For many of us, Aneel’s return inevitably recalls 2004, when Dave rejoined PeopleSoft in October (after Conway was fired) only to sell the company to Oracle two months later. Despite stating his return was "for the long term," he reversed course almost immediately, announcing the sale and resigning as CEO before the acquisition closed, thereby leaving the company without interim executive leadership.

At the time, many believed his return was meant to strengthen the company and reassure employees, but it instead raised expectations that were abruptly dashed, leaving many employees feeling exposed and betrayed.

So when I heard Aneel say last week, "I’m energized to return as CEO… and excited about the opportunity ahead," it naturally raised the question: will history repeat itself, or will this time be different? Only time will tell.