A Letter to the Employees of Yahoo

This post originally appeared on HarvardBusiness.org's Conversation Starter blog

Dear Yahooligans,

You're probably not having a great deal of fun these days. Even before the extended organizational turmoil that's surely resulting from the Microsoft bid, you were probably already fretting over who'd be included in that highly anticipated and much publicized round of layoffs.

Though Yahoo!'s salad days may seem like a distant memory, you still work for what is, in many respects, a great company doing really interesting things with a reputation for treating its people quite well. But, still, life is changing fast if you're one of Jerry Yang's Kids and the Yahoo! you've come to know and love will likely never be quite the same.

So where does this leave you? Most likely treading water in a big fat pool of uncertainty. A bit more than a year ago, one of your colleagues wrote a now famous memo in which he tried to warn your senior management that Yahoo! was trying to follow too many strategies at once and was spreading itself too thin -- like peanut butter, he said. Did anyone listen? Perhaps not well enough. Looks like Yahoo!'s strategy is still spread pretty far and wide -- and that may well be what has left your dear company in the vulnerable position it now finds itself. But today, as individuals, you can avoid the same fate: don't spread yourself too thin. Pick a strategy for managing yourself through these nerve-racking days and see it through.

As for that strategy, I think you have a few to choose from (which doesn't mean I think they're all equally attractive):

1. You could polish up your resume and plunge head-first into the job market. If you start now, you'll be one step ahead of the masses who might be forced to follow suit. But remember: a serious job hunt is a major undertaking. Is this the right time to take your eyes off your current responsibilities and risk slipping up? And aggressive job hunts are hard to keep quiet, especially within Silicon Valley. How disloyal are you willing to appear?

or...

2. You could polish up your smile and actively work the system in an attempt to come out on top when this round of changes -- whatever they prove to be -- settle down. But do you really know who the power-players are going to turn out to be? And do you want to be known for "playing politics" at a time like this?

or...

3. You could settle in, grit you teeth, and roll with the punches. Will Steve Ballmer (or perhaps Rupert Murdoch?) plow through, deem you redundant, and send you on your way? Maybe. Will a private equity "savior" swoop down and put your division on the chopping block? Could be. But much more likely, when the chaos comes in for a breather and Yahoo's been sold or saved, you'll still be there. Your boss might have changed, maybe your responsibilities too. You might even have to move to Washington state. But you and the vast majority of your colleagues will probably have a place at Microhoo! or Foxhoo! or whatever the next generation of Yahoo! turns out to be.

My advice? Take it slow, do your job well, and keep your eyes peeled for where new opportunities might spring up as the future unfolds. Uncertainty doesn't always bring pain and suffering; it also brings unexpected new opportunities.

And if things don't work out internally, I hear there's an outfit over in Mountain View that might be hiring. I think it's called Google.

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