Competing Values

"Managing eBay is one of the toughest jobs in the tech industry. The CEO at the online auction site has the daunting responsibility of trying to keep happy three vocal, and often opposing, factions: eBay's investors, shoppers, and sellers. While Whitman did a stellar job of balancing the conflicting interests for years, she struggled more recently to keep any of the groups satisfied. Buyers and sellers are trying out rival Web sites, and investors' ire has grown as the company's shares have lost half their value over the past three years...

"Donahoe made it clear his first priority as CEO will be revitalizing eBay's core business, even at the expense of investors. He plans to slice some of the fees that eBay charges sellers on the site to draw in more users and to persuade them to offer a greater array of products...

"Donahoe may have no choice but to rankle investors as he focuses on the long-term health of the company. EBay reported solid results for the fourth quarter, with net income rising 53%, to $531 million, while revenues increased 27%, to $2.2 billion. But much of that growth came from its newer and smaller businesses, particularly the PayPal online payment operation and the Internet calling service Skype.

"The core auction and retail businesses, which account for the majority of revenue, are showing signs of weakness. The number of active users has been flat for three quarters, at 83 million. The number of new products listed on the site has inched up only 4% from a year ago...

"Whitman's focus on expansion and profits pushed eBay's stock to its earlier heights. During her 10 years at the helm, she transformed the San Jose-based company from a simple auction site into a global e-commerce giant by pushing into foreign markets and high-growth businesses related to shopping.

"But expansion and diversification have their limits. As Whitman looked for new opportunities, rival Web sites, particularly Amazon, made inroads into the core e-commerce business. 'Competition has eroded much of the advantage that eBay once had,' says Derek Brown, a research analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald."

(“EBay's New Tough Love CEO; John Donahoe will concentrate on winning back users, even at investors' expense.” By Catherine Holahan. Business Week. 4 February 2008. pg. 58)

FOCUS can lead to balance. Balance can helps us endure. Yet, do we have the endurance to re-focus on our core? Or, are we so very anxious to move on?