Yahoo! Q2 Results

Today we had an all-hands meeting at Yahoo! to discuss the Q2 results and what is in Yahoo's future. Jerry Yang focused on how to change Y! three years down the road. His vision of Y! is a deep, active marketplace of consumers, advertisers, and publishers/developers. The opportunity exists in turning data into insights, which can then be turned into revenue generation. The problem is that Y! has become too separate from the Web. One change that he would like to make is rid Y! of its "closed garden" mentality--allow users to access content that is not on the Y! network. Additionally, he would like to change the company's focus away from deals with advertisers and content providers, to becoming partnerships. He has given himself 100 days to buy alignment with leadership, and evolve the organizational structure.

So, what do I think is wrong with Yahoo!?
-Decisions take too long to move through the organization--Y! needs a flatter hierarchy
-Culture is "9-6 job"; people are not enthusiastic about working here--changing this needs to start at the top
-People are protective of their turf within Y!, but do not necessarily make decisions that are in the best interest of the entire company

This last point is best illustrated through an example I heard yesterday. Someone within the division I work in (SDS) found out that a group of 100+ engineers were being laid off due to downsizing at their company. SDS moved in to interview as many candidates as possible, and was interested in many of them to hire. Realizing that other divisions at Yahoo! might also be interested, SDS told them about the opportunity as well. Now these divisions are angry at SDS because they were not informed earlier, and SDS has gotten the "pick of the litter." My guess is that in the future, if another opportunity like this ever occurs, there will be no communication between divisions for fear of being ostracized. Not a great thing when Yahoo! is trying to focus on "hiring the brightest people and placing them in areas where they will add the most value," as Jerry Yang mentioned in the all-hands meeting this morning.