For a while, I have been keeping an eye on the hardworking and pioneering Taiwanese Jerry Yang, who successfully co-founded Yahoo. I kept on suspecting that sooner rather than later, he would pull a fast one on the market. Therefore his recent resignation as Yahoo CEO neither caught me off guard nor shocked me. For me, what raises the alarm a bit is the fact that he is also leaving the boards of Yahoo Japan and Alibaba, substantial portions of which Yahoo owns – this man is not just cutting ties, he is almost disowning his hard earned asset once referred to a “grown up” media and advertising brand. What could be devastatingly wrong back at the ranch?
The questions that linger in my mind is: has the global market seen the last of him in this playing field; or is he playing a similar card he once played when he loaned the Yahoo reigns to Tony Semel only to take over as CEO again in 2007?
- Is his resignation some kind of a tactic?
- Is it a worked-out strategy since his return in 2007?
- Is Yahoo now preparing the market for a complete overhaul that will not only change ownership and move into hands of new investors but will also take a complete take detour as far as brand positioning is concerned?
- Is Yang getting out with the intention of leaping into a new innovative launch of a new product that requires his face to be totally dissociated with this current brand?
- How does one co-create an entity only to give it up so lethargically?
Yes, his resignation has been looming since the 2008 saga when he “disastrously mishandled” the Microsoft’s bid to acquire Yahoo. Therefore, I am not surprised that he has been playing his cards close to his chest since then. But perhaps he has been using the past 2 years to prepare himself for a momentous, more innovative move that will catapult his image and focus into new heights.
Well, who’s to know except the Stanford graduate innovator himself? In 2009, while addressing a group of student at a graduation ceremony at the University of Hawaii he sternly said:
My mother taught me the rules of perseverance. While I’ve certainly faced challenges since founding Yahoo!, they were nothing compared to what my mother faced coming to the US as a single parent from Taiwan, with two young boys and a few suitcases. I was ten at the time, and the only English word I knew was the word “shoe.” It could have been very easy to feel discouraged. But I worked hard, studied hard, and played hard along the way. Yes, good timing and some luck played a role in my starting Yahoo!, but there is just no substitute for hard work and relentless preparation”.
Now, do we really want to believe that this unwavering whiz kid has willingly and suddenly forgotten that there is “no substitute” for hard work and relentlessness?
I for one do not buy the act!
Having said that, if Yahoo as a brand has a plan to stay healthily alive, it has a lot of hard work to do in order to bring back to life an admired reputation that it has once had. Not an easy task, considering that in the past five years, it has had four CEOs (Carol Bartz was CEO for only 30 months) – what a negative impact this have in its strategic progression?
As for now, Yahoo does not have much choice but to wryly lag behind the likes of Google and Facebook; or does it?
As for now, Yahoo does not have much choice but to wryly lag behind the likes of Google and Facebook; or does it?
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