5 CEOs That Need To Get Fired

http://blog.wired.com/business/2008/11/ceos-who-got-to.html

by kwamenum86 • 18 years ago

34 44 18 years ago

blog.wired.com

jfornear• 18 years ago

I figure my thoughts are just as randomly justified/qualified as Wired's:

If Facebook replaced Zuckerberg, I bet users wouldn't be opposed to paying a monthly subscription.

I agree that the Blockbuster CEO needs out. I think he has even been quoted mocking Netflix as non threatening.

I don't know what I feel about Jerry Yang. I feel like Yahoo's situation has to be more complicated than coverage conveys.

arockwell• 18 years ago

> By any reckoning, Jerry Yang should be out of a job.

> The Yahoo CEO spent a good part of the year fighting off an unsolicited bid by Microsoft which valued his company at about three times what it's worth today.

That seems pretty clear cut to me. In terms of share holder value, that's pretty catastrophic.

jrockway2• 18 years ago

What's good today might not be good a year from now.

Not that I necessarily believe that that applies to Yahoo's decision... but it is something to consider.

raganwald2• 18 years ago

I don't want to defend Mr. Yang, but I appeal to everyone to remember that people said exactly the same thing when Apple rejected Sun's offer of $24 a share, a 50% premium over their stock price (at the time) of $16.

And soon thereafter, if memory serves me, AAPL fell even lower as the arbitrageurs cut their losses.

chollida1• 18 years ago

> If Facebook replaced Zuckerberg, I bet users wouldn't be opposed to paying a monthly subscription.

I'm curious as to why you think the users willingness to pay is linked to Zuckerberg being the CEO.

Could you elaborate?

kwamenum866• 18 years ago

I think he is saying that the new CEO would be willing to implement subscriptions and the fb community would comply. I don't think anyone is waiting for Zuck to step down so they can pay a fee to talk to their friends :)

oakmac• 18 years ago

"I bet users wouldn't be opposed to paying a monthly subscription."

If Facebook started charging a monthly fee to be a member it would die a swift death. What Facebook should do is start charging for additional services beyond a basic profile. For example: basic profile is limited to 20 photos/month, $2/month gets you unlimited.

kirse• 18 years ago

Last time I gave some serious thought to FB's revenue problem this is what I came up with.

They'd have to find a way to sneak in a few initial tiny costs that don't abruptly cut off users who don't pay (i.e. limiting # of photos etc...). Once you get enough people with their credit card info in there, make it easy as heck (one-click) to upgrade to "Premium" or something and push the Premium site hard.

Microsoft does this with their Xbox Live service. It's so ridiculously easy to spend money on that service once they get your CC# for something tiny. All you have to do is press the X button (or something) to buy just about anything.

curiousgeorge• 18 years ago

My girlfriend just spent 3 hours copying her contact info from one phone to the next. Facebook could easily charge people for exporting their contact info into other applications.

thomasmallen2• 18 years ago

Two words: Student discount. Students pay nothing, but once you're out in the working world, pay a nominal annual fee ($10-25). You could cheat it, but then you'd be labeled on the site as a student forever. It may even be a "coming of age" thing for Facebook users...I wouldn't know, I don't use that site.

kwamenum866• 18 years ago

Zuckerberg should be commended for his talent and vision but if you have do take out a loan to keep your company afloat because you don't have enough revenue (as was widely reported) and you are STILL not worried about having a business model something is wrong. He recites his "we are not worried about revenue for at least a few years, we just want to grow" line religiously but it seriously sounds like entrepreneurial advice crica 2006. Get with the program!

river_styx3• 18 years ago

This is the modus operandi for basically every web 2.0 company. I think never before in history has there been such a large number of businesses springing up and carrying on blithely with no idea how they're going to make money.

unalone4• 18 years ago

It's because they were told sometime in the last decade that you could make a site profitable through ads alone. Because it worked for Google so incredibly. They forgot that Google works because they target massively relevant ads to people who are looking for links to begin with.

Interestingly enough, Facebook's revenue plan involves making money off of Live Search ads, as of the last month or so. Essentially, they're ripping off Google as honestly as they can: by emulating them. I'm interested in seeing how they'll fight against embedded Google search: that's their huge competitor right now.

alaskamiller8• 18 years ago

Is there something inherently wrong with this?

biohacker42• 18 years ago

I think never before in history has there been such a large number of businesses springing up and carrying on blithely with no idea how they're going to make money.

Ahem... web 1.0

alaskamiller8• 18 years ago

I find it hilarious that you think a company with 100 million users need to have revenue figured out within 5 years.

iigs2• 18 years ago

Are you implying that it doesn't? How are you supposed to pay for all of those salaries?

It seems like until they have the business model figured out it's not a business -- it's a charity.

wschroter• 18 years ago

This is a very familiar path among hyper growth companies - the point where the expense of growth outstrips their ability to convert to revenue. As long as the site keeps growing and adding users, they will continue to have a strong ability to feed the beast with more raised capital. I mean really - how many other companies are growing like they are? Especially in this market. They should have no problems at all getting access to more capital.

kwamenum866• 18 years ago

Most companies don't grow in this type of market because they are not giving the product away for free. Give me a good product, and let me give it away for free and I will give you a fast-growing company.

iamdave• 18 years ago

investors usually move to replace founders with more experienced executives.

I don't like that at all. Captains sink with their ships, it's the most time tested adage of being a leader. The notion that investors pull out the founders and replace them with Executives I think showcases a problem with how we analyze human relations in business: people are expendable and don't matter as long as they can keep the gears turning that pad wallets.

I understand the point of business: make money. But when did it become fashionable to give up the ability to command your crew just because a petty officer comes along and says "get lost" just because he's paying the bills? Pay the bills or not, I stand by my opinion: a captain should sink with his ship.

Got a shitty founder, teach him how to be a better founder and in the end you'll all benefit. Or are we all just too greedy to give a damn?

thomasmallen2• 18 years ago

If I go the startup route, I'll do it without investors. Start small. Then earn a little, grow a little, and make smart business decisions. Repeat. I'd much rather be on a solid foundation in ten years than on top of the world in two and back on the streets in another.

alizaki• 18 years ago

Right on the money, except for Dell. The company is putting money into key trend and technology. Case in point: the netbook and the 19 hour battery life laptops.

Sam_Odio• 18 years ago

It's interesting that the article seems to be using a reddit backend. Notice the url of the vote links: http://reddit.wired.com/ceos/...

It's nice to see reddit integrated into Conde Nast's other properties. I wonder what else they have in store for the technology.

saint• 18 years ago

i have failed to understand the criteria for the list, while i can understand yangs failure, i do not think that facebook has come to an end yet as it is rather new model nobody understands.

5 CEOs That Need To Get Fired

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