With financial markets in turmoil and Jerry Yang being responsible for more or less botching the Microsoft deal, it is obvious he needs to step down. The only question is why did it take so long? Here are thoughts on the new CEO Position and what has to happen:
1) She/He has to be from an entrepreneurial new media company
a. If you hire someone well-known from the go-go days of the nineties - with no small company experience, Yahoo! will continue to fail
b. Google is competitor #1 and acts like a small company
i. There is no other way to compete with them
c. Find a person who has seen business transform as a result of the web. Someone dynamic and able to change quickly
2) Speed: make this the number one imperative throughout the organization
a. Roll out new products and services as fast as possible
3) Mobile
a. There needs to be a renewed focus on mobile browsing and search
b. Ink deals with every carrier you can while you can
c. Be everywhere
4) Promote yourself
a. Mail, sports, news, finance - there are just so many areas where Yahoo is a leader
i. Why not promote this fact?
ii. Tell advertisers how great your company is
5) Brag
a. Yahoo is so understated I felt that #4 on its own would not do the trick
i. The company needs to be vociferous
ii. Remind us why we use and love Yahoo
iii. Throw traffic numbers around
6) Act like the underdog you are
a. Yahoo's culture is one of a market leader
b. While this is true in many sectors, customers and Wall Street don't see it this way
c. Become entrepreneurial
d. Hire new people as needed to make this happen
e. Get leaner
f. Get meaner
7) Push the toolbar
a. The Yahoo Toolbar has access to so much rich Yahoo content
b. Go on the offensive with the toolbar
c. Give the toolbar access to the best content from around the web - ESPN, CNN, etc
d. Make it difficult for users to ignore the toolbar and get them to adopt it and likewise build search volume
8) Copy Google
a. Obviously it is good to be innovative but on occasion it makes sense to "borrow" ideas
b. Give developers some free time to work on pet projects just Like Google
c. Yahoo has so much potential to push new services to an entrenched audience
d. They just need to roll out more and more of them at a faster clip
e. This could even cut development cost
f. Put relevant ads in Yahoo Mail. Why would you not do this?
There are just so many ways to maximize revenue at Yahoo and it is bewildering that this internet legend is still struggling. I truly wish them well but they better find someone quick to get this steamship turned.
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There are a lot of intersting viewpoints, concepts here that evoke a lot of interest and comment
Yahoo! was the market leader that was Google's first market leader and competitor whose users to target at - for market and profit share of google as a search engine , product provider and ultimately advertising machine bringing in huge profits for Google.
Google has always realized that its success was spread by word of mouth basically , and the same could happen to them as befell Yahoo. Google is always iniatiating and trying to introduce new products and services. Its an attitude of support to some degree. What is interesting is that it is often not the major and heralded google products that become blockbusters - but often quiet products that were developed and even shepered away , announced in some quiet corner at Google.
Contrast that to Yahoo - who seems to be living in past glory of years gone by - and even rejects the market leader with a war chest of cash with which to promote and develop. On top of that future microsoft products could be integrated with Microsoft products as well as future and even current windows products to become the standards. Look at MSN messenger as an example. Its not because it or hotmail are even as good as other products its because for ease of use and learning they are already set up in Windows by default.
The foolish thing is now Microsoft can buy Yahoo anyways but at much much less cost. If I were a Yahoo shareholder I would be plum angy.
Its similar in a way to the car industry and how the market leader GM became a legend in its own mind "You wouldn't want to drive that small foreign...." When I see old ladies in babooshkas driving Toyota Corollas I know no matter what the GM executive states that GM has lost major market share , its loyal following and ultimately profitability levels.