Larry Ellison is obsessed with buying PeopleSoft. Can you say quagmire? Sure, his Oracle empire is awesome - $9 billion in annual sales and 40,000 employees. But we can't shake the feeling that the chief egotistical officer is headed for a great fall. The signs:
Scut Farkas Phenomenon Scut was the green-toothed bully in A Christmas Story. His reign of terror ended when Ralphie finally beat the crap out of him. When it was PeopleSoft's turn to stand up, the management, employees, and even customers mounted a gutsy counterattack. Now Ellison looks weak and desperate - two things a bully should never be.
Dinosaur Syndrome High tech has always flip-flopped between large, centralized IT and small, personalized computing. Companies like Oracle that make it big during centralizing eras often die in the phase change.
Zeitgeist Sync Failure Ominous glass towers, mercurial product releases, pushy salespeople - Oracle's business style was out-of-date before the dotcom boom. Let the brain drain begin.
Grandpa Effect Ellison is dissing the Valley's prospects even as a revival takes hold. Red flag. Entrepreneurs who spew only gloom are usually talking about their own faded glory.
Rat Pack Redux When America was going psychedelic, Frank, Sammy, and Dino were predicting rock and roll's demise. Sound familiar? Ellison is out of touch. Does he really believe that fast cars, women, Migs, and yachts make him look cool instead of just creepy?
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Hype List
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Wired l Tired l Expired
