December 26th, 2008
Don’t Write This: Yahoo Layoff Gaffe
When Yahoo! CEO Jerry Yang got to work writing an e-mail about layoffs, he made some serious blunders. Which was worse — the fact that he sounded patronizing and euphemistic, or that he only used his SHIFT key twice, to make the exclamation point in “yahoo!”?
From his e-mail: “having layoffs is very difficult, particularly in light of all we’ve experienced this year. but we don’t take these decisions lightly.” Whether he intended it or not, lowercase letters always look a little bit lazy. Sometimes that lowercase laziness looks sleek, hip, and perfect for a techie marketing campaign — but nobody wants to be laid off by a sleek, hip, lazy boss. Let’s give him the benefit of the doubt. Probably Mr. Yang thought his lowercase e-mail looked approachable. Too bad he further obscured his message with roundabout business talk:
“we understand that hearing this news now creates uncertainty, but we are moving ahead in a way that balances speed with a clear focus on accomplishing what is necessary to set the organization up for long term success,” he wrote. I’m quite sure he knows that “a clear focus on accomplishing what is necessary to set the organization up for long term success” means deciding which employees to lay off. But he didn’t write that. He tried to hide the bad news.
The sad truth is that bad news takes guts to deliver. Coincidentally enough, Yahoo!’s own written guidelines for layoffs are right on the mark:
- Get right to the point.
- Don’t own the employee’s feelings.
- Be clear, concise, and respectful.
Nobody likes to write difficult e-mails. Effective communication skills help us write e-mail that gets the job done and looks professional. Check out Write It Well’s guide to e-mail for more tips on effective writing.