Larry Ellison Once Said, To Be 'The Next Steve Jobs,' You Need 'That Obsessive Compulsive Personality' Combined With 'Picasso's Aesthetic and Edison's Inventiveness'

Oracle Corp. ORCL co-founder Larry Ellison, one of Apple Inc. AAPL Co-founder Steve Jobs' Steve Jobs' closest friends, once listed the qualities one would need if they wanted to be like him.

What Happened: Speaking to the Wall Street Journal after Jobs' passing, Ellison spoke about the depth of his immersion in the creative process, which he credited as the reason behind his success.

"You want to know you're like Steve Jobs? It's very simple," Ellison said. "You are unable to think about anything but these serious problems at work and you just—that's all you can do. And you obsess about it until you solve it. And then you move on to the next thing, and you obsess about that until you solve it. And then you obsess about this until you solve it."

Ellison went on to explain how that mindset, combined with Jobs' rare gifts to create something singular. "That obsessive-compulsive personality combined with this peculiar genius of Steve's—if you have that kind of obsession combined with Picasso's aesthetic and Edison's inventiveness, then you are the next Steve Jobs."

Why It Matters: Beyond Jobs' dedication, Ellison highlighted his complete disregard for typical success metrics like wealth or status.

"Apple became the most valuable company on earth and it wasn't even one of Steve's goals," Ellison said. "He wasn't trying to be rich. He wasn't trying to be famous. He wasn't trying to be powerful. He was obsessed with the creative process and building something beautiful."

Other major figures in tech and business have also described Jobs in a similar vein. For example, Microsoft Corp. MSFT Co-founder Bill Gates called him a “genius in a way you can't explain.”