Marissa Mayer: CEO (Yahoo) of the year 1955

Wed, 02/27/13 - 9:34am

Think back to the mid 80s. Michael J. Fox starring in the hit movie "Back to the Future." His 1981 DeLorean, powered by the flux capacitor invented by the esteemed Dr. Emmett Brown, was sent back in time to Hill Valley on the date of November 5, 1955. What was going on in 1955? Well, we know George McFly was still in school. We also know that Goldie Wilson was thinking of running for Mayor of Hill Valley. And we know that no one telecommuted back then, and working from the office was the norm.

I can only imagine that Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer must have slipped in her bathroom, bumped her head on the toilet like Doc Brown and had a vision of a flux capacitor that could send people back in time on her pre-weekend memo that gave employees a "come into the office or quit" ultimatum. I imagine that Marissa actually went back in time and is preparing for the "Enchantment Under the Sea Dance," which is distracting her from her role of being the boss of Yahoo.

Other than proving that time travel is real, I really don’t see the benefit to this edict. Mayer argues "speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home," but I really don’t understand the basis for this argument, especially for a company that makes tools that are supposed to help people connect better when they’re not face to face.

Instead of making Yahoo the poster child for stodginess, how about making Yahoo a shining example of how tools like chat, presence, VoIP, video and mail, if used effectively, can make people more productive than sitting around in meetings in conference rooms?

More: http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/82541?hpg1=bn