Yahoo用6000萬美元把Google的女副總裁Marisa Mayer給挖角過來當CEO，舉世譁然。Yahoo正面臨一場淘汰邊緣的垂死掙扎，董事會的決定是否正確，端看時間來證明一切。
笑容可掬的Marisa Mayer出身Google栽培高階主管的班底之一，員工編號G第20號的資深老員工，同時也是Google聘請的第一位女性工程師，主導Google Map、Place、Location，並推動Gmail、Orkut等100多種產品及技術，人稱「矽谷最美麗的副總裁」。
她才37歲，在Google工作10幾年，從沒有經營公司的經驗，一上任還宣布懷孕消息，讓人替Yahoo捏把冷汗，還是替她跳槽的決定感到惋惜?
以我目前看到的資料，Yahoo病急亂投藥，情有可原，再不找人出手拯救，恐怕只剩下肥貓CEO坐領高薪不辦事，工程師都走光光的局面 (當然這說得誇張，可是優秀的工程師都走了，剩下還算能人嗎?)
而Yahoo亟欲擺脫病貓的困境，找了曾在Yahoo帶過心靈導師的Marisa Mayer，希望藉助她的人脈，替Yahoo多找點人開發競爭力的產品，不然可能等著被人併購的命運。
我對Marisa Mayer的印象是從她曾來台灣演說親切美式風格，再近一點就是她發給員工的memo，一封開宗明義昭示大家我來了的訊息，除了安定軍心、提振士氣之外，並將她的處事風格展露無遺，擁有Google自由開放的性格，深藏在這封信裡。
不曉得她寫這封信有沒有請教過高人，但她保持客觀開放的姿態，或許不想在字裡行間講明她大刀闊斧(意謂裁員)的作法，引起大家的恐慌，反而說明往前看、繼續努力的工作態度，才能在過度期間繼續將公司方向轉到正軌。
還有一點看得出她謙虛為上，尊Yahoo為前輩的口吻，包括第一段提到她以前就是Yahoo開創時期的粉絲，Yahoo是Internet存在的象徵之類，還有最後倒數第三段，她感謝前CEO Ross Levinsohn幾個月前因於前前CEO Scott Thompson學歷造假事件，臨時徵召上陣，擔任臨時CEO所做的貢獻。
當然客套之語還是不能省，就算Ross Levinshon真的沒做什麼事，每次新上任的人，都是照例感謝前任帶領之類的用語，似乎是老美才會這樣表彰美言，說是形式上格式也不為過。
從信的幾點看得出，第二段表明她對公司經營策略的主要看法，Move forward和keep moving這用詞，一方面不想引起太多猜測與恐慌，二來在她提出有效改善病徵之前，大家還是得站在工作崗位上持續保持下去，不因她新官上任，而認為有三把火等著他們。
當然手邊的工作到底要不要做下去，如有懷疑，她認為就是找她談談，才能釋疑，她也將傾聽員工聲音的開放作法，寫在最後一段，似乎希望能彎低身段，讓Yahoo人不會感到尖銳的咄咄逼人語氣。
幾個月之後Marisa Mayer就要待產去生子了，Yahoo短時間要反敗為勝也不是那麼容易，孱弱體質要對症下藥，乃是Marisa Mayer想說服董事會招募更多人才的想法，把現存有價值發展下去的產品，持續發揚光大，而難以開花結果的專案，應該當機立斷斬決，而決定哪個該留下，哪個該消失，考驗Marisa Mayer一個Google栽培的工程師因子，如何不畏人情前險，將Yahoo病入膏肓的那根窟給挖乾淨。
Marisa Mayer’s First Memo to Yahoos
Privileged and confidential — Do not forward
Dear Yahoos!
I couldn’t be more excited to be here — thank you for the warm welcome over the past two days! I can’t wait to get to know more about Yahoo’s products, culture, and all of you. I’ve always had a deep respect for Yahoo! — I first experienced it as a student at Stanford in 1994 as “David and Jerry’s Guide to the World Wide Web” — and I’ve been fan ever since. I’m incredibly honored to now be a part of the team and work with all of you. Yahoo! is an Internet icon — in terms of brand, reach, user following, in its products and service. There is an enormous amount of opportunity in front of us.
The company has been through a lot of change in the past few months, leaving many open questions around strategy and how to move forward. I am sensitive to this. While I have some ideas, I need to develop a more informed perspective before making strategy or direction changes. In the meantime, please do not stop. You are doing important work. Please don’t stop. If you have questions or concerns about whether to continue or not, please ask. However, with the exception of a few things that might heavily constrain us in the future, the answer is most likely: “Yes, keep moving.”
Companies are all about people and the companies with the best talent win. Joining was an easy decision, because the strength of Yahoo!’s talent and the whole team here is apparent. We will continue to invest in talent, so we can produce the most compelling and exciting user experiences anywhere.
In recognizing our team’s deep talent, we all owe thanks to Ross Levinsohn, for his leadership and direction as interim CEO over the last couple of months. Ross has done a terrific job for the company.
Looking forward, we need to continue Yahoo!’s tradition of bold innovation, encourage creativity, and ultimately inspire and delight users and advertisers.
Please come by my office in building D on the third floor and say hello. I cannot wait to hear your ideas for Yahoo!’s future.
Marissa
