Well, it has been rumored for about a month now and it is starting to happen … and it “hit home” again. My direct contact with Yahoo! is gone. Whether he took “the package” or was “RIF’d” is unknown. (BTW, “RIF” stands for “Reduction in Force” – which is rather humorous when you consider when I was growing up there was a nationwide program in the schools called “RIF” which stood for “Reading is Fundamental”.)

It seems a lot of top people who are leaving Yahoo! are basically driving across the valley over to Google and starting up again. I wouldn’t put anymore thought into this than you need to. Yahoo! will continue to move forward. I will continue to spend less and less with them because their services just aren’t keeping up with Google or even Microsoft. I’ll probably dump my stock tomorrow and take a nice profit.

The bottom line is, smart companies continue to “trim the fat” and get rid of people. It makes the company better. I remember years ago when I worked at WordPerfect. We were far too fat of a company. At one time we had over 5,000 people working there. In the last year the company was based in the U.S. we had about 600 employees and we were selling more product and getting more done than when we had 5,000.

How is that possible?

The best ones were left and we didn’t have the “problem makers” getting in the way of getting stuff done. If you work in an office, you know the types of people I am referring to … the ones that always cause projects to be slowed down or delayed. The smart executives have routine layoffs and get rid of those types of people … and the “good ones” who leave? Oddly enough there always seems to be someone either as good or better who steps in their place.

One person does not a company make. Unless, of course, we’re talking about my company.

Alright, its been a week since the Super Bowl, and the game, well, it was just awesome. The commercials? Not so much. This is the first game in about a decade or so that I can remember the commercials just sucked.

If you’re gonna be spending that kind of dough, you might as well do it right and be creative. But yet again, the most creativity was from the beer companies (greatest ads ever) and Tide. Tide? Yeah, Tide. In less than 30 seconds they drove home the point that if you have a stain on your shirt, no matter how great your message, no one will hear it. They will just STARE at that stain and pretend they are listening. Check it out…

So, how bad were the commercials? Let’s see, they were soooo bad the women at my party got bored and were making custom bracelets in the kitchen while the guys watched the game. And I think that happened before the second quarter started.

Shameful.

Speaking of shameful, I understand you think you are commanding an unstoppable offense Mr. Brady, but even as an SEO and average student of the game of football could see the momentum slowing for you and your team over the last month. I was especially proud to see the “real” Randy Moss show up. You know, the one who wouldn’t run the right patterns in Oakland because “I make $10 million a year, I ain’t gonna run in the dirt!”

Fine.

No Tuck. No Luck for Brady. Check out his reaction to a prediction by one of the Giants players a few days before the Super Bowl. The player foresaw a 21-17 Giant win. Holding the Patriots to just 17 points? Brady found that laughable.

Having confidence is vital in football and business. But overconfidence tends to lull you into a sense of false security. And that is when you are taken down, and hard.

Georgetown was taught the lesson by Villanova.
Buster Douglass taught the lesson to the supposed “unbeatable” Mike Tyson.
And in a twist of poetic justice, the Rams were taught the lesson by the Patriots in 2002, just six years ago.

You would think Brady would have remembered that. The Rams offense couldn’t be stopped, but the Patriots figured it out … and the Giants did the same.

No one is invincible. No one is unbeatable. Those who think such thoughts wind up on the sidelines with train whistles blowing through their heads wondering who or what ran them over.

Speaking of getting “run over” this is my all-time favorite Super Bowl commercial …

Valentine’s Day is approaching … and if you’re like me, you’re an idiot when it comes to doing things right on Valentine’s Day. It’s like the trap of all traps.

If you are looking for a unique flower arrangement – and this is a shameless plug for my wife, who’s the best florist out there BTW, head over to Rachael West Designs. Even though she can’t take care of the actual flowers, because of the flower quality issue, her site could give you that idea you need.