Thompson states that a company must never stop spending, even in challenging times. As Symantec entered the challenging 2001, the problem was about the cost of owning and operating the security infrastructure that customers had deployed around the world, he says. Customers had no way to measure the effectiveness of the technology they deployed so Symantec spent 15-16% of revenues to build a portofolio of tools that are now the model for how security ought to be done.

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.