Cisco

Cisco did not tear up the start-up I worked for when it acquired it, and we managed to retain some of the character that we had before.

It's very difficult to get noticed in such a large organization, with no clear direction. I expected that a large company such as Cisco would be less "quarterly profit" driven. The many layers of management – boards, committees, and what not – make product decisions very difficult to drive in a timely manner.

Break the company into smaller entities and let these excel by independently driving for success. The size and heft is slowing the company down and making it less competitive.