Yahoo! is in crisis mode and I think Marissa is making the right moves. If what she says inspires current employees and keeps talent then it is all worth while.
Now the pessimist could see Yahoo! as a dying company/stock. Apple was in the same position before Steve Jobs came back.
Yahoo! could possible die a slow death or this could mark the start of a recovery. Marissa understands it begins with products and to have great products, engineers need to be happy and inspired. Perhaps Yahoo! could be seen as a down stock and is poised for growth? What if Yahoo! triples in value over the next 3 years? The best time to buy into a stock is when it is down.
I will add that what Marissa is doing is also making Yahoo! more attractive to prospective employees. If a prospective employee has the hypothetical choice between working at Facebook and working at Yahoo! and hears about the changes that Marissa has made then they may be inclined to work at Yahoo! Perhaps they have heard about the poor stock performance since Facebook's IPO. If that prospective talent chooses to work at Yahoo! instead of Facebook then it is a win.
This is clearly the Hail Mary for Yahoo. I give the board a ton of credit for having the gumption, though I realize they tried every other permutation of crisis reaction first.
And they couldn't have chosen anyone more appropriate for the strategy than Marissa Mayer. I have no use for Yahoo in my life, but I'm really rooting for her and them, and I hope they change my mind.
You raise an interesting point about stock. It defies all logic to believe that Marissa could achieve what Steve Jobs did. But that doesn't mean it isn't worth a small bet.
Comments
Yahoo! is in crisis mode and I think Marissa is making the right moves. If what she says inspires current employees and keeps talent then it is all worth while.
Now the pessimist could see Yahoo! as a dying company/stock. Apple was in the same position before Steve Jobs came back.
Yahoo! could possible die a slow death or this could mark the start of a recovery. Marissa understands it begins with products and to have great products, engineers need to be happy and inspired. Perhaps Yahoo! could be seen as a down stock and is poised for growth? What if Yahoo! triples in value over the next 3 years? The best time to buy into a stock is when it is down.
I will add that what Marissa is doing is also making Yahoo! more attractive to prospective employees. If a prospective employee has the hypothetical choice between working at Facebook and working at Yahoo! and hears about the changes that Marissa has made then they may be inclined to work at Yahoo! Perhaps they have heard about the poor stock performance since Facebook's IPO. If that prospective talent chooses to work at Yahoo! instead of Facebook then it is a win.
This is clearly the Hail Mary for Yahoo. I give the board a ton of credit for having the gumption, though I realize they tried every other permutation of crisis reaction first.
And they couldn't have chosen anyone more appropriate for the strategy than Marissa Mayer. I have no use for Yahoo in my life, but I'm really rooting for her and them, and I hope they change my mind.
You raise an interesting point about stock. It defies all logic to believe that Marissa could achieve what Steve Jobs did. But that doesn't mean it isn't worth a small bet.