Whatever the reason, Cisco bungled a major product transition in its core, bedrock business, which is a no-no in any company, much less a public Fortune 100 titan. The effects took the company by surprise, which confirms that it was not paying close enough attention to the logistics of the transition.

Cisco is now attempting to rededicate itself to core routing and switching, lopping off Flip and winnowing down its consumer operations. Expect this renewed focus to be an ongoing trait as Cisco bulks up its core business and perhaps looks to exit more adjacent markets.

Loss of focus, slow decision-making, lack of execution, distraction, even the ambition (or overconfidence?) to try to enter 30 adjacent markets -- these are symptoms of mismanagement.

Before this week, Cisco management was comprised of nine boards and councils. These boards and councils were to instill a more horizontal, less siloed decision-making process, which was intended to improve the company's coordination and efficiency in developing integrated products and systems. They are staffed by the heads of Cisco's product development and marketing groups, and the CTO.