“We’re going to run them out of business and buy that building, which we’re going to bulldoze. After that, we’ll salt the earth. Then we’ll go after their families,” Larry Ellison, executive chairman of Oracle, once reportedly declared in reference to a competitor. This kind of statement epitomizes the aggressive war metaphors that often appear in corporate communication. And while it’s a particularly colorful example, it’s hardly exceptional. In acquisition announcements, CEOs regularly frame their strategies as battles to be won. In 2006, then-CEO of the McClatchy Company, Gary Pruitt, told investors and analysts, “The stakes have never been higher … and we dare not go into battle with anything less than the best.” In a 2015 conference call with analysts, executives at Infinera Corporation were “armed with an end-to-end offering.” In a 2013 call, Veeco Instruments described the mobile market as a “battleground,” and in 2009 First Solar described their acquisition move as an “offensive” aimed at overtaking competitors.
