Take a look at this and notice the valuable questions Chambers asks when he interviews candidates. Great lessons here for all of us. Life is demanding that all of us get out on a limb and try some new things these days. Daily life is an act of courage these days, isn’t it? — Daisy

In a Near-Death Event, a Corporate Rite of Passage

Source: Peter DaSilva for The New York Times

Q. What are the most important leadership lessons you’ve learned?
A. People think of us as a product of our successes. I’d actually argue that we’re a product of the challenges we faced in life. And how we handled those challenges probably had more to do with what we accomplish in life.

I had an issue with dyslexia before they understood what dyslexia was. One of my teachers, Mrs. Anderson, taught me to look at it like a curveball. The ball breaks the same way every time. Once you get used to it, you can handle it pretty well.

So I went from almost being embarrassed reading in front of a class — you lose your place, and I read right to left — to the point where I knew I could overcome challenges. I think it also taught me sensitivity toward others.

I learned another lesson from Jack Welch. It was in 1998, and at that time we were one of the most valuable companies in the world. I said, “Jack, what does it take to have a great company?” And he said, “It takes major setbacks and overcoming those.”

I hesitated for a minute, and I said, “Well, we did that in ’93 and then we did it again in ’97 with the Asian financial crisis.” And he said, “No, John. I mean a near-death experience.” I didn’t understand exactly what he meant.

Then, in 2001, we had a near-death experience. We went from the most valuable company in the world to a company where they questioned the leadership. And in 2003, he called me up and said, “John, you now have a great company.” I said, “Jack, it doesn’t feel like it.” But he was right.

Q. How has your leadership style evolved over time?

A. I’m a command-and-control person. I like being able to say turn right, and we truly have 67,000 people turn right. But that’s the style of the past. Today’s world requires a different leadership style — more collaboration and teamwork, including using Web 2.0 technologies. If you had told me I’d be video blogging and blogging, I would have said, no way. And yet our 20-somethings in the company really pushed me to use that more.

Q. Did you need to be pushed?

A. I thought I was very leading-edge in terms of how I communicated. My team just kept pushing, and I finally said, “Why do you want me to do this?” And they said: “John, if you don’t do it our company won’t learn how to do this. It won’t be built into our DNA for the way we interface with customers, our employees. The top has to walk the talk.” I was expecting text blogging and we did video blogging.

The first one was a little bit uncomfortable, because it’s very unprofessional. You just basically put a camera there, and you go. By the second one, I realized this was going to transform communications — not just for the C.E.O., but it would change how we do business.

Q. You mentioned Jack Welch. Who else do you rely on for advice?

A. My wife. She has a way of picking me up when I get knocked on my tail. But also if I get a little bit overconfident, she brings me back to earth.

The other day, I was practicing a concept with her and saying, “You know, there are two major mistakes that I make and Cisco makes repeatedly.” She looked at me and she said, “Only two?”

My mistakes are always around moving too slow, or moving too fast without process behind it. And it’s something that, if we’re not careful, we’ll repeat again and again.

Q. How do you hire?

A. First thing I want to ask you about: tell me about your results. I never get hard work confused with success. So I’d walk you through the successes, and what did you do right.

I’d also ask you to tell me about your failures. And that’s something people make a tremendous mistake on. First, all of us have had mistakes and failures. And it’s surprising how many people say, “Well, I can’t think of one.” That immediately loses credibility. It’s the ability to be very candid on what mistakes they’ve made, and then the question is, what would you do differently this time?

Then I ask them who are the best people you recruited and developed, and where are they today? Third, I try to figure out if they’re really oriented around the customer. Are they driven by the customer, or is the customer just somebody who gets in the way?

And I look at their communication skills, and one of the largest parts of communications is … what?

Q. Listening?

A. You betcha. Seeing how they listen, and are they willing to challenge you? And then I look at their knowledge in industry segments, especially the area I’m interested in.

Q. What’s changed in the last few years?

A. Big time, the importance of collaboration. Big time, people who have teamwork skills, and their use of technology. If they’re not collaborative, if they aren’t naturally inclined toward collaboration and teamwork, if they are uncomfortable with using technology to make that happen both within Cisco and in their own life, they’re probably not going to fit in here.

Adam Bryant conducted and condensed this interview. A longer version is at nytimes.com/business.