2020 is almost at an end, and it has been a year that summoned our reserves of adaptability and innovation. We learned new ways to help each other.

I have learned lessons that I will take with me through the rest of my life. Mostly, I learned about trust. I learned how essential it is to be able to count on our partners. I learned how important it is to be the kind of company that our partners can count on.

This situation has called on us all to place trust where we never thought about it before. And we learned what it really means to be "trust-worthy". Never have I appreciated the force of that word.  Our frontline health providers, our first responders ... we trusted them as we never have before. And they rose -heroically -to the challenge.

We've even redefined what we mean by "frontline workers" -postal workers, warehouse and logistics staff, amazon delivery, people brave enough to clean our hospital rooms.

We trust strangers to protect us by wearing masks. And now we trust science and governments to deliver a safe and effective vaccine to the whole world.

And we trusted each other. You, our distributors and partners, trusted Cisco not to get lost in our internal operations and forget you. And we didn't forget you. In fact, we made numerous adjustments to our business and innovated to help our partners.

And we trusted you, our distributors and partners, to stick with us, to work with us, to help our customers and help each other. And you rose to the occasion. And you continue to do so everyday.

Partnerships are built on trust. Businesses don't work without trust.

I'm reminded that someone once said, "When you feel helpless, help someone." Together, that's what we did. We helped our customers, our partners, and each other. We let the world know that, in the face of a once in a lifetime challenge, they can count on us. Together, we proved ourselves "trustworthy."

In the year to come, we will ask things of you that require you to trust us. We will always have our mutual interest at heart. Thank you for your trust. You will always have mine.

Happy New Year to you and your loved ones.