4 ms·

I don't understand. What about Yahoo VPs would lead you to expect the experience I had?

808statetaway 10y ago
Good rule of thumb is that people from Yahoo or Sun are extremely nonproductive and tend to spend most of their time preparing powerpoint presentations for internal use.
- bcantrill 10y ago
  In my experience, the deadwood at Sun actually became deadwood at Oracle; most of the folks who left Sun (disclosure: includes me) were the ones who were drawn to Sun first and foremost by its mission, and since leaving they have gone on to interesting things elsewhere. So while there are certainly companies that are red flags for me, Sun isn't one of them -- and I say this as someone who knows Sun's failings better than most...
  - mathattack 10y ago
    The purchase was 6+ years ago, and the deadwood is still there?
    - bcantrill 10y ago
      Absolutely! It is, after all, deadwood -- and given that it's broadly resistant to Oracle's management-by-asphyxiation, it will likely be there for quite some time to come...
      - shemnon42 10y ago
        Can confirm, although the asphyxiation often comes from a level or two up.
      - mathattack 10y ago
        What do you mean by "Oracle's management-by-asphyxiation"? And is it that Oracle has such marketplace strength that it can get away with holding the deadwood? I had heard that Oracle was a very competitive place.
        Zelmor 10y ago
        "Too big to fail" market attitude, I guess.
        mathattack 10y ago
        "Too big to fail" usually involves outsiders (government) propping up companies. (Think GM or Bank of America) I don't think the government is propping up Oracle.
    - anexprogrammer 10y ago
      Deadwood manages to stay, unnoticed by management, for decades. Most companies of a size has plenty, the body-shops (EDS etc) seem to consist of mainly deadwood.
      - mathattack 10y ago
        True - if the deadwood can still be billed out, it lasts.
      - jazzyk 10y ago
        A lot of the deadwood is management :-)
- huxley 10y ago
  Sad, Scott McNealy was reputed to have banned Powerpoints in 1997 for pretty much that reason.

Good rule of thumb is that people from Yahoo or Sun are extremely nonproductive and tend to spend most of their time preparing powerpoint presentations for internal use.

bcantrill 10y ago
In my experience, the deadwood at Sun actually became deadwood at Oracle; most of the folks who left Sun (disclosure: includes me) were the ones who were drawn to Sun first and foremost by its mission, and since leaving they have gone on to interesting things elsewhere. So while there are certainly companies that are red flags for me, Sun isn't one of them -- and I say this as someone who knows Sun's failings better than most...
- mathattack 10y ago
  The purchase was 6+ years ago, and the deadwood is still there?
  - bcantrill 10y ago
    Absolutely! It is, after all, deadwood -- and given that it's broadly resistant to Oracle's management-by-asphyxiation, it will likely be there for quite some time to come...
    - shemnon42 10y ago
      Can confirm, although the asphyxiation often comes from a level or two up.
    - mathattack 10y ago
      What do you mean by "Oracle's management-by-asphyxiation"? And is it that Oracle has such marketplace strength that it can get away with holding the deadwood? I had heard that Oracle was a very competitive place.
      - Zelmor 10y ago
        "Too big to fail" market attitude, I guess.
        mathattack 10y ago
        "Too big to fail" usually involves outsiders (government) propping up companies. (Think GM or Bank of America) I don't think the government is propping up Oracle.
  - anexprogrammer 10y ago
    Deadwood manages to stay, unnoticed by management, for decades. Most companies of a size has plenty, the body-shops (EDS etc) seem to consist of mainly deadwood.
    - mathattack 10y ago
      True - if the deadwood can still be billed out, it lasts.
    - jazzyk 10y ago
      A lot of the deadwood is management :-)
huxley 10y ago
Sad, Scott McNealy was reputed to have banned Powerpoints in 1997 for pretty much that reason.