went to Indiana University to study for a master's degree in business administration and a doctor of law from West Virginia University. Chambers married Elena Barrett, a high school classmate, and had a son and a daughter.
Wolves from Silicon Valley.
199 1 year, Chambers was hired by John morrissey, then CEO of Cisco, as Senior Vice President of Global Operations. At that time, the company had only 300 employees and an annual income of 70 million US dollars. 1994 was promoted to executive vice president, and began to work with morici and CTO-Edward Kozel to formulate a new strategic idea for the company: to quickly acquire and merge small companies with the money in his pocket, especially to catch "hunting dogs" with hot technology and savvy engineering technicians.
They have tried it before. 1In August 1993, they were going to buy Crescendo Company for 90 million dollars. Later, Chambers recalled his fear before attending the board meeting: "We don't know how the directors will react, because according to common sense, the effect of high-tech mergers and acquisitions is often not ideal." As a result, the board of directors gave the green light, which may be the smartest decision in Cisco's history. Within a month, Crescendo was pocketed (by 1996, Crescendo's hub revenue reached 500 million dollars). Since then, Cisco has had a big appetite.
1995, Chambers was appointed President and CEO. Cisco's total revenue has exceeded 1 billion dollars, and the acquisition momentum is fierce. By the end of 1996, the company had acquired 13 companies, including Stratacom, the first real big fish. This is a large company with an annual income of 400 million dollars and employees 1200. 1In April 1996, Cisco spent $4 billion in cash and stock to eat it.
The key to M&A lies in digestion. Chambers knew this well, so they chose the strategy of eating only grass beside the nest. The company does not buy companies outside Silicon Valley, which can save employees and their families the trouble of moving. In addition, Cisco has gained a reputation for generosity. After four years of merger, the company quickly entered many new markets and established a huge professional talent pool. By the end of 1997, Cisco had acquired 19 companies for $6 billion, with more than 10000 employees worldwide. About 40% of the revenue of $6.5 billion in 1997 fiscal year came from the acquired projects. Because of the sweetness of the acquisition, the momentum is even more difficult to suppress. We will try our best to get the products we need. Once we find something we like, we will get it at all costs.
Chambers made two major changes to Cisco. First, he pays attention to the market and customers, and decides the direction of technology according to the requirements of customers. In the past 65,438+00 years, Cisco changed its direction seven times, and what technologies and products customers migrated to also changed. As a result, Cisco changed from a company that only produces routers to a company that produces 25 kinds of network communication equipment, and its sales increased from $70 million to 654.38+08 billion. The second is to segment the market and strive for the first or second position in each product field. If you can't do it in a certain field, you can cooperate with your partner, which is actually to acquire or merge the other company. It is said that Cisco made its first acquisition because its customers needed a company's products, so they decided to buy this company.
Usually, the research and development cycle of a new generation of network equipment products is 18 months to 24 months, and the acquisition can take the second half to one year. "Speed means sales revenue, market share and profit." Of course, the most delicious ones are the small companies that have the latest technology and have a year or so to launch their products. Cisco used this time to integrate the products of the acquired company into Cisco's product line. It can not only make full use of Cisco's brand, sales force and market leading position, but also give full play to the advantages of this technology. This strategy is very effective, which makes it occupy the 15 market in different fields like a whirlwind. As of July 20001year, Cisco acquired 6 1 companies and paid tens of billions of dollars. In 2000 alone, it merged 22 companies through acquisition or stock exchange. Since Cisco switched to IP telephone network business, it began to buy software and companies that produce modems. Of course, in addition to cash, they also use "Cisco money", which is Cisco stock. In short, "customers need it, I don't have it, so buy it" has become a standard of Cisco's acquisition activities.
The most legendary is Cerent, a company that produces optical fiber equipment. 1999, Chambers met Russell, CEO of this new company, and cut to the chase: "Tell me, how much can I pay for your company?" Mr. Russell is also very funny: "Tell me, how much will it cost me to make you give up this idea?" In the end, Cisco acquired this small company with sales revenue of more than $65.438+million in two years at that time with shares worth $6.9 billion. Some people described Chambers as "like a wolf from Silicon Valley, constantly looking for prey suitable for merger".
Chambers' achievements are well known, and his colleagues in Silicon Valley are even more convinced. Pratt, President and CEO of Hewlett-Packard Company, said, "John deserves my respect because he has developed a young small company into an excellent big enterprise. He's great. He acquired many companies and made them operate successfully under the umbrella of Cisco. "
The art of leadership is maturing.
Chambers is not complacent about his achievements. This competitive boss always shows his sincerity when he says "It feels good to win". Past experience tells him: "There are two reasons why enterprises are in trouble: one is to stay away from customers, and the other is to stay away from employees." He admired IBM 20 years ago: "They are really close to customers, so customers respect them".
It's hard to find him at the headquarters of the scenic spot company. Because he spends 40% of his time on the road. He meets 2- 12 customers on average every day. He usually gets off work at 7 pm, and then invites local employees to eat pizza and drink beer together. Whether at home in Mount Alto or in a hotel, he personally checks all the major accounts of Cisco every night: "I may be the only CEO of a company of this size."
In the market, he is full of charm, has a good reputation and has established a long-term strategy for the company. He said: "When time is measured by' Internet Year', that is, time flies, competition cannot be eliminated. All we have to do is buy ourselves some time. You don't have to gamble through the heart of the company and let the whole world see it bleed. I don't think this is necessary or constructive. "
In the past few years, Chambers' leadership art has matured. He summarized the company's strategy into four aspects: collecting enough kinds of products to make Cisco an all-round supplier on the Internet; Systematize the acquisition and merger work and make it a special working procedure; Define enterprise-wide software standards for network tools; Finally, choose the right strategic partner. Chambers believes that as long as he skillfully plays these routines, he will naturally achieve his fifth and final goal: to make Cisco the main architect of infrastructure. This infrastructure includes traditional audio communication and even cable TV network. Today, routers, converters and other devices manufactured by Cisco carry 80% of the global Internet communication.
Let employees share the success and challenges of the company.
Another key to Cisco's success is to retain talents in hot technology fields. You paid $500,000 to $2 million for each employee. If we can't keep them, the price will be too high. At present, the voluntary turnover rate of employees in the company is only 6%. Cisco has a unique all-staff option scheme in the world: 40% of the options are given to ordinary employees, not senior managers. "When I just graduated from business school, if someone told me that all employees would be given options, 40% of which would be given to ordinary employees, I would probably say, isn't this socialism? But now I know that this is actually the ultimate form of capitalism. This is a very unique capitalist way, which integrates the company's goals with the employees' goals and allows employees to share the company's success and challenges. Very effective. "
An ordinary employee can earn an average of $30,000 equity as long as he has worked for 12 months. "They are not product line managers, vice presidents or supervisors, but ordinary individual investors." Stocks have greatly enhanced the cohesion and combat effectiveness of the company. A few years ago, writer Joe Flowers wrote in a book: "Why do Cisco employees always smile?" He even wondered if all these employees had been brainwashed, and then he did an arithmetic problem: "If you had worked at Cisco as early as 1992 and were a senior system engineer, you would have been allocated about 5,000 shares. If you have been holding these stocks, by now, its dividend has exceeded 2.4 million US dollars, which is enough for you to buy several houses in Silicon Valley. " Finally, Joe Flora said: Microsoft may have several billionaires, but Cisco has more and more billionaires. No wonder those employees are happy every day. 1999, Cisco employees held blue chips worth $439 million.
For the "prey" he wants to buy, Chambers will personally check the stock distribution: Are the stocks in the hands of several investors or senior managers? How do they treat employees? So as to judge whether the corporate culture is compatible with Cisco. This kind of investigation is generally 6- 12 months. Once the company wanted to buy a company that everyone was optimistic about. The product is right and the price is right, but the employees have to be fired after the merger. Chambers finally gave up. "The key to the success of M&A lies in the choice. Just like marriage, if you get married after only one date, marriage is unlikely to be happy. If you know the conditions of mate selection and spend a lot of time researching and pursuing, the success rate will increase. "
Chambers knows that if he sticks to his self-esteem, Cisco will become another DEC or IBM. He understands that customers will eventually gain internal knowledge and professional skills, thus getting rid of the shackles of manufacturers. Therefore, manufacturers must constantly upgrade and realize value-added in front of customers. At the same time, Cisco must get rid of the boundaries of routers and attract more customers with more products. But routers are the foundation and still account for about 50% of the income. Chambers turned his attention to software. Like PC, routers and switches are controlled by software, and Cisco hopes to formulate standards applicable to the whole network industry. Cisco uses IOS (Internet Operating System) to name its own software brand, and plans to make it a new direction after PC operating system and network operating system. However, Eric, CEO of competitor 3Com, believes that Cisco's software strategy is just an old way to promote sales. He believes that IOS is by no means a real operating system, but just ordinary software.
There is a widely spread true story: a Finnish customer fell ill after coming to Cisco, and Chambers flew the customer's family to the United States by special plane. Because the client was dissatisfied with the nursing work in the hospital, Chambers immediately asked him to transfer to a better hospital.
Become a member of "Wintelco"
Cisco's stock is one of the hottest stocks in 10 years. Since the listing of 190, it has increased by more than 100 times, ranking first or second among the seven major equipment markets in which it participated in the competition. In terms of internet technology, it has been far ahead. The company's market value is also second only to Microsoft and Intel, ranking third in the IT industry. Chambers and his company indisputably entered the highest-level high-tech club. To this end, the media created a news term called "Wintelco" (more people suspect that it was created by Cisco itself behind the scenes), which turned Cisco into a suffix of Wintel, meaning that the computer industry will become Intel, Microsoft and Cisco. Bill Gates giggled when the word "Wintelco" was mentioned. He thought for a moment and said, "Our relationship (with Cisco) may be a bit like our relationship with Intel. Of course, this relationship is relatively new and needs further understanding. I don't think we have a close tripartite alliance. However, according to the actual situation, things may develop in this direction. "
Although the word "Wintelco" is awkward and ridiculous, it is true. Chambers knows that opportunities and challenges always go hand in hand, so he always encourages employees to accept challenges and cultivate fighting spirit. He often said: "We must challenge traditional thinking, and both individuals and companies need to always set a challenging goal." Under the leadership of Chambers, Cisco's performance in the world can be said to be extraordinary. Wherever the standards go, the market is shocked. It has achieved supreme status on the Internet, and its achievements can be compared with Microsoft's position in the PC operating system and Intel's position in the microprocessor market.
Bill Gates and Grove are two idols in this industry, and standing with them will not make this polite CEO cringe. "Microsoft and Intel have fundamentally changed the way people use personal computers, and we at Cisco also believe that we can change the whole industry through network technology." 1998, in the annual "giant" named by Upside, Chambers stood out and surpassed Bill Gates to rank first.
But Cisco is still a developing giant, and its revenue is only half of that of Microsoft and one fifth of that of Intel. His position in the online market is not comparable to that of Microsoft and Intel in the industry. And in the eyes of the public, Cisco is still unknown. Industry insiders joke that Cisco is often confused with Sysco, a distributor of food for restaurants and school cafes. But no one will confuse Microsoft with Intel and food companies. Cisco seems to be troubled by brand recognition. Chambers is also eager to improve the company's image and use mass media for brand promotion.
At the same time, Chambers is a very "politicized" businessman. Cisco set up an office in Washington long ago. Chambers looked for every opportunity to "communicate" with Joe Klein, the official in charge of the Microsoft case in the antitrust department of the US Department of Justice. Chambers is one of the leading figures in dealing with politics in Silicon Valley. He is also a member of the US President's Trade Policy Committee.
The most valuable company in the world
Chambers once predicted: "It has gone through four generations. The first generation was the mainframe era, with IBM playing the leading role; The second generation is the minicomputer era, and DEC once occupied the leading role. The third generation is PC and LAN era, in which Intel and Microsoft play leading roles. The fourth generation is the Internet age, and Cisco will play the leading role. Cisco has the ability to play a leading role in the fourth era. " With the rapid growth of Internet, Chambers' prediction seems just around the corner.
Internet has greatly stimulated market demand and become the most powerful marketing force for the company's development. Of course, Cisco should set an example and turn itself into an Internet company first. Therefore, using the Internet to implement authorization management has become a new magic weapon for the Chamber of Commerce. The Internet is the equalizer of the business world. Cisco uses the Internet in all aspects, so it can stand out from its competitors, beat powerful competitors and make them partners. Now, Cisco is further competing with Lucent, Nortel and Siemens.
The Internet has changed everything for Cisco. The Internet also makes virtual manufacturing, reducing inventory and so on possible. 82% of customers' orders are placed online, which is equivalent to $40 million per day; 85% of customer support is through the network; Of the 20,000 job applications received each month, 90% come from the Internet. Cisco can make financial settlement within 24 hours; Wait a minute. Internet applications save Cisco $600 million a year, which is more than the R&D budget of many competitors.
More importantly, because Cisco has made full use of the Internet, the data and information of costs and profits in every competitive field in the world have become transparent, companies can fully authorize them, and employees can make decisions quickly, which was previously only made by CEO or CFO. Front-line managers can know in the first week after the end of each quarter why the original goal has not been achieved. Is it because of network problems, parts problems or intensified competition? This greatly improves the efficiency. As a result, the average income generated by Cisco employees is as high as $700,000, while the competitors of traditional companies only have $220,000.
From 65438 to 0995, Cisco became the largest network equipment manufacturer in the world. In 2000, Cisco's annual sales reached $65.438+08 billion, with 36.5438+million employees, and its market value reached $444 billion, second only to GE's $505 billion and Intel's $446 billion, and also surpassed Microsoft's $358 billion for the first time.
March 27th, 2000 is a historic moment. With a total market value of $555 billion, Cisco once surpassed Microsoft to become the most valuable company in the US market, although it took only a short time to reach the top of the world. However, for this moment, it took Microsoft nearly 25 years to climb to its present position, while Cisco only took 16 years.
In the ever-changing stock market, there is no eternal first. From the mid-1950s to the present, the companies with the highest market value have changed. IBM and AT&T once ruled for 65,438+09.5 and 65,438+03.5 years, and then gave way to Exxon. In the mid-1990s, General Electric rose to the first place, and was replaced by Microsoft after being the overlord for more than four years. Cisco replaced Microsoft, but it was soon surpassed by Microsoft. For a time, the "battle for the throne" among Microsoft, General Motors and Cisco (plus Intel) became a landscape in the capital market. At that time, the market value of GE was about 4.8 times of its revenue, that of Microsoft was 18 times, and that of Cisco was 35.8 times. Of course, with the sharp adjustment of the technology stock market, the traditional industry General Electric soon made a comeback.
Can the myth of Cisco continue?
Chambers is considered to be the best person to let enterprises make full use of their strengths and avoid weaknesses to tide over the difficulties, even he himself thinks so. But the global IT winter in this new century is still far beyond his experience. According to him, the Internet economy in the United States is experiencing a "once-in-a-century flood". No one expected such a situation in advance. "For those of us who are on the scene, there is no good way to foresee this in advance."
When the reporter asked him if the Internet economy would be exciting again, he replied: "My parents have always taught me that to accumulate experience from life, the development of everything in the world sometimes can't be as expected immediately, so the revitalization of the Internet economy may take longer than we thought."
Cisco used to be one of the fastest growing companies in the world, and now it has to suffer with Internet companies. Not only did business lose money, but sales fell sharply. Since March, 2000, the market value loss has been as high as $430 billion, greatly reduced to $654.38+0.540 billion, which is the loss suffered by investors in history.