Yahoo’s False Prophet: How Marissa Mayer Failed to Turn the Company Around

[Independent voter]

To be fair, I don't know how to turn Yahoo around and I'm sure most of us don't. On the other hand we aren't getting paid millions of dollars a year.

Is this an argument for paying CEO's well?

Really long article at link

https://variety.com/2016/digital/fea...eo-1201781310/


As one shareholder wonders: “What the f— has Marissa Mayer been doing for the last three-plus years?”

When Yahoo hired Mayer, the company was in a position to become a real player in social media, and to blossom into a much bigger digital-media property that could leverage increased revenue from its huge audience. Instead, Mayer spent $1 billion on microblogging startup Tumblr, which three years later hasn’t produced any meaningful revenue, while unilaterally abandoning an array of content initiatives.

In turn, she has doubled down on search, which Yahoo is fueling with pricey paid-traffic deals with two of its biggest rivals, 
Microsoft and Google. But prior to Mayer deciding it was critical to Yahoo’s future, web search hadn’t been a strength since the company’s earliest days. “Let’s not be hyperbolic: The use case was literally accidental searches on the homepage,” says a former Yahoo exec.

Mayer’s interest in beefing up search, according to this source, is because “she has a real chip on her shoulder about getting thrown out of search” at Google. (In 2010, she was demoted by then-CEO Eric Schmidt from her position as Google VP of search products and user experience to a job overseeing local content, maps, and location services.)

A Wall Street Journal report last week said Verizon and other bidders planned to offer between $2 billion and $3 billion for Yahoo — far less than the $8 billion or more the company has been expecting.

No one can accuse Mayer of standing still. Under her leadership, Yahoo has bought some 50 companies for a total of $2.8 billion, per an estimate by investor Eric Jackson of 
SpringOwl Asset Management. Many of those deals are smaller acqui-hires — buys of companies for their staff, not the products they sell — in the mobile space.

Analysts criticize the approach as a scattershot strategy that has failed to move the needle. “The Yahoo way is, ‘We’ll throw 10 rocks against the wall, and maybe one of them will hit the bull’s-eye,’ ” says Rich Tullo, analyst with Albert Fried & Co. “But you need a sniper rifle in this business.”

But so far, Mavens has not stopped the bleeding at Yahoo. The company is projecting 2016 revenue, excluding traffic-acquisition costs, to decline by as much as 17%, to between $3.4 billion and $3.6 billion; and adjusted profits before depreciation, taxes, and amortization to drop by as much as 26%, to $700 million to $800 million.

[Celista]

Called it years ago. Mayer is a moron.

Really this is the fault of business culture, which utilizes a herd mentality and cult worship around particular individuals in leadership roles.

[jdbond592]

Another failed female CEO? Call me shocked!To be honest, you can count them on one hand..

[Deleted]

But honestly, good luck trying to turn a company like Yahoo around.

Split his ancient company up and sell the parts separately imo.

[Ryme]

She was a false prophet? I mean, I've only just researched her but:

She was demoted by Google before she was hired by Yahoo, she lost millions in the acquisiton of Tumblr, she altered the rules for employees then didn't follow them herself, she increased maternity benefits after becoming a mother, she got the brought the company lawsuits due to her hilariously stupid new methods of performance review.

She reads like a train-wreck of an employee.

[Dextroden]

I wonder if dumping money into trying to one up Google in search will scar her resume. Using business funds for petty revenge seems counterproductive.

[Celista]

Another failed female CEO? Call me shocked!

Her failings are not gender-related, just her short sightedness per usual.

She never should have been promoted, people around her in the circle jerk at Yahoo referred to her as brilliant but that seems more like hype designed to drive up share prices than anything. She acts like a mediocre middle manager, no vision. And she does not care enough about her employees to be a true leader.

My worthless $0.02

[Deleted]

I suddenly remember this news from a while back.

http://hollywoodlife.com/2013/02/26/...ork-yahoo-ceo/

The Yahoo CEO has come under fire after she had a nursery set up near her office to bring her four-month-old baby to work, but has banned employees from working from home.

[Dug]

Buying Tumblr was a giant mistake and waste of money.

[caervek]

To be fair, I don't know how to turn Yahoo around and I'm sure most of us don't.

You go back to 1998 when Yahoo! had the chance to buy Google for $1 million and declined, slap the CEO and say "We'll take it".

If that fails you go back to 2002 when Yahoo! had the chance to buy Google for $5 billion and declined, slap the new CEO and say "We'll take it".

[Independent voter]

Mary Barra General Motors 6
Meg Whitman[3] Hewlett-Packard 19
Virginia Rometty[4] IBM 24
Indra K. Nooyi[5] PepsiCo, Inc. 44
Marillyn Hewson[6] Lockheed Martin 64
Safra A. Catz[7] Oracle 81
Irene B. Rosenfeld[8] Mondelēz International 91
Phebe Novakovic General Dynamics 100
Carol Meyrowitz The TJX Companies, Inc. 103
Lynn Good[9] Duke Energy 116
Ursula M. Burns[10] Xerox Corporation 143
Deanna M. Mulligan Guardian Life Insurance Company of America 254
Barbara Rentler Ross Stores 269
Debra L. Reed Sempra Energy 270
Kimberly Lubel CST Brands 277
Sheri S. McCoy[11] Avon Products Inc. 322
Susan M. Cameron Reynolds American 337
Denise M. Morrison[12] Campbell Soup 342
Kathleen Mazzarella Graybar Electric 445
Ilene Gordon Ingredion 462
Lisa Su[13] Advanced Micro Devices 473
Jacqueline C. Hinman CH2M Hill 480

[Dextroden]

Her failings are not gender-related, just her short sightedness per usual.

She never should have been promoted, people around her in the circle jerk at Yahoo referred to her as brilliant but that seems more like hype designed to drive up share prices than anything. She acts like a mediocre middle manager, no vision. And she does not care enough about her employees to be a true leader.

My worthless $0.02

While his wording won't match my own, I feel similarly. People sounded the horn on how female CEOs needed and would shake things up. Things like this need to be advertised that women, just like any other human being, can be garbage at their job.

[zenkai]

When Google+ is more successful than Yahoo, you know you really messed up.

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You go back to 1998 when Yahoo! had the chance to buy Google for $1 million and declined, slap the CEO and say "We'll take it".

If that fails you go back to 2002 when Yahoo! had the chance to buy Google for $5 billion and declined, slap the new CEO and say "We'll take it".

If yahoo! had bought Google, I have a feeling Google wouldn't be what it is today

[Dextroden]

You go back to 1998 when Yahoo! had the chance to buy Google for $1 million and declined, slap the CEO and say "We'll take it".

If that fails you go back to 2002 when Yahoo! had the chance to buy Google for $5 billion and declined, slap the new CEO and say "We'll take it".

Now I'm curious. Would Yahoo have exploded with the acquisition of Google? Or would it have been like buying Tumblr since it would be Yahoo in control?

[zenkai]

Another failed female CEO? Call me shocked!To be honest, you can count them on one hand..

What does her having to be female have anything to do with it? not only is it sexist it's ignorant, there are plenty of female leaders who have turned companies around. One wrote a damn good book about her experience, wish I could remember it... been a few years since I read it.

[kail]

Turning that company around is a challenge by itself, the brand has fallen in popularity in almost every sector. Yahoo finance is their only site I use sometimes for market information.

[Celista]

To be fair, I don't know how to turn Yahoo around and I'm sure most of us don't.

I don't.

Yahoo Finance was popular and well utilized when I was an undergraduate finance student. Really they could have rebuilt the brand around being a business search engine + news site, with specialized website features/apps for investors.

Focusing on M&A is an 80s move, if that is what she is doing. She needs to focus on the main brand.

[Tennis]

I was so disgusted by the story of her having a baby and going back to work almost immediately.

[caervek]

Now I'm curious. Would Yahoo have exploded with the acquisition of Google? Or would it have been like buying Tumblr since it would be Yahoo in control?

Well, historically Google was worth $150 billion two years later, whether that would have happened under Yahoo! is debatable. I would say not if Yahoo! took over in '98 because it's gripe with Google then was it was too quick and would have taken users away from Yahoo! and it's paid ads quicker. But yes if it took over in '02 as it would already have seen the power of Google and that it could work with paid ads too.

[Calfredd]

I was so disgusted by the story of her having a baby and going back to work almost immediately.

Out of all the crap she did I knew you'd focus on that (in)significant detail.