Thompson stresses the need for customer diversity. Software companies that were dependent on Fortune 1000 companies for their business suffered when their niche clients also suffered in the economic downturn. If a company is to survive challenging economic times, companies must have a diverse customer base, he says. Symantec brings stability to its business by serving individual customers as well as the largest governments and corporations. It brings essential geographic diversity by deriving 51% of its business from outside the US.

1. Changes in Enterprise Software: 2002-2004
2. Retooling the Infrastructure of Your Company
3. Customers Must Drive Your Business Model
4. Customer Diversity is Essential
5. You Cannot Stop Spending to Innovate for Customers
6. Security Business Post-9/11
7. To Hedge or Not to Hedge?
8. Envisioning the Future: John Thompson
9. Security is a Broad Domain of Technology
10. Identifying Opportunities: Intrusion Detection
11. Stick to Core Mission, Focus, and Keep It Simple
12. Pervasiveness and Execution: Staying Ahead of Competitors
13. What is the History of Security Software
14. Acquisition and Growth for Symantec
15. Competition: Network Association vs. Symantec
16. Will Symantec Expand to Include Transaction-Based Security Products?
17. Measuring Success: You Measure What Matters

W. Thompson lecture on Entrepreneurship for Stanford University students, May 23, 2003. Returning to talk at Stanford after two years, John Thompson, chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer of Symantec Corporation, talks about the changes in the technology sector and the enterprise software space.



Course Details:

- Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders Lecture

- Stanford University's Entrepreneurship Corner (ecorner)



Original Course Name: Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders Lecture.