Since talking over as CEO of Cisco in 1995, Chambers has grown the company's revenue from $1 billion to more than $40 billion. For 15 years, he has been a soothing, straightforward presence in the industry, free of the bombast and arrogance that so often characterizes big-league CEOs. He has won plaudits from Wall Street to Washington, and been held up as a shining example of American business at its best.


Back in his early days at the helm, Chambers deserved this near-universal praise. But it's time everyone recognized the much-larger reality:


For more than a decade, John Chambers has failed.
Chambers' shareholder-value-creation strategy has failed. His growth strategy has failed. His management structure has failed. And the result is that Cisco's stock has been dead in the water for more than a decade, even when measured from the bottom of the NASDAQ bust.


Ten years is a long time--plenty of time to evaluate a CEO's performance. And based on Chambers' performance, as Cisco begins its latest re-organization and rebuilding, it's time for Cisco's board to seriously consider giving John Chambers his walking papers.