Deadlines of all sorts meant that I couldn't add my pennyworth to the great Eircom a.g.m. debate in print last week. They also meant that I could only devote two hours of my time to the a.g.m. itself, although I don't think I would have stayed any longer anyway.

I don't believe that any meeting is worth spending more than a couple of hours on at the best of times. Those that carry on for much longer mean too many people are saying the same thing over and over again and the only reason they haven't called a halt is because they have a bee in their bonnet about something and want to waste more time talking about it. All of the best meetings last less than an hour.

The papers, of course, were full of the fact that the a.g.m. itself was an unprecedented event in Irish corporate history, and certainly visiting the RDS on September 13th was more like going to a rock concert than to a company meeting.

Most of the annual meetings I've attended in the past have been sparsely attended in fusty rooms with only a few die-hard shareholders in attendance because they had nothing better to do with their day. But, as far as Eircom was concerned, the punters were there for a day out and they positively bristled with anticipation when they saw so many security people muttering into their headsets.

Actually, I'm now quite impressed with Ray MacSharry as the chairman of a company in which I still hold a small stake. His handling of a hostile crowd was really quite good under the circumstances and his almost unfailing politeness is clearly the result of years on the political scene. Obviously, it was far too smarmy for my liking but it was impressive all the same.

In the end, the people with their personal agendas got to speak - the pension guy, Shane Ross, the bloke complaining about his bills and the woman who accused Eircom of betraying our culture and our language by not issuing those bills in Irish. Personally, I couldn't care less in what language they issue the bills, once they're correct.

And I have better things to do with my time than listening to someone use an a.g.m. to make some kind of political statement. In fact, right then, I almost felt sorry for the board of directors because it was quite clear that the company was now being blamed for every evil that had ever befallen the country, from loss of national identity to the lack of taste in pre-packed sandwiches.

I had hoped that there might be some constructive discussion on the future strategy of Eircom so that shareholders might learn how the management actually hopes to achieve their targets for those share options to kick in but, amid the insults thrown at the board, there wasn't any time for that.

It's not that I'm particularly sympathetic to them. I don't even think that the targets are especially onerous given the level of galloping inflation we have at the moment anyway. And I certainly don't think it's the right time to be talking about massive bonus payments.

But it would have been interesting to hear their plans for the future rather than listening to a harangue about the past. Mind you, some of the insults were fun and the bloke sitting a couple of seats away from me almost had to be restrained in his support for Shane Ross. I think he thought the man was going for gold in some new Olympic event.

However, after all of the shouting and heckling and complaint that was going on about the remuneration of the board, I wondered to myself whether or not the directors should think about taking the Larry Ellison approach.

Larry Ellison is the chief executive of Oracle, the technology company that he founded in 1977 and that is a market leader in database software. He's the 12th wealthiest man in America according to Forbes magazine and enjoys sailing and flying as well as battling for software supremacy with Bill Gates, whom he calls the PC Pope.

Unlike Bill, with his geeky looks and relatively low spending profile, Larry has a touch of the playboy billionaire and oozes charm, which is probably why he's regarded as the most eligible bachelor in Silicon Valley, if not the States. Although he went through a phase when he seemed to spend more time doing things like trying to buy a Russian Mig jetfighter (the US customs vetoed its entry into the States) and sailing in the Sydney to the Hobart race, Larry has become very hands-on at Oracle again by giving a lot of the top management a hard time over performance and streamlining the company.

In 1999, he received $3.75 million (#4.4 million) in salary and bonuses in addition to $3 million in options. But last week he announced that he had agreed to give up his salary and cash bonuses until May 2003 in return for only stock options and shares in Oracle. He's hoping that this gesture will underline his belief and commitment to the company.

Oracle has been a pretty good performer, although the shares are around $20 off their highs.

The market didn't exactly jump for joy at the news but I'm sure the 44 per cent of institutional shareholders are happy enough. Larry himself owns nearly a quarter of the company. When you're worth as much as he is, it's a gesture, not a sacrifice, to be paid in shares. But at least his coffers won't swell any more unless the company performs. Which is as good a way of incentivising management as you can get.

The Eircom shareholders were all in favour of incentivising management. Nobody was trying to suggest that, if the company performed well, management shouldn't be rewarded and rewarded handsomely. Which was very fair.

So if Alfie Kane and the rest of the executive management (as well as both Ray MacSharry and Dick Spring who is, by now, presumably a shareholder too) are as really, really confident in the company as they told everyone at the a.g.m., maybe they should consider putting their money where their mouths are and taking the Larry Ellison approach until May 2003.

Nobody would complain if they made lots of money then.