Goodbye, Greg
Greg Brady resigned as CEO of i2 today, to no one's surprise. Greg
had the misfortune of taking over just as the cannonball reached
its apogee. Under his always-confident, always-aggressive, always-visionary
leadership i2's revenue, profits, and net worth plummeted.
Sanjiv Siddhu, one of the most capable software people on earth,
returns as CEO. Surely, i2 will benefit.
If it does, and I think it will, it is important to understand
why. Many people who have worked with Greg will conclude that his style did him in. I don't
think so. I don't think it's personal at all.
Greg is one of four major software executives who were schooled at Oracle,
schooled, that is, in aggressive salesmanship, big-claim marketing, and occasional
underdelivery.
In the past 5-10 years, this style has been phenomenally successful.
Now, as the large application vendors are reaching the top of a growth
curve (but not the top of a profit curve), the style is not working.
Sanjiv needs to develop a new style for the company, one that emphasizes delivery, efficient
operations, profit, and smaller deals.
Unfortunately, i2 as a company does not seem well-equipped for this.
It isn't just Greg who loves the big deal; it's an entire company. The company
I see is not used to watching every dime, coddling customers, or tempering
its claims about its products.
Sanjiv may be able to succeed in lofting a new cannonball, but it will
take time.
See also our other recent Short Takes.
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