Recently I came across a link for Yahoo's corporate values. The document shows what is valued and what isn't valued. Looking at the list of what is valued, you get the feeling that it's pretty typical among corporations.

Yahoo lists Excellent, teamwork, innovation, community, customer fixation and fun as the things they value. My experience has shown me that the only two that aren't global across all companies are community and fun.

Community by Yahoo's definition is analogous to making a difference in the community, your internal community or the internet community. I guess that ranks as being unique among corporations, though I think many others categorize this differently.

Yahoo thinks fun is the same as irreverence, which makes it what they value. No other explanation is given, but reverence is something that's important in a corporate environment, especially in terms of understand the history of the organization. The label of fun is simple enough, but the irreverence is odd.

What's most interesting about this document is what Yahoo doesn't value. They use emoticons to demonstrate their characterizations, and some of them are hilarious. As you make your way through the list you'll see actions that any corporation wouldn't value. These include among others, Bureaucracy, Discrimination, and Losing.

There are a few that are genuinely funny including Shoes worn at all times , CD-ROMs in the mail, and Swashbuckling. Also, consider the problem of parking at Yahoo, the fact they don't value Rear view mirrors makes sense.

If you look at the the entire list there are a few that you would think a company would consider valuable. Understanding that the list is possibly meant as tongue and cheek, these would be appropriate, yet this is their values list.

Early meetings: Last time I looked Yahoo was on the west coast of the United States, which means they're three hours behind the east coast. One would tend to think that early meetings might allow Yahoo to achieve their goals easier. Yes, I know it's a joke, but still. If you happen to schedule a meeting for 7:00am PST at Yahoo are you breaking a rule?

Closed doors: Yes, this could be taken to be metaphoric, as all companies support some form of open door policy. Based on the rest of the values, I think it's literal. Closed doors are something they don't value? Closed doors allow for a sense of privacy, and promote control over distractions away from work.

Additives & preservatives: I tried finding a business reason for this one. Maybe it's some sort of corporate catch phrase I am not familiar with like eat your own dog food. If they literally mean no additives or preservatives in food I'm at a loss as to why this is important to a corporation.

Monday morning quarterback: To me Monday morning quaterbacking means that you tell others how you would have done things after the fact. Maybe there is an air of snootiness in the term, but a good peer review is necessary in any business. When a project is complete you should have another manager take a look at your results and suggest improvements.

Overall the list is an excellent look at what Yahoo values. If you're an employee, customer or vendor there is no question about what is expected of you or how Yahoo will treat you.

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