On Leaving Yahoo…
Posted on February 14, 2008
Filed Under yahoo | Comments
Leaving Yahoo.
Yes, it’s true. I’ve left Yahoo.
It was somewhat overwhelming sifting through the barrage of reactions over the last 48 hours: “Thanks for all you’ve done”, “How could you?!”, “Congrats!”, etc. It’s fascinating to watch people react. I’ve been taking it all in.
I want to use this post to explain some of the circumstances around my departure.
I came to Yahoo out of a startup that I helped found, and it was my first “real job.” I literally expected to stay there one year. I thought it would be a good life experience to see first-hand how a successful, multi-billion dollar corporation operated. But I never expected to build a career there… to retire from Yahoo… or frankly to stay for a multi-year stint.
But this “park there for a year and learn” strategy was out the window in a day. There was such an excitement at Yahoo, and I was taken aback by the level of passion and talent there. This was no place to “park”. And not aspiring to climb the corporate ladder there made it easy for me to be cavalier, call shit on stuff I thought was broken, and generally do what I thought was right.
What was most delightful is that I never got the expected “pushback” from management. Instead they were the wind at my back, pouring gas on the fire, inviting me and challenging me to do more and more provocative things. So in this manner, nearly four years flew by. I had a dream job that I had the luxury of creating for myself. It was a perfect fit between my inclinations and abilities, and Yahoo’s needs at the time.
The name of the group I created at Yahoo is the Advanced Development Division, or ADD for short. I wanted to be VP of ADD. I was able to retrofit a reasonable acronym back onto the letters and got away with it. I’d generally say, “I head up the ADD group at Yahoo… We work on lots of things, for a little while…” That was generally good for a chuckle… but it’s true, that’s how the group was designed. (By the way, I don’t know a lot about the actual syndrome ADD, and I don’t mean to make light of it. Apologies if I am being crass or inappropriate… not my intention.) The point of this paragraph is simply that as VP of ADD, four years is a very long time for me to focus on anything! I am amazed and grateful that Yahoo continued to create circumstances for me that held my full interest and engagement… and hopefully allowed me to make the place a little bit better.
The question should not be “Why are you leaving?”, but rather the rhetorical “Isn’t it amazing and wonderful that Yahoo created circumstances that allowed you to stay for so long?!”
Starting to thank people is a very slippery slope. Apologies to everyone that I’m surely going to omit, and if you ping me I’ll edit the post to try to atone for egregious errors. These are some of the folks that I feel compelled to call out and thank for making my experience at Yahoo so wonderful:
My heartfelt thanks to Eckart Walther, Jeff Weiner, Qi Lu, Raymie Stata, Prabhakar Raghavan, Kiersten Hollars, Dan Rosensweig, Chad Dickerson, Cindy, Kaigene Jau, Ethan Fasset, Joe Hyrkin, Ellen Salisbury, Marc Davis, Joshua Shachter, Wendy Pfeiffer, Doug Crockford, Tim Mayer, Joff Redfern, Meg Garlinghouse, Randy Farmer, Susan Mernit, Marco Boerries, Paul Levine, Jen Dulski, Lorna Borenstein, Scott Gatz, Gary Clayton, Caterina Fake, Salim Ismail, Ian Rogers, Larry Tesler, Joy Mountford, Irene Au, Zod, Phu, Venkat, Terry Semel, Brad Garlinghouse, Toby Coppel, Stewart Butterfield, Libby Sartain, Andrew Braccia, Mor Naaman, Tim Cadogan, Sam Pullara, Tom Coates, Jeremy Zawodny, Mike Marquez, Jeff Karnes, Pasha Sadri & the Pipes team, MyBlogLog team, Andy Baio & Upcoming, Arlo Rose, Sue Decker, Ash Patel, Jerry & Filo.
This is the tip of the iceberg. Yahoo is filled with brilliant, dedicated folks that have inspired me and been incredibly generous to me. Thank you.
FAQ:
Were you laid off?
Ha, I wish. Yahoo provided very humane (even generous) packages and accommodations for those folks. See next question…
Why now?
The timing is a bit unfortunate. I wish I were leaving with Yahoo on top of the world… it’d still be the right thing for me personally. So while the timing may look “suspicious”, please don’t project your own assumptions onto my decisions. I thought that since so many people were leaving on Tuesday, it’d be a good day for me to slip out unnoticed too.
What about your teams? What happens to Brickhouse?
The teams are in great shape. Salim is also gone, and I arranged to fold the Advanced Product and Brickhouse teams under the leadership of Chad Dickerson. They recently launched Yahoo Live! to much fanfare, and have several more fantastic products in the pipeline. Chad is the man. I have every confidence that the team will thrive under his tenure.
Part of why I feel able to leave is that the teams are rocking, and much of the change I aspired to bring to Yahoo is now baked into the culture. Yahoo has no single-point-of-failure, and I’ve thought a lot about succession planning. Yahoo and the initiatives I started (or care about) are gonna be just fine without me.
So you’ve lost faith in Yahoo’s strategy, leadership, etc.?
Not in the least. I have been incredibly impressed by (and reasonably close to) the improvements and changes that Sue and Jerry have instituted in the past 6 months. While the search for a “silver bullet” came up short (hey, it was worth looking), I believe the management is doing all the right work to align the team to execute on the new strategy. And the strategy itself? I think it’s spot-on, and has already made a huge impact on how the company identifies itself. When I joined 4 years ago, Yahoo was all about what transpired on “*.yahoo.com”. That part of Yahoo now self-identifies as our “O&O” (owned and operated) division… In the context of Yahoo’s larger ambitions, it’s extremely helpful to be a principal in the publishing space (and not just a principal, but amongst the web’s largest)… but Yahoo has transformed itself into a company that participates and embraces the open internet ecosystem at large. Yahoo “gets it.”
So you don’t want to work for Steve Ballmer, eh?
I have no more insight into the current MSFT / YHOO discussions than any avid reader of the NYT, WSJ, etc. Given my trajectory, I honestly haven’t invested a lot of time or energy wondering which scenarios would play out best for Yahoo. I have faith that Yahoo’s board and management will optimize for the best possible outcome.
What will you be doing at Google?
We’ll save that for another post. What’s unfolded for me over the last few months while thinking about my next steps has been amazing and surprising… I’m excited about the my next step, and thrilled I’ll be working with a stellar team that I’m sure will teach me a lot.
Thank you Yahoo!
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116 Responses to “On Leaving Yahoo…”
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Congratulations, Bradley. You are one of the finest people I’ve had the chance to work and interact with over the last few years, and my best wishes on your future.
Dave
Good luck Bradley, it was great working with you and doing yoga together:)
good luck Bradley. i never got to know you, but you did a lot for the Y team. good luck in your ventures down the Valley.
Considering what you were able to accomplish at Yahoo! (you’re directly responsible for me paying attention to them again), I’m really looking forward to what you have planned for Google.
What a post. All the best.
Bradley, welcome to Google. I’m looking forward to working with you again!
Shit, man, I never heard the ADD group line. As a life-long sufferer, that’s awesome stuff. Looking forward to getting together as civilians
best of luck to you Bradley. we chatted once at a hack day, and you certainly left an impression. take care.
Bradley best of luck at the new digs. Admit it - you just wanted the free laundry service at Google.
W.O.W. Google hit the jackpot (again). Congrats. I’m sure my beloved Y! will miss you.
Best of luck at the GPlex, Bradley. You know, one of the major reasons I joined Yahoo two years ago was because I was so heartened by the *pirates* you’d gathered around you–Caterina & Stewart, later Chad, Andy Baio, and so on–seemed like Yahoo! had some amazing talent I could really relate to.
You have always been a good ally and resource for me and it’s much appreciated. Happy trails!
Your presence at Yahoo will certainly be missed. I hope you enjoy your new digs and you keep in touch!
Good luck with your future projects! I’ll be reading your blog to see what cool stuff you do next!
Good luck with the new move, hopefully I’ll catch you at another speaking engagement in the UK
Best of luck Bradley! You’ve always been an inspiration to me at Yahoo, and a force of positive change.
It was an absolute pleasure working with you. Thank you so much for everything you did for me, for Upcoming, and for Yahoo. Needless to say, I’m anxious to see what you do next. Cheers!
Congratulations! You’ll be missed here, but you’ve left some really great values and projects behind to be remembered by.
Hopefully you’ll continue to be proud of the things we do over here. We’re certainly looking forward to seeing what you’re up to at Google.
I hope our paths cross again!
A great post! Much of what I love at Yahoo! is part of your crafting (not all). I am sure you will be deeply missed at Yahoo! but also deeply appreciated at Google.
I look forward to catching up once again.
Good luck with it! My only complaint is that I’d love to see you start a new company — but you already know I’m bent that way.
Alright! Let’s get to work!
Bradley, I feel very lucky to have had the chance to work with you at Yahoo. It was inspiring watching you up-close effect positive change throughout the entire organization. Great job on what you accomplished at Y!, congrats on the new gig and can’t wait to see what’s next!
Best of luck, Bradley. You’ve had a wonderful, positive impact on Yahoo — one to be proud of…
Thanks for teaching so much to all of us.
Good luck
I dont know you Bradley. But from the passion you’ve shown in the post to understanding what’s better for you and your previous company. I am sure you’d do good any place. Best of luck !
I don’t know you, either, but I have to be the dissenting voice. The pile of jargon and undeviating praise for everything and everyone is so patently obvious, as in burn no bridges, that it only shows you as a conventionally disingenuous corporate person. I do know people who worked with you and spoke well of you and others who worked with you and found it a frustrating and ultimately disheartening experience. But you are clearly just putting the right corporate shine on everything, without deviation, without qualification or nuance. And if you do believe that everything was great and so on, that shows very little business acumen, only corporate brown-nosing of a very obvious kind. More truth, Bradley! More truth!
Congratulations, Bradley - am so happy for you! Thanks for all of the incredible Y! memories. It was an honor and so much fun to work with you.
Good to see you last month. Both surprised by the news and happy for you! Congrats! NOW, TAKE ME WITH YOU!
Bradley, we’ll miss you. I remember well the desktop search launch when i was a newbie at Yahoo! thru to the Flickr discussion and decision. It was a pleasure and I wish you well. Remember, don’t be evil.
What a honorable post. The company was lucky to have you and you are correct in making a honorable exit. Who says there are no emotions attached to a company/ career.
I don’t know you but came here from the Ny Times article -http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/14/a-farewell-note-from-a-departing-yahoo/index.html?ex=1360731600&en=7944ceeca6bf8fe3&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Hope to meet you sometine in DC. My twitter id is @shashib
we’ll hold a desk for you at YouTube when you want to take a break from the Plex in favor of that “small co” feel
And for a second I thought you were getting your punk rock band back together for a reunion tour … that would have been cool. All the best!!
Great post, thanks for clearing matters up. Was good to meet you in India and a shame we didn’t have more contact before. After all, communication is so much better when you don’t get the chinese whispers through third parties.
Good luck, Bradley! You couldn’t have landed in a better situation.
Great post - and Best of luck at Google Bradley
Look forward to meeting up sometime soon on this side of the pond.
Best Regards
Fergus
We look forward to seeing what comes out of you at the next venture, good luck!
This is some cool shit, man. I hope you do well at the new job, man. Hopefully there’ll be some cuter babes over at Google. They have a shot to take and you should get in on that action, man.
Have fun and good luck
Good luck!
-k-
Never have met you in person, have heard your name in so many passing conversations!
Good luck to you in your new role!
Bradley, have a Leblon Caipirinha on me. good luck to you at Google.
Great post, Bradley! I applaud all the great work you did over the past few years at Y! — it was fun and exciting to watch. The Hack Days alone were worth the ride….
Good luck in the new home!
/bob
Great post and Good luck! I’ve followed what you guys have been up to for some time and I think it’s fairly obvious that those divisions really caused the most ruckus…in a good way. Energy and passion is something you can’t fake or learn, you’re born with it.
You have it, and now Google gets to harness it for their projects. Congrats to them as well.
[…] Read the rest of this post Print Sphere Comment Tagged: Bradley Horowitz, Yahoo, Microsoft, Google | permalink […]
Congrats Bradley!
Please please please take me with you.
Congratulations and good luck, Bradley. Change is the way of things, so you might as well make it work for you.
[…] is most striking about Bradley Horowitz’s farewell ode to Yahoo? The instantaeous absorption of Google’s bunker mentality, anti-social code of non-collegial […]
Congrats and best wishes Bradley…you did great things at Yahoo and will also at Google.
Congratulations, Bradley. On a separate note, I think you’ve also just left an excellent template for any blogger on how to gracefully handle departure during difficult times. This should be in a textbook.
What they said…
Seriously, you’ll be missed at Yahoo for many reasons. MyBlogLog, Search, Flickr, YDN, Open Hack Day, YRB, TechDev, Brickhouse, and so many other things.
Have fun at GOOG!
Thanks for leaving us when we needed you most. Good luck on concentrating on your own career.
congrats and good luck! you’ll be missed.
Bradley - best of luck and I look forward to our paths continuing to cross in the future.
Bradley, You’ve given me a great insight into why Microsoft might NOT be a good fit and why a takeover lmay spell the end of Yahoo. Culture reigns supreme. Few peole understand this. In our reductionist approach to almost everything we believe that folks will “tuff it out” and one person is the same as another. We think we can treat people in any way we choose and they will perform the same way. Folly! Your hard work and fantastic support says more than I can say about the heart of Yahoo. I only hope and pray theat the Yahoo board knows and understands this. Unfortunately as Ben and Jerry’s showed, the laws of the land are not designed to allow for wise implementation. The Yahoo board may be forced to give in and in so doing kill a wonderful possibility.
I’m looking forward to seeing what you do next. Getting Yahoo to see “small things” had to take someone really special. I know, cause I was trying to get Microsoft to do some of the same things you got Yahoo to do. I failed. You succeeded. This is a major win for Google.
Bradley,
I enjoyed working with you…your ideas and dedication to creating a fantastic culture. Thanks for all you did, and good luck at the place that does no evil.
Lib
Good luck to you, Brad. I’m sorry to see you leave, but wish you a lot of luck at Google.
All the best to you Bradley! You were one of the great Yahoo! minds and your impact at the company was phenomenal. It was a such a pleasure to work with you and you will be missed.
Congrats, Bradley. You’ve built a tremendous legacy at Y! and Google is lucky to have you!
Kareem
Bradley, not knowing you makes it difficult to post, but I respect your kind words about Yahoo ! Obviously your working base developed at Yahoo has given you the ability to make changes ! Luck as we all know is when preparation meets opportunity !
best of luck Bradley, & hope whatever happens u get to have a lot of fun creating cool shit. you go girlfriend!
Bradley,
It was great to meet you during the writing of our book. Best wishes on your new adventure!
Sad to see someone of your caliber go.
All the best
Well Brad, may I call you Brad?
Anyways, if you’ve read all of the comments up to here it just shows that you do not suffer from ADD or AADD or ADHD or even AADHD. Man try to type all those letters in just one pass with no mistakes! Very nice post. Hey, wanna go ride bikes?
Congratulations! Can’t wait to see what’s in store!
Bradley looks like you got some downtime (like me) to grab a cup of tea. I know we talked about it a lifetime ago (December second week) so why not make it happen.
Congrats on the new gig. Hopefully you can bring some humility to the GooglePlex.
best
Bradley, you were absolutely instrumental in attracting great talent to Yahoo!. I’ll miss having my “secret weapon”. As a 5+ year Yahoo, I understand why you stayed so long. Sorry to see you go. It was a pleasure working with you!
Congratulations! You had a great reputation at Yahoo!, and I’m sure you’re going to continue your proud legacy at Google too. Have fun!
It was a pleasure working for you. I especially appreciate your ability to support and align us, while also giving us the freedom do get our job done and do the right things. All the best to you.
Bradley, while I worked with you just a bit at Y!, I was inspired by your enthusiasm, energy and obvious passion about things at and outside work. Hate to see you go, but eagerly anticipating what you dream up over there… Lynn
Good luck, Bradley. You will be missed here, that’s for sure.
Bradley, thanks for all you taught me and all you did here. May you always move on to bigger and better things.
Now that’s how to write a goodbye post!
Thanks for helping to make Yahoo! a more fun place over the last couple of years, and good luck with the new gig.
Bradley, the whimsical tone of your post was a breath of fresh air! Since so many commenters have been first-degree colleagues, I hasten to say I’m a stranger, writing from Nashville. My reason for posting is the clever wordplay around “ADD” and your sensitivity that it might offend. I have a 17-yr-old son struggling with this condition — and he would laugh right along with your cleverness. There’s a big difference between laughing with and laughing at; I saw in your comments (and concerned clarification) the generous spirit that clearly was behind them. No wonder you have so many friends wishing you well.
Best of luck, Bradley! Excited to see what you do next.
It’s been fun working together. Yahoo’s loss, bummer.
I enjoy how everyone on this blog post spun it like you were an absolute joy to work with. I look forward to seeing how your new co-workers will feel about working you and if it’s as glowing as we feel about you.
Most of all, I’m curious as to when you’re tired of leaving Google, you’ll just pack up all your things and clear out your cubicle without telling anyone, telling dozens - no hundreds - of people through your actions that you had a no-vote of confidence for Yahoo!.
No one here at works believes what you wrote, Bradley.
So thank you. Thanks for being the slick snake oil snakesman that you are, with your carefree attitude and your hip little dog. I’ll admit it; I fell for it too. You sure fooled me.
[…] Bradley Horowitz在星期二离开了雅虎，这里他的原文，下面是摘要： […]
Please say it isn’t so!!!!! Okay — I grudgingly wish you luck — but I will miss your leadership and vision at Yahoo!
With you 100%, Bradley; when work starts to become distinguishable from play, it’s time to find another job. Have fun out there, and watch out for the Noogler Fifteen.
Best wishes to you, Bradley. I fondly remember our first conversation (also my first lunch at URLs), during my interview. Stay in touch!
[…] You can read his “unfortunate timing” and “I really love Yahoo” apologia Horowitz apologia link. The executive shifts at Microsoft are too numerous for me to try and figure out. The search wizard […]
[…] Horowitz, who headed up Yahoo’s Advanced Technology division, bid adieu to the company in a blog entry posted on Valentine’s Day. (Credit: […]
[…] On Leaving Yahoo … by former VP of ADD (Advanced Development Division of Yahoo) […]
Bradley,
It is a common theme that you’ve made a positive impression on many people’s lives and it is no different here. Thank you for including me in great discussions and I look forward to seeing what your future holds.
Cheers!
Erik
You were the conscience of Yahoo’s new ideas division - I hope that the ethos you inseminated into the culture thrives in your absence.
This is a pretty big deal, and I’m generally sorry to see the much of the right brain leave Yahoo, but perhaps it’s for the best. I’ll be looking forward to your post about your upcoming work at Google!
we’ll miss you.
Good luck and if the cards are right, let’s talk about education again.
Wow … this is a serious loss for Yahoo! Your influence on Yahoo! culture, technology and vision were evident throughout many teams and products (even on Maps and Video). Best of luck and hopefully our paths cross again. Peace.
It would have been easier to say “Google is more interesting than Yahoo! now, its no longer a worthwhile career option to stay at Y!”
Sounds like you are ducking the straight statement. You dont have the guts to be as straight forward. Rather, use the usual “Senior” Management indirect speak to scratch their back so they scratch yours…This inability to admit the straight truth by Senior Managers is why Y! is in the current mess.
“I never got the expected “pushback” from management. Instead they were the wind at my back, pouring gas on the fire, inviting me and challenging me to do more and more provocative things. So in this manner, nearly four years flew by….“Isn’t it amazing and wonderful that Yahoo created circumstances that allowed you to stay for so long?!”
[…] Horowitz, who headed up Yahoo’s Advanced Technology division, bid adieu to the company in a blog entry posted on Valentine’s Day. (Credit: […]
Every one talks about searches … but I like Yahoo over Google for the following reasons:
Yahoo Finance - I can get world wide stock info with charts for free.
Yahoo Game - I can play chess when I need to take a break.
Live Search cannot displayed my wife’s info from the web but Yahoo and Google.
I just wish for a Yah0ogle.
[…] Thursday, the New York Times commented on this blog article by Bradley Horowitz, who announced on his blog that he was leaving Yahoo. Horowitz had been the VP […]
Hi Bradley,
You put together a great team at Yahoo, and some very exciting projects - I’m looking forward to seeing what you do next!
Good luck with everything….
Judith
[…] Bradley Bradley Horowitz Leaves Yahoo as VP of Advanced Development Division to head to Google. […]
Under the wide and starry sky..dig the grave and let me lie. Glad did I live and gladly die and I laid me down with a will. Now, this be the verse you grave for me..”Here he lies, where he long to be. Home is the sailor, home from the sea. And the hunter, Home from the hill. ( R.L. Stevenson)
An epitaph on one part of your career is just a prologue for the next part.
To S M … you’re right, you DON”T know Bradley. And you don’t know the FIRST thing about training people. You always sing praises in public. I am sure that anything negative Bradley had to say, he said it, in private, constructively, to the person or division or VP that would need to know. Get a little maturity, S M
Congrats. Looking forward to seeing what you do at Google.
Bradley,
Sorry to see you go. Thank you for all the support and believing in all the projects that you’ve encouraged us with, from upcoming to bravonation and more. Good luck in your future ventures!
-Gordon
Which one are you? Oh right. Yahoo’s 32nd vice president from the left.
I wish? You wish you were laid off?
How insensitive. Yes, Bradley, it’s a blast being marched into a room, given three months of severance, and escorted out of the building after giving years of your professional life to a company. I’m just so sorry you missed all that, Brad. So sad. I’m sure it was impossible to get anything in the way of a signing bonus or any benefits out of the Goog.
Farewell, oh clueless one. You won’t be missed.
I love these comments by people who won’t leave their name. That alone tells you enough about what kind of people they are. “It’s all over now, Baby Blue” ( Bob Dylan)
Bradley,
In spite of the rushed exit, you left us with integrity, with grace and with a plan. Thank you for the care you put into ensuring that the company, the products, and the team were in good shape.
Now, don’t look back, look forward and continue to build your career. After all, this is paid employment, not charity work!
One last word: being your Chief of Staff was a bright spot–thanks for the fish!
Wendy
Best of luck! Keep us informed about the latests and greatest.
[…] would be and refused to speculate on how the Yahoo/Microsoft deal would play out in the future. On his blog Horowitz noted: “I have no more insight into the current MSFT / YHOO discussions than any avid reader of the […]
good luck B. excited to see what happens next.
[…] are being forced to cut costs and let people go. Some smart people aren’t sitting around waiting to be downsized - instead they’re jumping ship and […]
Hello Bradley
Truly one of the finest inspirations at Yahoo! fostering innovation, attracting great talent and key player in important strategic acquisitions.
Looking forward to many great things from your career - you will definitely be missed!
-Ramesh
Bradley HOROWITZ`s grief over leaving YAHOO, seems to be very real. Why he is leaving is his personal secret and he thought it ought not be disclosed to everyone. Thanks for his truthfulness and discipleaned outlook in the faith of a old boss. Bradley may be in the look of a perspective character and left the job. The grief, which we readers came across in his farewell address to collegues is soul touching & this much I add that he may prosper in the new job.
[…] woo her while you still can! Despite retention packages, a bunch of folks have left voluntarily: Bradley Horowitz left for Google while Jeff Bonforte left to become CEO of Xobni.. In the event of a Microsoft takeover, […]
great! just when I think my world view is set, there’s another tectonic shift and now I have no choice but to belive this “don’t be evil” stuff.
(belated) congrats!
Good luck, Bradley. Yahoo! will miss one its leaders and best. Looking forward to “another post”.
Bradley! This post is just a bunch of crap now several months on. With all the exodus of executives from Yahoo! don’t you think you might have shone a little better if you had shown some honest backbone in this exit tome? You paint yourself to be such an individual, cutting against the corporate grain to do innovative things, when in fact you are a politician who cares about himself and his image. I learned this several years ago while interacting with you.
Just learned how to trade currencies…
…
daite na pivoe
Just when you think you cant learn anymore. After reading your blog I now understand “best stocks to buy”. Thank For the great post!