3 ms·

When you bet the farm, you win, or you're fired. Especially as a Yahoo CEO. So she's wise not to.

mentat 11y ago
When you're a CEO at that level you can always get a new gig and you always get a golden parachute. Always.
iaw 11y ago
She's received $1 million a month since she started. What does being fired matter after a few months? It's better, in my opinion, to bet big and fail than be crippled by paralysis.
- Touche 11y ago
  Better for who? I don't see any reason why you would want to "bet big" at an established company. Betting big and failing puts you in a worse position. Sell the company to someone else and let them "bet big" if they want, or do what a lot of failed companies do and make a lot of money as it slowly unwinds.
  - iaw 11y ago
    So what's better? A slow death or a fast one? As an investor I'd rather a fast death, salvage what capital I have remaining after the death, and invest it elsewhere. A slow death means that the long-term value of my money keeps decreasing over time as it's trapped in a weak investment with the hope that it may improve. As an employee, I'd rather work for a company trying to accomplish something big than keeping the boat floating in the same direction. What's the difference between working for Yahoo and Comcast in this context? Both of them aren't doing anything all that innovative or interesting. As an investor and an employee it's better to bet big and fail then to never try. If the company was established and successful I'd agree with you fully, but the company wasn't successful for nearly a decade before they brought her in. This, in my opinion, invalidates the 'stay the course' strategy.
    - kdamken 11y ago
      Well for her as the CEO, it seems a slow death might be favorable as she continues banking her $1 Million a month.
    - Touche 11y ago
      What are you calling a big bet and what are you calling a death? You may not be interested in a slow death but there are firms who make their money on it; Lycos is still around (with employees!), Yahoo can continue to exist in a decreased fashion for another easy 20 years. Blowing the company away on a "big bet" like throwing all of your money into self-driving cars or something is a bad business move, why not sell it to one of the firms that will put it into milk-mode?
hvs 11y ago
Except that she's probably going to be fired anyway.

When you're a CEO at that level you can always get a new gig and you always get a golden parachute. Always.

iaw 11y ago

She's received $1 million a month since she started. What does being fired matter after a few months? It's better, in my opinion, to bet big and fail than be crippled by paralysis.

Touche 11y ago
Better for who? I don't see any reason why you would want to "bet big" at an established company. Betting big and failing puts you in a worse position. Sell the company to someone else and let them "bet big" if they want, or do what a lot of failed companies do and make a lot of money as it slowly unwinds.
- iaw 11y ago
  So what's better? A slow death or a fast one? As an investor I'd rather a fast death, salvage what capital I have remaining after the death, and invest it elsewhere. A slow death means that the long-term value of my money keeps decreasing over time as it's trapped in a weak investment with the hope that it may improve. As an employee, I'd rather work for a company trying to accomplish something big than keeping the boat floating in the same direction. What's the difference between working for Yahoo and Comcast in this context? Both of them aren't doing anything all that innovative or interesting. As an investor and an employee it's better to bet big and fail then to never try. If the company was established and successful I'd agree with you fully, but the company wasn't successful for nearly a decade before they brought her in. This, in my opinion, invalidates the 'stay the course' strategy.
  - kdamken 11y ago
    Well for her as the CEO, it seems a slow death might be favorable as she continues banking her $1 Million a month.
  - Touche 11y ago
    What are you calling a big bet and what are you calling a death? You may not be interested in a slow death but there are firms who make their money on it; Lycos is still around (with employees!), Yahoo can continue to exist in a decreased fashion for another easy 20 years. Blowing the company away on a "big bet" like throwing all of your money into self-driving cars or something is a bad business move, why not sell it to one of the firms that will put it into milk-mode?

hvs 11y ago

Except that she's probably going to be fired anyway.