Oracle Visit
Thanks to Ah San, the NUSEA team had a chance to visit the Oracle headquarters in Redwood City after our GEL lessons at Stanford. It was a timely visit. Tom Kosnik mentioned in our GEL class today about the leaders that we like to work for. And our class discussed extensibly about Larry Ellison, the controversial CEO of Oracle. Kevin Walsh has kindly agreed to host us for a company visit, and he shared with us what Oracle does, and an overview of their strategic developments in the new century.
It’s interesting to learn how Oracle branded themselves in the China market - 甲骨文. For those uninitiated, this item was actually the turtle shells that the ancient Chinese believed holds the keys to the future.
One of the takebacks, which was really relevant to us was how he manages his time. Being the CTO of the Oracle Asia Pacific Region, and the senior VP of Research and Development (Asia). His principle was to keep life simple, and he explained the problems in maintaining 2 houses (since he often flies around between Beijing, Singapore and Silicon Valley). He used to work 20-hours days when he was younger, only to realize that it is not a sustainable lifestyle. He came up with this quote:
“No matter how successful your business life is - If you lose the balance, you are not living a life.”
November 21st, 2006 at 6:15 am
I just touched by the way he shared his precious time with us. And not only did he really set aside time for us, he prepared the presentation and the lunch for us. This shows that he really cares a lot about giving back to society. He mentioned that he had gotten a lot of help from others when he was at our age and now he was just doing what he can for others. I felt that it is like “pay it forward”. We should learn to share our knowledge and experience to others just like him when we go back to Singapore. And I also felt a great sense of respect for him when he said that his definition of success is about being able to manage both business and personal life well. Not all successful executives are able to have a balanced life. I really admired him for being both a great businessman and family man
November 21st, 2006 at 10:09 am
Kevin, really appreciate your time and sharing. I assure you that I’ll pass on this goodwill of sharing from you to other people just like how you share your experience with us.
November 21st, 2006 at 8:59 pm
It was indeed inspiring and impressive.
firstly, he was so passionate about what he does in the company. He loves what he does. How wonderful it is to do something you enjoy and you love to do everyday! passion is the drive.
secondly, I totally agree and appreciate his stand on success. to be successful, it is not just about business. Balance is indeed important. Success as a person in both business and personal life is the true sucess.
next, he speaks really good Chinese. that’s really impressive. it is not easy to pick up Chinese. Learning language is not always easy.
lastly, would like to thank Kevin for the session. I learnt so much.
Looking forward to the next session with you!
November 22nd, 2006 at 1:25 am
Kevin is amazing. His department in Oracle seems like such a friendly and closely knit unit, that most of us would only dream of working in, even within a startup!
Anyway, Kevin is a true leader who starts of first with an inner passion to what he does. Fiddling with computer components right form young, his interest turned into his love for the job and people working around him catch that and are motivated to chip in.
I find him extremely humble. Not many accomplished men would be so generous in spending time with people who cant seem to offer much tangible present potential. I guess its really a paying it forward attitude I take away from the session.
It was great meeting you Kevin!
November 22nd, 2006 at 4:43 am
Having seen many people who hold senior positons in companies, I must admit that there are few who are as humble as Kevin.
From my impression, he comes across to us as a “people” person and this reflects on the way he leads his team as well.
It has been a great pleasure to have met Kevin and I sincerely wish him the best in his endeavours!
November 22nd, 2006 at 7:15 pm
It was amazing to see someone so high up in the organization to take the effort to spend time with us.. Really appreciate the effort you took in making us have a great time at Oracle.. Thanks Kevin!
November 25th, 2006 at 5:33 pm
Damn! u guys went to Oracle!