I'll give Yahoo's culture this much: It is democratic and egalitarian, treating all employees equally. Equally like children. Yahoo's "start wearing purple" campaign was a clue — really, where do you see adults wearing purple, outside of a science-fiction convention? But I didn't realize how institutional the infantilization was until I got an eyeful of Yahoo's management-training materials. They are Web 2.0 meets The One-Minute Manager — all bubbly, rounded corners, big quotes, and emoticons. There's even a mirror, to remind Yahoo's leadership what preciously unique snowflakes they are. The richest part for me was the letter from CEO Jerry Yang, calling for "managerial courage." If only he could take his own advice. Here's Yahoo flash-card-sized advice for managers:

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• Jerry Yang's letter to Yahoo leaders calls for "integrity and trust."
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• "May overwhelm others with unfocused activities" — isn't that Yahoo management's job?
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• Look in the mirror, Yahoo manager, and keep telling yourself you are the only thing that matters.
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• The customer is the only person who can fire you. And judging by Yahoo's sales, he is.
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• Which bridge to burn? Translation: Keep track of your friends who leave Yahoo, and ask them for jobs.
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• Emoticons can fix broken work relationships. See?
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• Happy. Committed. Energized. Productive. Where's the option for "none of the above"?
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• Add more arrows, and this gets closer to right.

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