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Yahoo: 120 days/1200 ideas… and one real ’startup’

July 24th, 2007

Phew. You blink and four months goes by. Long due for an update post. However, first and foremost, Caterina and Stewart had a baby! Now two weeks old and cute as a button. Now that’s a startup… and clearly with good product management genes all around. [ok i'll stop with the belabored metaphor and just say Congrats!!]

Now to the rather bigger venture. It’s been a whirlwind few months getting to grips with Yahoo…. here are some of the highlights. This post could be called “1200/1500/34/50/MLR (hut!)”.

1200. As a team, we’ve now waded through 1200 pre-existing ideas and categorized/analysed them to find the nugget game-changers. We’re about halfway through the existing backlog while trying to cope with dozens of new ideas piling in the front door.. In short, there is a ton of innovation all around Yahoo just bursting to get out. It’s been quite a challenge trying to keep track of it all and my mind is overflowing – so much so that I’m spewing out gibberish half the time.. “uh, yes, that was the, um, ad-tracking cookie cutting widget with built-in search for syndicationwiththedeliciousiphonehackpipe… right?”.

1500. The miles I put on my car in one particularly hellish week of commuting from the east bay (circling the whole bay every goddamn day). I’ve since moved to Palo Alto and that has eased the pain considerably. Plus, the new place is across the street from the park where I play tennis. (and my forehand is back after a long hiatus).

34. The hours of meetings in one agenda-riddled week. Left me slack-jawed.

50. Messages on my blackberry in one particularly hideous hour. If I don’t spend an hour a day dealing with the backlog, I just get washed away. I asked Scott Gatz how he deals with it and he grinned “I just ignore them. If it’s a problem it’ll come back to bite you.” Indeed. Perhaps he can get away with it after all he’s done. Not me. So, I continued to drown until Bradley gave me some tips on how to handle the load (respond to the urgent ones, flag the important ones).

But my favorite anecdote is the MLR. On day two or three, I was sitting down with Facilities and the architect checking out the Brickhouse floor plan and I noticed a box called MLR. The following conversation ensued – it had me reeling for days:

Me: “Quick question… this room – MLR? What’s that?
Facilities & Architect: Oh, MLR, that’s the Mother’s Lactating Room
Me: Ha. Good one – but what’s it really stand for?
Facilities & Architect: No, that’s the Mother’s Lactating Room
Me: [smirking] Ok, quit joking with the new guy. Seriously now, what is it?
F&A: [not a smirk in sight] we’re not kidding… that’s the Mother’s Lactating Room.
Me: What?
[this exchange repeats two more times]
Me: [the reality sinks in] Wow. Ok, well… ok then. Who’s, uh, who’s lactating?
F&A: We have no idea
Me: [eyebrows on the ceiling] But, but, then why have it?
F&A: Oh, well, any facility of Yahoo of more than 25 people has an MLR. It’s policy.
Me: Well, that’s a great policy, but even if there aren’t any mothers within miles?
Them: Yes. Yahoo takes this kind of thing very seriously.
Me: Well, again, that’s a really great policy, but we’re trying to create a gritty, barebones startup feel here. Hard to do that with an MLR, no?
F&A: [No response]
Me: Well ok. Until we have someone lactating, I’ll just store servers and other kit in there.
F&A: Um no. We don’t think you get it. Touch it and you die [I'm paraphrasing this one].

And now, Caterina goes and has a baby! She did, after all, create the place, but oh, the irony. Life’s funny, innit?

That was the most ‘out there’ experience. On my first day, I wore a jacket and got called out for it. After years in Europe and New York, it’s hard to unwind the wardrobe. I do, on occasion wear sandals on Fridays. (ok. only in sunnyvale).

Entry Filed under: Blogging