Two Kinds Of Jobs For This Economy

Seeing the news that Oracle is swooping in to buy Sun Microsystems after IBM pulled the plug on their attempted M&A reminds me of what a shrewd, sharp person Larry Ellison is. Since I've lived in Silicon Valley, opinions, both pro and con, on Ellison run a wide gamut.



Love him or hate him (or if your opinion on him is somewhere in between), you must respect him for how he's not only built Oracle into the powerhouse that it is, but for how he keeps it that way.



I know and have worked with many ex-Oracle employees over the years, and always remember this commentary about Ellison that one of them shared with me several years ago when discussing what really counts in the business world. I think it's always relevant, but especially so in today's economy.



I don't know if Ellison still roams the hallways at his Redwood Shores, CA headquarters, but at one time years ago, he did. When he was roaming the twin towers, he was known to approach an employee ad hoc and ask them a simple question: "I have two kinds of employees that work for me--those who make product, and those who sell product--which are you?"



Legend has it that if your answer was neither "I make product," nor "I sell product," then you were soon afterwards shown the door.



True story? I've never had an opportunity to confirm this with Ellison, but more than one of my ex-Oracle colleagues have sworn to me it's accurate, and that's sufficient for me to believe it.



Point is, in this unprecedented 'great recession' we're in, I think it behooves many (if not all of us) to consider that question, and determine whether either answer applies. If neither one applies to you, you may indeed have reason to be concerned.



In these times, being able to demonstrate that you make a direct, tangible contribution in helping to improve your employer's bottom line is probably the most important thing anyone can do to ensure their and their company's survival--not just now, but over the long term, too.



The point here is that people can easily lose sight of why a business is in business in the first place. If you're nervous about your job security these days (and who isn't), examine what your role within your company is, and whether you can confidently answer Ellison's question with either of his two acceptable answers.



If your answer is "something else," you may be finding yourself "looking for something else" in the not too distant future.



That's Mark's Mark for today. Have a good (and prosperous) week.