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Marissa Mayer on career growth and how a revenue guarantee almost killed Google

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Re: Marissa Mayer on career growth and how a revenue guarantee almost killed Google

#161

Post by _2d30 »

JudasGoatse wrote: post #120
hlurhhh wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wrote this somewhere else in this thread, but I like her because she's one of the few (current) 'well known' women in tech that's successful and stylish. She's exactly the kind of representation I need and want.

She's not successful, she's wealthy. There's a difference. She got a lottery ticket at Google and cashed in, then proceeded to run Yahoo into the ground. She's widely considered a failure in tech and business circles, and for good reason (I was with her at Yahoo and can testify to her strategic incompetence). If Marissa is the role model you want - stylish but incompetent - then I feel bad for you. Much like Elizabet…

DELETED: Unnecessary ad hominem.

Re: Marissa Mayer on career growth and how a revenue guarantee almost killed Google

#162

Post by tardo99 »

JudasGoatse wrote: post #114
compiler-guy wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which she crushed, and then she moved on and crushed the master's level courses. And then got a job at Google. Of all the dot-com companies hiring on campus at the time throwing million dollar opportunities at new graduates, she picks the unicorn. At some point it isn't luck anymore. Anyway, I'll agree to disagree here. The post I originally responded to was a question about what is so special about her. I only know…

So she completed a second-rate major and luckily joined the fastest-growing company in US history ... that makes her smart and capable? Like OP, I know several people who knew her at Stanford (I didn't go there) and she was regarded with uniform disdain by everyone who was technically sharp. I know several people who worked with her at Google, and she was fairly disliked there. She got frozen out and would have been…

Preach.

Re: Marissa Mayer on career growth and how a revenue guarantee almost killed Google

#163

Post by mathattack »

NelsonMinar wrote: post #46

I was also at Google when the AOL deal was signed and remember the decision and outcome quite differently. It was definitely a high risk deal, deliberately so, but in no way was it only "the best-case scenario had us breaking even". Nor was it the case that "all of our models were wrong". The product manager in charge of ads at the time had a clear understanding of exactly how the deal could be hugely profitable for…

Execs rewriting corporate history after the fact. Go figure.

Re: Marissa Mayer on career growth and how a revenue guarantee almost killed Google

#164

Post by JudasGoatse »

antt wrote: post #147
JudasGoatse wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really, are you arguing that Bill Gates and Steve Jobs did nothing but spin? Their companies are worth hundreds of billions of dollars decades later. If you think that's just an illusion then I hope you're smart enough to have someone else manage your money ... and possibly everything else in your life.

Gates broke the law and nearly destroyed his company. Had he been less well politically connected the appeal would have gone another way and we would have had at least three Microsofts today. Like I said, 'value' is a dangerous proposition to measure anyone by.

Lol. Ifs, buts, shoulda-beens, almost-weres. I'm sure most successes flirt with failure at some point. So what? There's no arguing that both men created immense value. It's totally appropriate that they're lauded for it.

I don't know why you're trying to be such a spoilsport about it. Don't begrudge smart, hardworking people their success, it makes you look like a bitter wingnut. I mean, really: Microsoft and Apple are shams? That's the hill you want to defend?

Re: Marissa Mayer on career growth and how a revenue guarantee almost killed Google

#166

Post by exelius »

shostack wrote: post #160
NelsonMinar wrote: post #46

I was also at Google when the AOL deal was signed and remember the decision and outcome quite differently. It was definitely a high risk deal, deliberately so, but in no way was it only "the best-case scenario had us breaking even". Nor was it the case that "all of our models were wrong". The product manager in charge of ads at the time had a clear understanding of exactly how the deal could be hugely profitable for…

Can you speak at all to what sort of modeling work is done around this sort of major partnership? I'm really curious how many people are involved in that sort of exercise at that level and how clean the data is, what sorts of data are used, etc.

I do this kind of work! I don’t know at Google, but typically there will be some amount of third-party due diligence for deals over a certain size / risk profile. Some companies have an internal strategic deals group; which I would assume Google likely does (but probably didn’t back then).

If both companies’ data needs to be combined an analyzed, they usually bring in an outside deals consulting firm. Those teams tend to be very small due to the sensitive nature of the discussions involved — usually 2 or 3 people (backed by a large shared support staff and tooling) over the course of a few weeks.

Often the data used is a combination of proprietary data from both companies, commercially sourced data or proprietary data platforms built by the consulting companies. Deals are a big, sensitive, relationship-driven business.

Re: Marissa Mayer on career growth and how a revenue guarantee almost killed Google

#167

Post by edanm »

antt wrote: post #77
rajeshp1986 wrote: post #10

"I realized that, while I had a very deep understanding of artificial intelligence, I did not yet have some of the basics down. I knew how a database worked. I knew how an operating system worked. I knew how a compiler worked. But I hadn't taken classes on those topics, so I went back for my master's and took the rest of the AI offerings as well as a lot of programming basics. That way, I could actually go and market…

Keep in mind that she is a queen of self promotion. When she was talking about 140 hour work weeks she conveniently left out the fact she was paying someone else to do her domestic work [0]. Or that most of her days involved meetings, lunches and dinners. I am reminded of the story of Henry IV who stood barefoot in the snow for three days. And through the grace of God not getting frost bite. We have come so far when…

I think this is a bad comment.

Someone asked a technical question, and you managed to turn the topic into accusations against Marissa Mayer (and ones that at least invoke sexism).

There's a time and a place for criticism, but it's not every time someone asks a question about her.

Re: Marissa Mayer on career growth and how a revenue guarantee almost killed Google

#168

Post by carlivar »

empath75 wrote: post #31
node-bayarea wrote: post #9

She ruined Yahoo! Made stupid acquisitions like Tumblr and shit.

Yahoo was already dying when she joined. Fundamentally the ‘portal’ model was already doomed and there was little she could do to fix it other than buy a social network like tumblr. Yahoo and aol both had levels of technical debt that are hard to imagine from outside of the company.

Ehh, Yahoo had to gamble big on Marissa. They lost I guess, but it was the correct decision at the time. I think people are forgetting the terrible CEOs prior to that, and the horrible decision not to sell to Microsoft.

Remember the Obama style "Hope" posters with her face on them?

Re: Marissa Mayer on career growth and how a revenue guarantee almost killed Google

#169

Post by [deleted] »

barry-cotter wrote: post #152
4thaccount wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm referring to comparing your existing job to a new one. Everyone does this and it can't be rare. You have to look at quality of work, work life balance, the area, commute time, cost of living, salary, 401k match, benefits, chance of advancement, company culture, job safety, bonus amount, job security...etc. For a lot of people the choice is a no-brainer, but there are comparable and even worse jobs out there. I ap…

You shouldn’t apologise for a personal attack, whether on the internet or in person. Anyone who says you’re privileged is your enemy, at worst, and completely indifferent to your welfare at best.

[deleted]

Re: Marissa Mayer on career growth and how a revenue guarantee almost killed Google

#170

Post by hlurhhh »

jhwang5 wrote: post #133
hlurhhh wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't tell me to do some reading for f*'s sake, I know about Margaret Hamilton and Grace Hopper. Mayer is current, successful, and stylish. I like her. I'm trying to explain to you why there might be a 'cult of personality' around her.

Why is being stylish so important in this context? If she were not stylish or conventionally attractive, does that detract from your opinion of her?

Being stylish is super important (to me) because not only is she a woman in tech - she's a stylish woman in tech. I hate the typical tech uniform of jeans, t-shirts, and hoodies, but felt I wouldn't get taken seriously if I looked 'pretty'. Marissa made that ok for me.

If she wore the typical tech uniform it wouldn't detract anything for me, but she wouldn't be iconic to me.

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