Cisco Chief Product Officer,Next-gen Cybersecurity in the AI Era | Jeetu Patel
E243 | #TheProductPodcast
"In order to be a world class networking company, which is what our core is, you have to be an amazing security company, because otherwise you're just selling dumb pipes."
In this edition of #TheProductPodcast newsletter, we explore the world of enterprise technology with Jeetu Patel, Chief Product Officer at Cisco. With extensive experience in product leadership roles, Jeetu shares valuable insights on AI integration, cybersecurity challenges, and fostering innovation in large organizations.
There are many incredible lessons to learn from Jeetu. Here are a few of the top ones:
Embracing AI in Cybersecurity
"You simply cannot handle the defenses at human scale anymore. You have to do it at machine scale."
Jeetu emphasizes the critical role of AI in modern cybersecurity. He explains how the increasing sophistication and volume of cyber threats necessitate AI-powered defenses. Cisco is integrating AI as a core substrate in their security products to enhance threat detection and response capabilities. This approach allows for more effective protection against the billions of daily attacks on critical infrastructure.
Fostering Innovation in Large Organizations
"Alignment is where most of the time gets spent in large companies... You should be spending 80% of the time building, 20% of the time aligning."
Jeetu discusses the challenges of maintaining innovation as companies grow. He stresses the importance of staying connected to the front line and avoiding excessive focus on alignment at the expense of building. Jeetu advocates for a culture that rewards simplicity and direct customer engagement, even as organizations scale. This approach helps prevent the loss of the entrepreneurial spirit that often drives initial success.
Balancing Competition and Collaboration
"Your competitors have to also be your partners... you're going to compete with your largest partners and you're going to partner with your largest competitors."
Jeetu highlights the importance of ecosystem thinking in today's business landscape. He explains how Cisco collaborates with competitors in cybersecurity to better protect against common threats. This collaborative approach extends to product integrations, such as partnering with Microsoft Teams while competing in the collaboration space. Jeetu emphasizes that this strategy ultimately benefits customers and creates new economic opportunities for all parties involved.
Adapting Product Management for AI
"Product management in the age of AI is going to be very different than product management pre-AI... It's very non-deterministic with AI."
Jeetu discusses the shift in product management practices with the advent of AI. He explains that AI development is less predictable than traditional software development, requiring a more flexible and iterative approach. This change demands product managers to adapt their strategies and expectations, focusing on reinforcement learning and model training rather than feature-based planning.
Simplifying Communication for Scale
"The goal of communication is not to make sure that you sound smart. The goal of communication is to make sure that the receiving party gets smarter as a result of your communication to them."
Jeetu emphasizes the importance of clear, jargon-free communication in large organizations. He explains how excessive use of acronyms and technical language can alienate new employees and hinder understanding. By prioritizing simplicity in communication, Cisco aims to operate more efficiently at scale and maintain a startup-like agility despite its size.
🔑 Key takeaways:
Integrate AI as a core component in cybersecurity solutions to combat sophisticated threats.
Maintain a balance between alignment and building to foster innovation in large organizations.
Embrace ecosystem thinking by collaborating with competitors when it benefits customers.
Adapt product management practices for the non-deterministic nature of AI development.
Prioritize clear, simple communication to maintain agility and understanding at scale.
Stay connected to front-line employees and customers to drive meaningful innovation.
🎧 Check out the full episode here 🎧
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Credits:
Jeetu Patel
Carlos Gonzalez de Villaumbrosia
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