There has been a lot of digital ink spilled over Yahoo!’s announcement to eliminate work-at-home arrangements and have employees come into a Yahoo! office to work, like this article from the San Jose Mercury News, deep in Silicon Valley
Having read a number of opinions on both sides of this Yahoo!-Brouhaha drama (hard to avoid it out here in the land of the latest Gold Rush), I took just a marketing minute to reflect on this topic. Here’s what Ted Simon Says:
C’mon People...
Bottom line, I find it interesting that this is even a news item at all. A
newly hired CEO charged with turning around an under-performing company has
made a decision that she feels is in the best interest of the company and
stakeholders. In this case, it's an organizational decision (I’m sure it’s one
of many decisions). It will either improve company performance or it
won't...and standing pat, minding the status quo would fall in the latter
category.
That's not to say culture and work force organization are not serious items to consider; such items can and do make a difference. But, as an outsider, I'm willing to give a smart person some credit and think that she/he has thought this through. If that's not the case, then it could be a huge mistake and blow up in her face. Even if it was given careful consideration, it could still blow up. However, that will happen in the real world, within the company and the marketplace, not in the pundit columns.
So, c’mon people…enough with the hand-wringing in blogs, columns and newswires…stop trying to fill your article quotas or build your personal SEO over this.
Ya Gotta Crack an Egg…
I really am agnostic about Yahoo! and its future. I am neither a fan nor a
detractor of Ms. Meyer. I just think it is fair to point out she is simply
doing what the Board who hired her brought her in to do - change the downward
spiral Yahoo! was facing. Pros and cons regarding work-at-home vs. report to
the office are tactical side shows leading up to the main event -- whether
the company turns around or continues into a death spiral. THAT will be the
newsworthy item to follow.
To coin an old phrase: to make an omelet you need to crack a few eggs. And, I might add, you need to then add other ingredients and cook it. This move by Yahoo! represents an egg being cracked. Time will tell how this omelet turns out.