The Hidden Cost of Hypergrowth: Lessons from Salesforce, Oracle and Siebel with Steve Garnett #140
Some stories are told for inspiration, some for entertainment, but a very few become instruction manuals for the next generation.
Today’s Extrology episode documents one such manual, written by a leader forged through experiences at Oracle, Salesforce and Siebel Systems - Steve Garnett.
He grew up in a council house in Liverpool, mentored by one maths teacher who changed everything.
Behind Steve’s work scaling some of the most iconic tech machines in history, lies a lesson in systems, scar tissue and scale with soul.
What Steve's doing now with education, legacy and angel investing reveals not just how to build billion dollar companies, but how to build the kind of life that compounds…
Lee and Steve discuss:
The power of resilience and mentorship in shaping a life and career
Leadership at Oracle, Siebel, and Salesforce, and how they maintain high-performing
The critical role of core values
Challenges and opportunities presented by technological revolutions, and the need for leaders to adapt and drive change from the top
Legacy, philanthropy, and giving back
Links & references
Steve Garnett:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stgarnett/?originalSubdomain=uk
Extrology:
https://www.instagram.com/extrologypodcast/
https://www.tiktok.com/@extrology
https://substack.com/@extrology
https://www.youtube.com/@extrology
Lee Cooper:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/leecooperrecruiter/
Get in touch: lee@extrology.com
Episode highlights:
“Growing up in a fairly tough part of Liverpool, it taught me to spot the fakers in life, maybe a bit quicker… to recognise the genuine people from the takers and the drains.” - 1:40 - Steve Garnett
“I never felt I could go home and say to my mom or my sisters or my family, ‘I failed at something.’ I just had that determination inside that I was not going to fail.” - 3:50 - Steve Garnett
“That was the culture of Oracle. Larry Ellison had a belief that in emerging markets, #1 takes half the market and #2 takes 20%. There was no way he was taking 20%...” - 19:25 - Steve Garnett
“Larry Ellison used to say, ‘If you’re not developing the product or you’re not selling the product, and I bump into you in the corridor, tell me slowly what you do.’” - 21:40 - Steve Garnett
“The only people who are going to lose their jobs are the people who refuse to use AI.” - 31:00 - Steve Garnett
“There was pressure from all three leaders - Ellison, Siebel and Benioff - all wanted to be number one in their space. So the pressure was always there, and probably highest at Siebel… failure was absolutely not an option.” - 39:15 - Steve Garnett
“At Salesforce, 1% of people’s time was set aside for their own charitable causes. The fact that this was one of our core values was very beneficial to the business and the culture of the company.” - 42:30 - Steve Garnett
“This generation of leaders and managers will be the first to manage both human and digital agents.” - 47:10 - Steve Garnett
Extrology is sponsored by Progresso Talent Partners who for more than 25 years have successfully delivered interim and permanent leadership talent to transform businesses and to hire the talent you need to enable your business to thrive: https://www.progressotalent.com/