What more can be said about Carol Bartz? Her appearance at the helm of Yahoo has certainly energized the company and given both its supporters and detractors plenty to talk about. But beyond the colorful language and straight shooting demeanor lies one of the most challenging turnarounds in Internet history (at least from this observer’s point of view).
Last year I interviewed Jerry Yang, and by most reports, it didn’t go so well. Well, let me put that another way – it was great to watch (and to be part of), but many said that interview was pretty much proof that Jerry needed to find someone else to run Yahoo. Which is why I am both impressed and a bit trepidatious that Bartz agreed to sit for an interview – will she think I’m trying to drive her to the brink of quitting?! Well, the answer there is no, but I will want to ask her the hard questions. And that’s where you come in.
What do you want to hear from Carol Bartz, CEO of Yahoo?
Others we’ll be interviewing (and I’ve asked for your help):
To come: Qi Lu, Aneesh Chopra, Sheryl Sandberg, Jon Miller, Austan Goolsbee, Paul Otellini, Shantanu Narayen, Tim Armstrong, Tim Berners Lee, and more. Again, an amazing lineup.
If you want to come, I can still get you a Searchblog discount (for about another week). Just ping me here.
When a company is in crisis it needs to reorganize around a clear and compelling vision for itself in the world. That vision needs to be sold by a charismatic leader… It is a mystical journey. I want to know if any of those ingredients are there…. What does Yahoo 2010 stand for? What is the big, hairy audacious work they aspire to? How does Carol come off pitching that work – Is she the charismatic Moses bringing her people to the promised land? t.
Over the past few years, one could say that non-digital natives put in charge of digital media companies have struggled in their leadership roles. We’ve seen digital media companies recruit for the top spot from broadcast media, technology companies, and so on. What qualifies Carol to lead and set a smart digital strategy for Yahoo?And where does she see Yahoo fitting into this competitive field, other than “aiming higher than AOL”? Which by the way is not a strategy.
What is Bartz’ plans for delicious, flickr, upcoming and pipes given that she doesn’t want to focus on the more technocentric parts of north america like silicon valley and new york?
Secondly, what is her plans for succeeding in Europe where the Yahoo! brand is going to hell in a handbasket, and we are not anything like middle America?
What “must see” shows / franchises / destinations are being developed at Yahoo! that add value above the social layer?
I would be interested in learning which company she intends to carve up and serve to the vultures next.
Yahoo has several social media assets within their portfolio. Some they have built – Y! Answers, Messenger and others they have acquired – Flickr. Despite having these solutions to offer, Yahoo has struggled to embed social components into its advertising solutions. Does Carol have any thoughts on how to make progress in this area? Acquire new talent? Re-engineer the organization?
James Kiernan
Internet comments are somewhat notorious for anonymous misogyny. When you work at an Internet company like Yahoo, how much of that do you encounter within the context of your day-to-day operations?
[Yes, I am aware of the irony of asking this question via a blog comment.]
I would like for someone to ask her why:
Is does she still allow BOGUS traffic from Third Partys who clearly have Parked Domain landing pages that no human will EVER find be part of Yahoo’s Sponsored Search Partner Network??
I can show proof of up to 50% of sponsored search traffic we get, comes from these partners and Yahoo tells me to go ahead and block 500 of their domains “that don’t perform for me” out of the 500,000 they allow in the network.
Clearly Yahoo likes to share in UNQUALIFIED TRAFFIC REVENUE.
As a shareholder I have no foggy idea what Yahoo’s strategy is, nor do i know what their purpose is anymore. They have to have a unifying theme or risk becoming a “mature” company, pay a dividend and stop acting like a growth company.
What is your purpose in life? What does Yahoo exist?