Yahoo's Bartz Loses Spin (& Leak) Control

Written by R. Scott Raynovich - Light Reading

Tuesday, February 3. 2009 at 09:40 AM EST 2 comments

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There is always a fond place in my heart for corporate paranoia, and new Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) CEO Carol Bartz appears to have wasted no time creating a culture of paranoia at Yahoo.

So far we've learned she loves the management of fear, as she cracks down on press leaks and issues threatening edicts to employees via memo.

I couldn't help but be reminded of Carly Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) CEO, who thought it was best to remake HP with a culture of of fear, paranoia... and leak-plugging. As you may recall, one of Fiorina's obsessions was tracking down press leaks from her board.

The press and bloggers are having a heyday with Bartz, pointing out that nearly all of her memos about stopping press leaks in the company have, in fact, leaked.

The blog AllThingsD first started reporting the "leak issue," when, of course, it got ahold of the memo addressing it... which was leaked.

This morning, WSJ adds fuel to the fire, pointing out that Bartz has put a $1,000 "bounty" on leakers.

We also know that she has a potty mouth.

Which leads us to wonder, does she also have a budding press management and image problem? Seriously, take a minute and think about what we know about Carol Bartz. So far, here's what I know:

1. She's very opinionated.

2. She has a potty mouth.

3. She hates press leaks.

I still don't know anything about her media strategy, what she thinks Yahoo is, or what the best products are.

I'm not saying she doesn't have a product strategy, but she has broken the No. 1 rule of media management: Control the story. The media now has control of her story. Her leaked memos are now the No. 1 topic of discussion. Her first image in the press is one of a leak-obsessed autocrat who swears like a sailor.

Bartz needs to stop thinking she has to immediately remake the culture of the company in her own image and start thinking about how to remake the company.

As I've said before, Yahoo's problem is that it got sidetracked from product strategy. What Bartz needs to do immediately is:

1. Change her press strategy. Make friends. Steer the discussion back to Yahoo's products and how it will succeed.

2. Get focused on the product strategy.

3. Drive execution of the products and marketing.

There's no reason to waste your time trying to plug press leaks at Yahoo; it will be like plugging holes in the Hoover Dam with chewing gum, and you'll just keep making yourself look silly in the newspapers and blogs.