#124 Larry Ellison and Oracle

In the book "Softwar: An Intimate Portrait of Larry Ellison and Oracle" by Matthew Symonds, Larry Ellison is depicted as a complex and paradoxical figure, both admired and criticized for his intense drive, relentless competitiveness, and confrontational nature. Despite his wealth and success, Ellison's life is guided by the constant pursuit of self-discovery and improvement, often through high-stakes challenges and innovation. His leadership style, marked by certainty and bravado, reflects his belief that winning is a habit and that leaders must inspire confidence. Ellison's strategic focus on the Internet as the future of computing and his decision to pivot Oracle towards it, despite internal opposition, showcases his foresight and willingness to take calculated risks. His story reveals a man who, despite his disdain for authority and formal schooling, has a deep respect for history and a desire to leave a lasting impact on the tech industry.

• Matthew Simmons describes Larry Ellison as optimistic, with a strong self-belief, even during Oracle's tough times.
• Ellison is considered controversial, with some viewing him as a showman or even a liar.
• Simmons finds Ellison more complex and interesting than media portrayals suggest.
• Ellison is characterized by his humor, seriousness, and intellectual curiosity.
• Ellison embodies many contradictions: he is vain yet shy, extroverted yet in need of reassurance, and materialistic yet yearning for simplicity.
• He is confrontational in business but avoids personal confrontations.
• Ellison demonstrates a blend of intense control and detachment.

"His unquenchionable optimism and almost messianic self belief never faltered."

This quote highlights Ellison's unwavering confidence and positive outlook, even when faced with challenges at Oracle.

"Much about Ellison is paradoxical, even contradictory."

The quote summarizes the complex and multifaceted nature of Ellison's personality, emphasizing his paradoxical traits.

• The book "Soft War" by Matthew Simmons offers an intimate portrait of Larry Ellison and Oracle.
• The book is unique because Ellison provides footnotes with his commentary throughout.
• These footnotes allow Ellison to express counterpoints or amplify points he deems important.
• The format ensures that neither the author nor Ellison can alter each other's words.

"An innovative twist was that Ellison would have the right of reply or commentary within the book, which he could either use to express a counterpoint to any of my conclusions that he disagreed with or to amplify things that he thought were important."

This quote explains the unique collaborative format of the book, where Ellison has the opportunity to directly address the reader with his perspectives.

• Larry Ellison's adoptive father, Lou Ellison, had a traditional view of authority, believing officials should be obeyed without question.
• Larry Ellison, however, questioned everything and had a lack of respect for authority, which caused friction with his father.
• This rebellious nature is a key aspect of Ellison's personality, influencing his decisions throughout life.

"Ellison says he believed that our country's officials and authority figures in general were always right and should be obeyed without question. I couldn't accept his blind faith in authority figures. I had the opposite point of view. I questioned everything."

The quote illustrates the fundamental difference in attitudes toward authority between Larry Ellison and his adoptive father, highlighting Ellison's skepticism and questioning nature.

• Ellison's competitiveness may stem from the abuse he suffered from his adoptive father.
• Lou Ellison doubted Larry would amount to anything, which could have fueled Larry's drive to succeed.
• Ellison's questioning of conventional wisdom and authority is seen as a key personality trait.

"The single most important aspect of my personality is my questioning of conventional wisdom, my doubting of experts just because they are experts. My questioning of authority."

This quote encapsulates Ellison's philosophy of challenging the status quo and skepticism towards authority, which has been a significant influence on his life and career.

• Ellison was not a fan of formal education, finding it difficult to engage with subjects he wasn't interested in.
• His disdain for authority extended to his teachers, whom he often found to be mistaken.
• Ellison's poor grades in school were a result of his lack of respect for his teachers and the education system.

"I didn't respect or like most of my teachers, I didn't think they were very smart, and half the time they didn't seem to know what they were talking about. They constantly made mistakes, and I enjoyed pointing them out."

The quote reveals Ellison's critical view of his teachers and his enjoyment in challenging their authority, which is consistent with his overall attitude towards authority figures.

• Ellison discovered a passion for physics and programming, which validated his intelligence.
• He appreciated programming for its logical nature and the freedom it afforded him.
• Programming allowed Ellison to work on his terms and be judged on his abilities rather than his educational background.

"I was intrigued by physics because it seemed to answer the most basic questions about our world."

This quote reflects Ellison's intellectual curiosity and his search for understanding through the study of physics.

• Ellison's early career was characterized by a desire for freedom and an aversion to conformity.
• He found programming liberating as it allowed him to work flexibly and be evaluated on his performance.
• Ellison's early life was a balance between seeking freedom and the realization that he needed to take work more seriously.

"Programming liberated me from that. I could work in the middle of the night. I could wear jeans and a t-shirt. I could ride my motorcycle to work, and I'd make more money if I could solve the problem faster and better than anyone else."

This quote highlights the sense of liberation Ellison felt through programming, which enabled him to escape the conventional expectations of the workplace.

• Ellison's experience as vice president of R&D revealed to him the lack of competence at the top levels of tech companies.
• This realization led him to believe he could run a company himself.
• Ellison saw that many senior managers were conformist and bureaucratic, which contrasted with his own problem-solving and decision-making abilities.

"I'd always believed that the top of these companies, there must be exceptionally capable people who make the entire technology industry work. Now here I was working near the top of a tech company, and those capable people were nowhere to be found."

The quote expresses Ellison's disillusionment upon discovering that the senior management of tech companies were not as capable as he had expected.

• Oracle started as a side job for Larry Ellison, with the intention of having control over his life and earning better rewards.
• Larry Ellison's initial vision for his company was to keep it small, hire only smart people, and work on projects that wouldn't take much time.
• The ideal job for Ellison was one perceived as difficult but could be quickly overcome with cleverness.
• Software Development Laboratories, which would become Oracle, was formed to bid on a contract for Omex's mass storage system software.
• Larry Ellison wanted to avoid managing people and never aspired to run a large company.

"Having his own company would simply allow him to go on with his life, but with more control over it and better rewards."

This quote encapsulates Larry Ellison's primary motivation for starting his own business: to maintain autonomy over his professional life and reap greater benefits than he would as an employee.

"All we really needed were a few smart people who could do these so-called hard jobs quickly and we'd make a lot of money while not working all that hard."

Ellison's strategy focused on efficiency and intelligence, aiming to solve complex problems quickly with a small team to maximize profit and minimize effort.

• Larry Ellison's ambition was to avoid unrewarding work and to work with people he respected.
• His desire for control over his environment was a driving force behind founding Oracle.
• Initially, Oracle (Software Development Laboratories) engaged in consulting, but Ellison found it more demanding than anticipated.
• Ellison's realization that his "hard problems cleverly solved" business model did not scale led to a pivot from consulting to software products.
• Oracle's shift to software products was motivated by the potential for leverage, allowing the same product to be sold repeatedly.

"What motivated me was the desire to control my environment so I wouldn't have to do things I didn't want to do or spend time with people I didn't enjoy working with."

Ellison's motivation for starting Oracle was to create a work environment that aligned with his personal preferences and to avoid undesirable tasks and company.

"Consulting proved to be much more work than I'd ever imagined. My hard problems cleverly solved. Business model did not scale up beyond a few people proving I was not nearly as clever as I thought."

This quote reflects Ellison's realization that his initial business model was unsustainable and required a strategic shift to ensure Oracle's growth and success.

• Oracle aimed to develop the world's first commercial relational database, inspired by theoretical research at IBM.
• Ellison's strategy was to tackle difficult projects that others avoided due to the perceived risk.
• Oracle targeted the mini-computer market to avoid direct competition with IBM's mainframe market.
• The company's focus on innovation and being the first to market was seen as a way to avoid crowded competition.

"If we could build a fast and reliable relational database, we would have it made."

Ellison recognized the potential of creating a relational database and its significant impact on Oracle's success in the software market.

"The bigger the apparent risk, the fewer people that will try to go there."

This quote highlights Ellison's contrarian approach to business, where he actively sought high-risk, high-reward opportunities to avoid competition and achieve market dominance.

• Ellison's leadership style was characterized by bursts of intense work followed by rest, contrasting with the continuous grind of other tech leaders like Bill Gates.
• He was known for his ability to inspire and persuade others, often focusing on recruiting believers in his vision rather than just selling software.
• Ellison embraced high-risk situations and was open about his mistakes and learning process.
• His personal life suffered due to his work commitments, leading to the failure of his second marriage due to self-absorption and neglect of family.

"I am a sprinter. I rest, I sprint, I rest, I sprint again."

Ellison's work style was sporadic and intense, which allowed him to focus intensely on tasks in short bursts rather than maintaining a constant pace.

"What Ellison does best is inspire, flatter, amuse, and finally steamroller skepticism with his own massive certainty."

This quote captures Ellison's charismatic approach to leadership, where his confidence and passion for his ideas helped him to overcome doubts and win over skeptics.

• Oracle faced a cash crisis due to rapid growth, accounting irregularities, and late payments from customers.
• The company's lack of central control and autonomous organizations contributed to its financial difficulties.
• Ellison's personal struggles, including heavy borrowing against his shares and his third marriage breakup, coincided with Oracle's business challenges.
• Despite the adversity, Ellison's determination was fueled by his adoptive father's doubts about his potential for success.

"Oracle had a serious cash crisis, an ultra-fast growing company that suddenly hit a wall, and this turned to a painful reverse into something almost terminal."

This statement outlines the severity of Oracle's financial crisis, which threatened the company's existence and required significant changes to overcome.

"My father said I would never succeed. He seemed that he might be right after all."

Ellison's personal drive to prove his adoptive father wrong was a significant motivational factor during the difficult times Oracle faced, pushing him to work towards the company's survival and success.

• Ellison admits to his past mistakes, particularly neglecting sales and oversight.
• He allowed sales to manage their own contracts, leading to poor financial decisions.
• Oracle engaged in risky sales tactics, such as offering huge discounts and selling to companies unable to pay.
• Exotic barter deals, like trading software for jets, were made without practical considerations.
• Ellison reflects on his disinterest in aspects of the business outside of technology and product development.
• He acknowledges that his lack of attention to other business areas was a mistake.

"What kind of CEO lets salespeople write their own contracts? I just didn't know better. So why would that be a problem? I was an idiot. I ignored sales, just worked on product."

Ellison highlights his initial ignorance in allowing salespeople too much autonomy, which led to poor business practices.

"The consequences were myriad. Huge discounts were offered to induce customers to buy software they wouldn't need for years."

This quote points to the problematic outcomes of Ellison's hands-off approach to sales, resulting in unsustainable business practices.

"Exotic barter deals were entered into in one, Oracle was given a couple of jets by an Israeli aircraft company in exchange for software."

This illustrates the bizarre and impractical deals that occurred due to lack of oversight.

"I was interested in technology. I wasn't interested in sales or accounting or legal. If I wasn't interested in something, I simply ignored it."

Ellison admits to his selective focus on interests, which led to negligence in other critical areas of the business.

• Ellison acknowledges his combination of incompetence, arrogance, and recklessness.
• He learned from his mistakes, which made him and Oracle stronger and more resilient.
• Ellison divided his life into two phases: before and after accepting his true self.
• His personal growth allowed him to love himself and be open to the love of others.
• The near-death experience of Oracle was pivotal in Ellison's transformation.

"But against that, he built something so inherently resilient and valuable that both he and Oracle would have a chance to reinvent themselves."

Ellison's ability to create a resilient company allowed for the possibility of recovery and reinvention.

"I can divide my life into two phases. The first where I was desperately trying to be the person I thought I should be, and the second where I finally accepted the person that I really am."

This quote represents Ellison's personal transformation from striving to meet external expectations to embracing his true identity.

• Ellison foresaw the Internet's impact on databases and reoriented Oracle's strategy accordingly.
• He believes in the uniqueness of one's approach to achieve success and wealth.
• Ellison's insight into the Internet's potential led to a controversial but ultimately correct pivot for Oracle.
• He emphasizes the importance of not confusing the present with the future in technology.
• Ellison's distaste for complexity drove him to streamline Oracle's operations around the Internet.
• He stresses the need for change and simplification in business processes.
• Ellison used Oracle as a laboratory to test and improve software applications.
• He identified inefficiencies within Oracle and sought to eliminate them, advocating a unified approach to pricing and operations.

"What happened was that Ellison had understood better than anyone the potential impact of the Internet on the enterprise computing in general and on Oracle in particular."

Ellison's early recognition of the Internet's significance shaped Oracle's strategic direction.

"You can't get rich by being like everyone else."

This is the core of Ellison's business philosophy, advocating for innovation and unique approaches.

"Internet computing is the last architecture. There will be no new architecture for computing, not in a thousand years, not ever."

Ellison's conviction about the finality of the Internet's architecture demonstrates his forward-thinking vision.

"I had heard it all before. Relational databases will never be commercially viable. The customers want client server, blah, blah, blah, blah. They were mistaking the present for the future."

Ellison reflects on the resistance he faced when shifting Oracle's focus to the Internet, emphasizing the importance of anticipating future trends.

"We were the only vendor supporting three different modes of operation, terminal, client/server, and Internet life isn't hard enough that we had to have three fucking versions."

Ellison's frustration with complexity led to the decision to focus solely on Internet-based solutions.

"People are willing to automate their current processes but not change them."

Ellison points out the resistance to change in business processes, highlighting the need for reevaluation and simplification.

• Ellison discovered inefficiencies within Oracle and sought to address them through internal testing and simplification.
• He used Oracle as a testing ground for the company's software, aiming to demonstrate its effectiveness in improving operations.
• Ellison's story about Oracle's pricing committee illustrates the problems with decentralized and uncoordinated decision-making.
• He emphasizes the importance of asking "why" to uncover poorly thought-out processes.
• Ellison advocates for standardization and simplification to achieve operational efficiency.

"I decided we're going to test our new applications inside Oracle. I'm going to turn our entire company into a laboratory."

Ellison's decision to use Oracle as a testing ground for its own products aimed to ensure the software's effectiveness and drive internal improvements.

"I asked, how much energy software are we planning to sell next year? The answer was about $10 million. So I said, does it bother anybody here that we're forecasting sales of 10 million and we're spending 5 million to run an energy center of excellence?"

This quote shows Ellison's realization of the misalignment between investment and expected returns, prompting a reevaluation of spending.

"You cannot strive for constant self-improvement if you think you're already right."

Ellison's philosophy on self-improvement and the necessity of questioning one's own processes to achieve better outcomes.

• Charlie Munger's statement about the power of incentives is highlighted.
• Ray's decision to increase sales through partners led to a flawed incentive system.
• Sales force was incentivized to push deals through partners, leading to suboptimal outcomes for Oracle.
• This demonstrates the unintended consequences of poorly structured incentives.

"One of the worst ideas I can remember was when Ray decided we didn't do enough selling through partners."

This quote explains the origin of the flawed incentive system that led to decreased revenue for Oracle while benefiting the salesforce and partners.

• Larry Ellison emphasizes the significance of product names in the technology industry.
• Example given: Network computing architecture vs. Internet computer architecture.
• A product's name can critically impact its market success or failure.

"It never ceases to amaze me how the product name can be the difference between success and failure in the technology industry."

This quote underscores the pivotal role that a product's name plays in its commercial success, as evidenced by Ellison's experience.

• Ellison is noted for having opposing traits: dominance in business and semi-detachment.
• His approach alternates between hands-off delegation and obsessive involvement.
• Ellison's lack of a "messy middle" approach is seen as both a strength and a weakness.

"Ellison had told me that he's unable to strike a balance between an extreme form of laissez faire delegation and an equally extreme obsession with influencing every aspect of the business."

This quote reflects on Ellison's leadership style, which swings between two extremes, impacting his management of Oracle.

• Ellison believes in the value of retaining core product teams to allow for knowledge compounding.
• Turnover in certain business areas can be beneficial, but not within the core product team.
• Accumulated experience in the team is vital for continuous improvement rather than flashy new releases.

"The knowledge that's compounding is way too valuable, so don't interrupt the compounding."

This quote highlights the importance Ellison places on the continuous accumulation of knowledge within the core product team, which he sees as critical to Oracle's success.

• Ellison describes the ideal Oracle employee as having a combination of brilliance, discipline, and endurance.
• The example given is an employee named Dairy who embodies these qualities.

"Dairy combined brilliance with discipline and endurance. It's a rare combination."

This quote illustrates the type of employee Ellison values, one who possesses both intellectual and personal strengths.

• Ellison contrasts the aggressive 'hunting' strategy of the US sales team with the 'farming' strategy in Europe.
• The US approach focused on large, one-time deals, while Europe emphasized long-term customer relationships.
• Ellison eventually recognized the unsustainability of the hunting approach and shifted the US sales culture.

"The european farming strategy was in stark contrast to the US sales organization hunting strategy."

This quote compares the different sales approaches and highlights Ellison's realization of the need for a strategic shift in the US.

• Ellison's strategy involves decisively choosing a direction and fully committing to it.
• He believes in creating a clear enemy to focus and motivate his company.
• The strategy is to make retreat impossible, ensuring commitment to the chosen path.

"Once I'm finally certain of the right direction, I pick a fight... Once a course has been plotted, I sail a long way off and burn the boats."

This quote encapsulates Ellison's strategic philosophy of total commitment to a chosen course of action and the motivational power of having a clear adversary.

• Ellison views competition as essential for Oracle's success and improvement.
• He believes that having identifiable enemies helps the company to focus and define itself.
• Comparisons to competitors are crucial for understanding Oracle's position in the market.

"We can't explain what we do unless we compare it to someone else who does it differently."

This quote reveals Ellison's perspective on the importance of competition in understanding and improving Oracle's market position.

• Ellison criticizes Microsoft for lacking innovation and relying on copying others.
• He compares Microsoft's strategy to that of Standard Oil in the 1870s.
• Ellison's observations include personal anecdotes about Bill Gates and their changing relationship.

"Microsoft can't innovate. They can only copy."

This quote represents Ellison's critical view of Microsoft's approach to business and innovation.

• Ellison uses competition as a means to stay motivated and focused.
• Despite vast wealth, he remains driven by the challenge and excitement of the software industry.
• Ellison's approach to life and business is to constantly test and push his own limits.

"The software business is a much more difficult test. It's a much higher stakes game."

This quote explains Ellison's continued engagement in the software industry despite having the means to retire, highlighting his passion for the challenge.

• Ellison believes that certainty and confidence are essential qualities in a leader.
• He uses a hypothetical scenario to contrast different leadership approaches.
• Ellison's preference is for a leader who instills confidence and a sense of mission in their followers.

"You cannot lead if you're filled with uncertainty."

This quote underscores Ellison's belief in the importance of a leader's confidence and decisiveness.

• Ellison reflects on the value of time and the importance of doing what one cares about.
• He questions the motives behind actions, suggesting that outcomes are more important than intentions.
• Ellison's curiosity about his own limits drives his engagement in challenging endeavors.

"Life is the only miracle. I don't waste a lot of time."

This quote conveys Ellison's philosophy on the preciousness of time and his approach to spending it on meaningful activities and with people he values.