Summer Reading for Software Execs:
How the Mighty Have Fallen

Gordon Graham, Editor, SoftwareCEO

Ego and a single slip can topple a CEO who worked years to reach the peak of his career. That's the chilling lesson suggested in The Real Story of Informix Software and Phil White. Martin sold for hard-charging database vendor Informix from 1991 until its implosion in 1997. This book seeks to unravel the tangled mess behind the company's demise.

The nightmare began when — after 28 straight quarters of growth — the company missed its quarterly numbers by $100 million.

In two days, Informix's value dropped 45 percent. Investors launched class-action suits. And the board started looking for someone to replace Phil White, former poster boy for Silicon Valley over-achievers.

Informix wound up restating three years of revenues and losing all its momentum, while White served a 60-day prison sentence.

His undoing? Beyond his growing ego and some strategic goofs, Martin suggests White's key mistake was signing a routine SEC disclosure form, without recognizing it was a ticking time bomb.

As an insider's re-telling of the rather Shakespearian rise and fall of a once-great software firm, this book will interest anyone who was ever close to Informix. And as a cautionary tale for CEOs of public firms who must deal impeccably with every piece of paper on their desk — and keep their egos in check — this book should be required reading in every business school. You can pre-order it now for $24.95.

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