Posted: 2020
Marissa Mayer and the Fight to Save Yahoo
I love the insider details of this star-crossed battle. This book dials down much of the Marissa Mayer hype.
This book is a good choice for those who are curious about the goings on in corporate boards and among influential investors who are engaged in industry strategy. It is an informative book for those who are curious about the tech industry.
One of the the more interesting things in this book is the classic "war" between managers and technologists. Mayer started out as a technologist but shifted to the manager track. Actually she remained a product person focused on UI or the user experience. It is noteworthy that Google, at some point, was made to choose between her and a hard core technologist for the leadership of Google Search and it very wisely did not choose Mayer. Mayer's failure at Yahoo also shows that hard core engineers are the better choice for technology companies.
The flawed QPR or bucket system was a huge destroyer of moral at Yahoo and I'm baffled by Mayer's inability to see that.
This book is also a warning for executives who micromanage - really the wrong way to go.
For some time Mayer's celebrity image protected her but the hard numbers reflect her failure to be an effective CEO at Yahoo.
This book is an informative and satisfying read that I find comprehensively covers its chosen subject.