I don't think yahoo was ever really an 'it' company...they were (maybe) an 'it stock', but that's a who nother ball of wax. At the company level, in terms of having a "category killer" product, they never had one.
In order for Yahoo to ever right the ship, that is what they need. They need to become indispensible for either offering something unqiue or something of unqiue value.
Their investment in alibaba was close to that...both unique to investors and great value...where else could you a private equity stake in a huge chineese start-up?
The issue there was the "killer product" was a specialized financial asset with a finite life. This is distinct from something with an evergreen consumer service or product that will be monetizable over the long run.
The task for the CEO is can take the capirtal on hand and start building good (evergreen) products?
If nothing else she should be given (retain) some capital and another 3 years before making a final judgement. At that stage, take a look at the pipleline and if there is nothing in it...that will be a signal.
Yahoo right now is like a pharma company which had a blockbuster come off of patent...its all about the ability to re-plenish the pipeline...the profits that happened previously are nearly irrelevant except for providing the position/capital to recruit people for the next round of product development.
In order for Yahoo to ever right the ship, that is what they need. They need to become indispensible for either offering something unqiue or something of unqiue value.
Their investment in alibaba was close to that...both unique to investors and great value...where else could you a private equity stake in a huge chineese start-up?
The issue there was the "killer product" was a specialized financial asset with a finite life. This is distinct from something with an evergreen consumer service or product that will be monetizable over the long run.
The task for the CEO is can take the capirtal on hand and start building good (evergreen) products?
If nothing else she should be given (retain) some capital and another 3 years before making a final judgement. At that stage, take a look at the pipleline and if there is nothing in it...that will be a signal.
Yahoo right now is like a pharma company which had a blockbuster come off of patent...its all about the ability to re-plenish the pipeline...the profits that happened previously are nearly irrelevant except for providing the position/capital to recruit people for the next round of product development.