My Coffee with Carol Bartz, and Other Observations About Yahoo's New CEO

This article (and its author) would have more credibility if Autodesk were spelled correctly. (No mid-cap... Not AutoDesk). How can you cover the company for Business Week and not know how to spell it?

I understand not wanting to anger shareholders, but Yahoo should stop soliciting want-to-be reporter(s) to write about Bartz. Overall, it was an ill-decision. Can someone ask the most important question, which is why Yahoo choose her? I don't think shareholders want to read a bunch of crap from a bunch of cheerleaders. Its strange that Sarah Lacey has being a reporter for 10-years, but write like she is writing a book report in grade school.

Your article is headlined "My Coffee With Carol Bartz...". What questions did you ask her at your coffee shop meeting, and what were her answers?

Also Carol "Bratz" is wrong too. It's Bartz. Author must've had the 'tween toy doll on the brain.

Go-Go Gadget turnaround! Maybe she'll actually whip Yahoo! into shape. My advice, buy AOL.

SOME women have the unfortunate (but understandable) tendancy to overdo the machismo - presumably because they feel they have to prove something, to either th

Will you make a better money for the company..............The result of financial position tell the quality of Chief Executive Officer.....Is she capable to do it...........prove..?...

SOME women have the unfortunate (but understandable) tendancy to overdo the machismo - presumably because they feel they have to prove something, to either themselves or others. Of course it's a difficult spot to be in. She'd probably kick me in the balls for saying that!

She fired Carl Bass?! Well that one didn't stick. He went on the be the COO and then the CEO when Bartz left. In what way does that constitute "fired". That's some heavy handed decision making. This article is more propaganda than journalism.

One of the most irritating things " writers" do is not check their input before letting it go to print. It seems that these days you do not have to spell correctly, just print and be happy with ruined spelling and punctuation, not matter how far off you are from the correct version. It is no wonder the rest of the world thinks we are not as smart as we think we are.

I don't see the typos...it's Carol Bartz and Autodesk? Hello??

BTW, don't hyphenate words that end in ly. And her daughter was in "throes," not "throws." As someone else said, nice article. But 10 years as a reporter? Perhaps time to learn the editing basics.

Thanks for giving us your personal perspective. I like her no-nonsense style and her use of "salty language" on conference calls is rare for any executive (other than crooks like Jeff Skilling with something to hide), but especially for a female executive.

Maybe I'm missing something Big, but I thought that the article was actually helpful...it gives a 'flavor' as to who this person is. The idiocy of focusing on spelling as a way of diminishing the report suggests an agenda that's separate from whether Yahoo will benefit from Bartz' arrival. I,for one, am encouraged to hear what the writer has described. The one thing that we don't know yet...and can't know right now...is whether Bartz will truly "get" how important Yahoo is the to the WWW...and the fact that it MUST re-assume a leadership role...both in terms of privacy and free-speech (imho).

I liked the article too. She reminds me of Hurd, only she cares about people to some extent. However, there are job cuts on the way. Yahoo has more fat than bacon.

Having worked for Autodesk under Carol for a while, I can only confirm the Steve Jobs alike "halo" she used to have with employees

I'm cool with you reporting but we don't need your input, like you know technology, web, or how Yahoo can succeed any better than the existing executive team. I liked the article until you start talking about what you thought. No credibility, whatsoever. Of course being a "web expert" matters... to lead is totally different from driving innovation that would make Yahoo succeed.

Where's the spelling errors? Bartz will add some much needed direction, focus, and some professional management to this internet icon. Even Google's founders had the foresight to hire Eric Schmidt.

That meeting at Starbucks was the perfect opportunity to fire you. I can’t believe she passed it up.

First, the reason the author is, well,the author, is because she can actually get in front of people like Carol Bartz. Carol is an incredibly accomplished woman worth hundreds of millions of dollars. She has tons of interview requests daily. The author is obviously respected or connected enough to get an audience with Carol. Second, Carol's presumed toughness is not an act. If you spend 5 minutes with her, you get the sense that she is utterly genuine and not trying to be something she's not. She's a born leader. There's a difference between asking tough questions and just saying negative things about someone. I guess some folks think unless negative things are said, no journalism is being committed? Third, I'm sure the author did ask a tough question or two, such as why Carol for Yahoo and what about her inexperience with web-based companies? The Wall Street Journal couldn't get those answers out of Carol. Do you think a seasoned high-profile CEO like Carol is going to say anything she doesn't want aired pubicly? She's smarter than that. Fourth, Carl Bass didn't get back into the company against Carol's wishes. She not only took him back in on her terms, she handpicked and groomed him to be her successor. Sure, that's not in the article, but don't assume Carol wasn't in control of that situation. She was, completely.