Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer Faces Morale Challenge • Hacker News Board

Re: Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer Faces Morale Challenge

#111

Post by vonklaus » Wed, Nov 25, 2015, 5:43 AM UTC

akg_67 wrote: post #89

PhilWright wrote: post #82

Whenever I see a struggling company like this I ask myself the simple question. If the company didn't exist, would there be a need to create it? In the case of Yahoo I think the answer is no. If they disappeared tomorrow there would be no compelling reason for others to try and fill the gap it left behind. Hell, I doubt most people would even noticed they had gone. So they need to build a new business from the dying…

> If the company didn't exist, would there be a need to create it? Should I guess that you were not adult yet when Yahoo! started? When Yahoo! was founded, there was a need for WWW site directory, and Yahoo! filled that vacuum. It was the go to place for finding the sites in your area of interest. Some of the sections of Yahoo! for example: Finance and Sports are still go to places for me and I am sure countless othe…

> I haven't come across any other sites that even come close to [sports and finance] on Yahoo!

You haven't been able to find any other sites focusing on finance or sports on the internet? To be clear, yahoo does a decent job curating finance and sports sections, but it is extremely trivial to find sites similar to Yahoo. Here are a few, I found:

Finance:

========

Marketwatch[0], is very similar to yahoo finance. Owned by WSJ and Dow Jones.

Google Finance[1] is like Yahoo! finance, only done by google.

MSN Money[2] almost the exact same thing as Yahoo.

Then you have your more niche honorable mentions like motley fool, seekingalpha, zerohedge, etc.

SPORTS:

=======

Without repeating Google and Microsoft offerings, there is of course:

ESPN which is the second largest sports news provider, also they have a tv network about sports. They sports fairly hard.[3]

Bleecher Report is not to be out sportsed, sort of a hipster pitchfork media type sports player.[4]

CBS Sports[5]

NBC SPorts[6] This, and the preceding offering are large entrenched media rent collectors, which is similar to yahoo, except that they are profitable.

So, in finality, I find that statement absurd, but I am glad you enjoy yahoo. I am rooting for it as it is an under dog for sure.

[0]http://www.marketwatch.com

[1]http://www.google.com/finance

[2]http://www.msn.com/en-us/money

[3]http://espn.go.com

[4]BleacherReport.com

[5]CBSSports.com

[6]http://www.nbcsports.com

Re: Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer Faces Morale Challenge

#112

Post by Abraln » Wed, Nov 25, 2015, 5:48 AM UTC

remarkEon wrote: post #88

irishcoffee wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What is Yahoo's area of expertise that they make money at and can do better that Google, Microsoft, Facebook or Amazon? Fantasy sports. In much the same way Sega pivoted, Yahoo could.

Sega? Edit: is there a story I don't know about? I know a reasonable amount about gaming but I guess I'm drawing a blank on a successful Sega pivot. I remember some cool ads when I was a kid, I suppose.

Not the person you are replying to, but I think they are referencing how SEGA ditched home consoles and is now all software and arcades. From what I have heard they are doing extremely well with arcade machines, especially in Japan. I know they make the popular UFO crane game machines.

Re: Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer Faces Morale Challenge

#113

Post by Animats » Wed, Nov 25, 2015, 5:52 AM UTC

akg_67 wrote: post #89

PhilWright wrote: post #82

Whenever I see a struggling company like this I ask myself the simple question. If the company didn't exist, would there be a need to create it? In the case of Yahoo I think the answer is no. If they disappeared tomorrow there would be no compelling reason for others to try and fill the gap it left behind. Hell, I doubt most people would even noticed they had gone. So they need to build a new business from the dying…

> If the company didn't exist, would there be a need to create it? Should I guess that you were not adult yet when Yahoo! started? When Yahoo! was founded, there was a need for WWW site directory, and Yahoo! filled that vacuum. It was the go to place for finding the sites in your area of interest. Some of the sections of Yahoo! for example: Finance and Sports are still go to places for me and I am sure countless othe…

"When Yahoo! was founded, there was a need for WWW site directory, and Yahoo! filled that vacuum. ... IMO, Yahoo! need to go back to their roots which was portal of curated information."

Yahoo's Directory was shut down December 27, 2014.

What's left of Yahoo does some photo storage, some email, some video streaming, some finance and sports reporting, and some ad serving. They also resell Bing search. All those things are done better by others.

Re: Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer Faces Morale Challenge

#114

Post by ghaff » Wed, Nov 25, 2015, 5:52 AM UTC

anon8418 wrote: post #76

shostack wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having watched way too much "House of Lies" where consultants often seem to be brought in to back-up the viewpoint of a given executive and make the case for whatever that person's agenda is...what would such consultants likely be doing in this case in "the real world?" I admittedly haven't had the experience of working with any consultants, so I'm curious for opinions from those who have what happens when they come…

I spent a few years as a management consultant. Consultants are almost never hired to provide truly objective analysis. In most cases, they're hired to "back-up the viewpoint of a given executive". This is done by the executive to hedge the political risk required to go through with their action. They can point to McK when they defend their strategy to the board and then throw them under the bus if things don't pan o…

Without being too cynical, there's a lot of truth in that. The one time I worked closely with management consultants, a few were sharp, one or two not so much. At the end, they came to similar conclusions that we had already come to anyway but they sold that analysis to the executives.

>Management consultants are to entrepreneurs what food critics are to chefs.

Eh. Good food critics cut through a lot of trendiness. Of course, a lot of food critics aren't good.

Re: Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer Faces Morale Challenge

#115

Post by phamilton » Wed, Nov 25, 2015, 5:57 AM UTC

akg_67 wrote: post #89

PhilWright wrote: post #82

Whenever I see a struggling company like this I ask myself the simple question. If the company didn't exist, would there be a need to create it? In the case of Yahoo I think the answer is no. If they disappeared tomorrow there would be no compelling reason for others to try and fill the gap it left behind. Hell, I doubt most people would even noticed they had gone. So they need to build a new business from the dying…

> If the company didn't exist, would there be a need to create it? Should I guess that you were not adult yet when Yahoo! started? When Yahoo! was founded, there was a need for WWW site directory, and Yahoo! filled that vacuum. It was the go to place for finding the sites in your area of interest. Some of the sections of Yahoo! for example: Finance and Sports are still go to places for me and I am sure countless othe…

Product aside, "When Yahoo! was founded", there was a need for high traffic web properties that could scale past a few hundred users. I think we forget about how 10k simultaneous connections was a big freaking deal back then. Yahoo! wasn't just a useful site, it was one of the only usable sites under heavy load.

Re: Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer Faces Morale Challenge

#116

Post by akg_67 » Wed, Nov 25, 2015, 5:57 AM UTC

vonklaus wrote: post #111

akg_67 wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If the company didn't exist, would there be a need to create it? Should I guess that you were not adult yet when Yahoo! started? When Yahoo! was founded, there was a need for WWW site directory, and Yahoo! filled that vacuum. It was the go to place for finding the sites in your area of interest. Some of the sections of Yahoo! for example: Finance and Sports are still go to places for me and I am sure countless othe…

> I haven't come across any other sites that even come close to [sports and finance] on Yahoo! You haven't been able to find any other sites focusing on finance or sports on the internet? To be clear, yahoo does a decent job curating finance and sports sections, but it is extremely trivial to find sites similar to Yahoo. Here are a few, I found: Finance: ======== Marketwatch[0], is very similar to yahoo finance. Owne…

I was pretty sure someone will make a comment like yours. You didn't disappoint. You want to me to go to 3 different sites for Finance when I can get everything at Yahoo! You want me to go to 4 different sites for Sports when I can get everything at Yahoo! Can you get Bleacher Report articles on ESPN? I will suggest comparing Yahoo! Finance and Sports with the sites you mentioned. You might be surprised that most sites you mentioned feed to Yahoo! and not vice-versa. I can go to all the sites you mentioned or just go to Yahoo!

Each mentioned site is missing something that is available on Yahoo! Either you browse through all the articles on Bleacher Report or you can see the most relevant ones on Yahoo! That is the difference.

Remember the keywords Portal, curated information, relevant information, comprehensive. None of the sites you mentioned are at a level of Yahoo!

Re: Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer Faces Morale Challenge

#117

Post by smegel » Wed, Nov 25, 2015, 5:57 AM UTC

Google is getting platform locking, much like Microsoft. Even if Yahoo did come out with a world class Docs, or Email, or Youtube, or Blogger, or Sites, or AppEngine - I would still stick with the Google equivalent because I am all connected. I sign into Chrome or an Android device and everything just works and syncs.

I am locked into Google and I don't even have a Google+ account.

Re: Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer Faces Morale Challenge

#118

Post by datashovel » Wed, Nov 25, 2015, 5:59 AM UTC

jsnathan wrote: post #91

PhilWright wrote: post #82

Whenever I see a struggling company like this I ask myself the simple question. If the company didn't exist, would there be a need to create it? In the case of Yahoo I think the answer is no. If they disappeared tomorrow there would be no compelling reason for others to try and fill the gap it left behind. Hell, I doubt most people would even noticed they had gone. So they need to build a new business from the dying…

I think a good idea would be to host an innovation challenge. They are already bringing in outside consultants from McKinsey, but in this day and age, how about turning to the crowd for help? If they posted significant cash prices (say $1m total) and let their users vote on the best ideas, I bet they could find some fresh directions. Also bet it would cost a fraction of what they pay McKinsey. Edit: In fact, why stop…

One problem I think with that (at least in principle) is that the people who are already with the company, and (at least hypothetically) have some sort of desire / incentive to see the company succeed, have a particular skillset.

To completely abandon that skillset in order to form fit the company to the most popular idea from the crowd could possibly be disastrous. Perhaps it would work if they made a conscious effort to ensure the idea the crowd proposed aligned well with the skillset / experience the employees already have.

Re: Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer Faces Morale Challenge

#119

Post by finance-geek » Wed, Nov 25, 2015, 5:59 AM UTC

foobarqux wrote: post #105

anon8418 wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I spent a few years as a management consultant. Consultants are almost never hired to provide truly objective analysis. In most cases, they're hired to "back-up the viewpoint of a given executive". This is done by the executive to hedge the political risk required to go through with their action. They can point to McK when they defend their strategy to the board and then throw them under the bus if things don't pan o…

Where did you land after consulting?

I went from Accenture's management consulting practice to Goldman Sachs. Sweet gig. Totally on point to what the parent says.

Re: Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer Faces Morale Challenge

#120

Post by plinkplonk » Wed, Nov 25, 2015, 5:59 AM UTC

steve19 wrote: post #9

"Ms. Mayer called a meeting with senior executives in August and asked them to sign a written agreement to stay with the company for at least three more years, according to two people familiar with the meeting." Is such an agreement enforceable? Or is this some meaningless pledge? If you want people to stay, give them a decent financial incentive.

If you turn this idea around and employees (especially engineers) insisted that companies guaranteed employment for three years and give it in writing, there would be gasps of horror.

Marissa must be truly desperate.