Everyone Else Must Fail

October 6, 2003
Southwick, a veteran Silicon Valley observer and author of several books (including Silicon Gold Rush
), offers a detailed look at Larry Ellison, who created Oracle software. Ellison is one of only a handful of computer pioneers still heading a high-tech company. Southwick praises Ellison's innovation and business skills, but is far more critical of his management style and interpersonal skills. In fact, much of the book is devoted to chronicling horror stories from former employees. Even people who thought they had "worked well together" with Ellison are fired or, more usually, made to feel so uncomfortable that they choose to leave. "Ellison lavishes opportunities upon his favored executives—giving them almost free rein to grow—until he tires of them for one reason or another, or feels threatened by them, and finds a way to get rid of them," writes Southwick. With so many interviews—many quite bitter—with former Oracle employees, the author provides an in-depth look at the company and insights into its business strategies. For example, in a discussion on promotion, she notes, "Oracle's marketing campaigns are unusual in the technology industry in that they directly assail competitors." Ellison emerges as an innovative and smart businessman, albeit unlikable.

November 15, 2003
The title derives from Genghis Khan's famous quote, also often associated with Larry Ellison, the intriguing and complex founder and chief executive of the Oracle Corporation: "It is not sufficient that I succeed, everyone else must fail." Southwick (High Noon: The Inside Story of Scott McNally and the Rise of Sun Microsystems; Silicon Gold Rush) sees Ellison as "a modern-day Genghis Khan who has elevated ruthlessness in business to a carefully cultivated art form." This fascinating account delves into Ellison's life from his childhood to the present through interviews with associates as well as a number of former associates. By re-creating stories from the boardroom at Oracle, Southwick gives readers a "fly on the wall" viewpoint of the inner workings and political intrigue at the company and a glimpse of Ellison's stormy management style. Additionally, it tells the story of Oracle's evolution from a vendor of database software into the second-largest software company worldwide (after Microsoft). This compelling portrait of a controversial executive and the building of a software giant is highly recommended to both academic and public libraries.-Lucy Heckman, St. John's Univ. Lib., Jamaica, NY

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