Thursday, January 15, 2009

WSJ's Hit Job on Yahoo's Susan Decker... Loss of Yahoo's Culture

I don't know what motivated The Wall Street Journal to write a hit piece on Former Yahoo! President Susan Decker, but they did ("Departing Yahoo President Has History of Missteps").

It lays out her faults and some mistakes, but it seems too hyped. I doubt Decker was even a primary problem and reason for Yahoo's demise. Yahoo lost its way years ago. Somewhere from becoming an icon in Silicon Valley and all that was good about the boom times, to becoming the antithesis of our region. It became too stiff, too risk adverse, too hollywood, too corporate,...

The rep of ex-Yahoos in some circles were that they were good at blaming others and not taking responsibility. Great at managing upward but not their teams or division, which matters most for a healthy company. So people talk and wonder about when did the culture change at Yahoo? When did it become so corporate that people learn to dodge blame so well? Such a corporate ladder that you need to call the fire station for assistance? I don't know but it would be interesting to learn how it all happened.

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