Filed under: Deals, Rumors, Management, Competitive strategy, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO)
I often visualize big business by utilizing my own metaphor of navel warfare. I may be the only guy on the planet to do this, but I don’t think so. The exercise helps me in assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the companies I’m considering. It also helps me in putting intra-corporate affairs into perspective.
In my view, Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) has been like a swift and smooth-running state-of-the-art aircraft carrier. It’s well outfitted for its task, able to strike at a moment’s notice. It has a well-seasoned and knowledgeable crew. Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) has been similar to an aging destroyer group that has been at a loss for an effective admiral. Would you care to guess what I call Google in this scenario? Most of you probably already know. Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) is like a battle ready nuclear submarine, running deep, cold, and nearly silent, with the ability to effectively engage in battle from a very long distance away.
My point in bringing up this metaphor is simple. I believe that a union between Microsoft and Yahoo! is a timely and appropriate thing. At this point in the game, they really do need each other. They have strengths that are diverse yet compatible. Personally I couldn’t have thought of a better move for Microsoft to make at this time. I believe that is why Microsoft came out with such a blockbuster offer for Yahoo!. This isn’t the kind of thing you want to announce only to let it get bandied about before anything really happens. Strike at dawn in full force and don’t let up until you have what you came for.
How does Google fit into the Microsoft-Yahoo! buyout scenario? Honestly folks, it really doesn’t. I’d bet my next paycheck that the reaction at Google to Microsoft’s offer for Yahoo! was expressed with excitement similar to when the mail carrier arrives. Google plots its own course, pretty much irrespective of what the “competition” is doing. That’s why it’s so successful. That’s how Google does things.
Be ready for Google to take another unexpected turn, stepping into something you never would have thought it might do. I still say it’s getting ready to enter into government contracts for information handling services. There also are whispers swirling around regarding Google and the provision of original Internet content. I wouldn’t yet call them rumors; it’s just something I think I heard.
I’ll sum things up with one more reference to my navel battle metaphor: Never look for Google to launch counter-measures in reaction to a perceived attack. It has been my observation that, without question, Google always goes straight to launching its own torpedoes.
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