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The Oracle of Oracle

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The Oracle of Oracle

The Story of Volatile CEO Larry Ellison and the Strategies Behind His Company's Phenomenal Success

AMACOM,

15 min read
10 take-aways
Text available

What's inside?

Love him or hate him, you can’t ignore him, or his company.

Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Comprehensive
  • Background

Recommendation

Despite recent troubles that might cause readers to quibble with Florence M. Stone’s description of Oracle as a "phenomenal success," this examination of Larry Ellison and the company that he created is worth your time. Stone sticks to a single theme: How do Ellison’s personal beliefs, characteristics and personality affect the way Oracle does business? In answering this question, the book delves into the brutish outlook of company and founder, which Stone summarizes as, "crush the competition." Oddly, Ellison himself is not present. Instead, we glimpse him only through the words of official spokesmen and journalists. Luckily, these accounts were written after the dot-com collapse, providing the book with a balanced, up-to-date perspective. getAbstract.com recommends this book to all readers, whether your interests are in high tech or general business strategy.

Summary

Ellison’s Oracle

Oracle thrives on change, much like its enigmatic founder and CEO, Larry Ellison. People characterize Ellison as ruthless, volatile, impatient and autocratic, adding that he is also insightful, customer-centric, and focused - characteristics that have helped him become a leader in the high-tech industry. Another attribute contributing to his great success is his ability to sell his ideas to others, much like a 21st-century P.T. Barnum.

Even with the economy’s ups and downs, Oracle has managed to stay better balanced than many competitors. Partially, this is due to Ellison’s talent for predicting the demands of the market before his competitors. Dubbed the "oracle of Oracle," by the investment community, Ellison is as well known for his insight into future business trends as for the software company he heads.

In organizing Oracle, Ellison uses a top-down mode of control, pushing others to adopt his business beliefs: think strategically, crush the competition, seek high-payoff opportunities and lock in customers. The fact that Ellison’s approach to his personal life is indistinguishable from his business values further sets him apart from the field...

About the Author

Florence M. Stone is the author of nine books, including Coaching, Counseling & Mentoring, The High-Value Manager, and (under the pen name Rebecca Saunders) Business the Amazon.com Way and Business the Dell Way. She is the editorial director of Web management communications at the American Management Association, and previously served as the organization’s group editor of newsletters and journals

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