Recently–in the echo chamber that is Silicon Valley–several people told BoomTown quite separately that former Yahoo President Sue Decker had become an executive-in-residence at the Blackstone Group.

Actually, when reached via email, Decker told me she has yet to decide her next step after leaving Yahoo and had simply set up a no-strings-attached desk at the private equity firm’s San Francisco office, but is definitely not an EIR there.

And who says bloggers don’t check?

In fact, a move to join Blackstone formally would have been very ironic for Decker given that the firm–specifically, longtime friend and former colleague, Jill Greenthal–was one of the advisers to Microsoft (MSFT) in its failed takeover battle for Yahoo (YHOO), a fact that was highlighted in a post I did last year.

Instead, Decker has been keeping a low profile since she announced she was resigning from her post the very day new Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz arrived.

Decker was also a candidate for the top job, which she sought after sticking by former Yahoo CEO and co-founder Jerry Yang through some very rough times for both.

Her last day at Yahoo, after nine years there, was April 1.

In the email, Decker explained that she has not yet made any future work-related plans, but had simply taken up an offer from Blackstone’s President Tony James, as well as Greenthal, who suggested she could set up a small office there to attend to board work. The three all used to work together at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.

Even without an executive perch, Decker could use such a desk given that she sits on some very major boards, including Intel (INTC) and Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A).

More than that, Decker–who sounded pretty happy to me–is not saying. Yet.

Yahoo’s ranks keep fanning out all over the tech scene.

This time it is former top-ranking Yahoo exec Jeff McCombs (pictured here), who has signed on to be CFO of Tumri, an online advertising start-up.

Backed by Accel Partners and others, the Mountain View, Calif.-based Tumri is trying to crack into the online ad space with what it calls “dynamic and intelligent display advertising solutions.”

Essentially, using a product called AdPod, that means display ads that are delivered more easily and automatically with a relevant marketing message, depending on the consumer.

McCombs, 37, is a big hire for a small company like Tumri. He was SVP of Business Operations at Yahoo (YHOO).

At Tumri, he will be managing all financial activities, including financial planning and analysis, accounting, investor relations and corporate development. He will also be responsible for overseeing business development, human resources and legal.

Said Calvin Lui, Tumri president and CEO: “Jeff’s wide spectrum of experience will be instrumental in helping guide our explosive growth and will help solidify our innovation and leadership position. We are excited that Tumri’s transformative mission is attracting this high caliber of talent.”

Indeed, at Yahoo, McCombs had also served as chief of staff to former president, Sue Decker.

Previous to that, he worked at a number of investment banking, corporate development and private equity firms.

As CFO, McCombs will also be a key exec at Tumri, said Lui, helping steer its strategy.

“Making display ads performs better is the next great opportunity,” said McCombs, in an interview yesterday, noting that the sector needs to have similar ability to measure effectiveness as search ads do. “You need to be able to completely understand why one ad performs better than another online.”

Here is her entire memo:

Getting our house in order

Posted February 26th, 2009 at 9:16 am by Carol Bartz, CEO

A month and a half in the saddle and today I have the perfect excuse to get blogging.

I’ve been on a whirlwind tour for the last six weeks, talking with everybody from executive leaders to the guys who configured my laptop. I’ve been in student mode, slowly getting smarter about what makes this place tick. And most recently, I’ve been gathering information on what it’s going to take to get Yahoo! to a great place as an organization–and one that brings you killer products.

People here have impressed the hell out of me. They’re smart, dedicated, passionate, driven, and really nice. There’s so much great energy and frankly lots of optimism. But there’s also plenty that has bogged this company down. For starters, you’d be amazed at how complicated some things are here.

So today I’m rolling out a new management structure that I believe will make Yahoo! a lot faster on its feet. For us working at Yahoo!, it means everything gets simpler. We’ll be able to make speedier decisions, the notorious silos are gone, and we have a renewed focus on the customer. For you using Yahoo! every day, it will better enable us to deliver products that make you say, “Wow.”

I’ve noticed that a lot of us on the inside don’t spend enough time looking to the outside. That’s why I’m creating a new Customer Advocacy group. After getting a lot of angry calls at my office from frustrated customers, I realized we could do a better job of listening to and supporting you. Our Customer Care team does an incredible job with the amazing number of people who come to them, but they need better resources. So we’re investing in that. After all, you deserve the very best.

We’re also leaning on this team to make sure we’re all hearing the voice of our customers (consumers and advertisers). I’m singularly focused on providing you with awesome products. Period. The kind that get you so excited, you have to tell someone about them. Whether on your desktop, your mobile device, or even your TV.

And that takes a real understanding of what you want/need/love/hate, how you’re using our products, and what you find simple, intuitive, easy and fun. Who wants innovation for innovation’s sake if it doesn’t make your life easier, more efficient, more productive? So expect us to hear you better and take better care of you.

Finally, a note about our brand. It’s one of our biggest assets. Mention Yahoo! practically anywhere in the world, and people yodel. But in the past few years, we haven’t been as clear in showing the world what the Yahoo! brand stands for. We’re going to change that. Look for this company’s brand to kick ass again.

Big thanks to the many of you who’ve reached out with positive comments. It’s clear people want Yahoo! to succeed. I’ll try to pop by here again soon, though probably not too soon. I have a pretty long to-do list.

Carol Bartz

CEO

There’s no question Yahoo owes longtime veteran exec Ash Patel a lot, as it has grown into a global Internet behemoth.

Since getting to the company in 1996–which essentially means he was present at the creation–Patel (pictured here) has, as the corporate page on its top execs notes, played “key roles across the company including architecting MyYahoo!, Yahoo! Finance, Yahoo! Messenger, Yahoo! identity and the user database, and many other products that continue to impact millions of Yahoo! users.”

Now as EVP of the Audience Product Division, he presides over pretty much all of Yahoo’s well-known consumer products, from its homepage to its email to its search to, more recently, the product development of its media offerings.

But, because of his longevity, vast purview and clear impact on the company, Patel has also become a symbol for many inside Yahoo (YHOO) right now, who mention him most often in the should-he-stay-or-should-he-go-now debates about the future of the company and who should be in charge of that.

Thus, Patel’s fate is seen as a key indicator of what is to come at the company, especially whether he and it can change with the very fast-changing times. While his love and loyalty to Yahoo are unquestioned, like many at Yahoo, can he be a true agent of change who could upend all he has built?

The big question, of course: Can old Yahoos learn new tricks?

That, of course, is all now up to new CEO Carol Bartz, who is busy restructuring the company to her liking, in decisions that are about to come down after only six weeks into her tenure.

Bartz is clearly casting herself as the agent of dramatic change and speed, as she noted that in a recent memo to staff:

What does this have to do with the need for speed? Many of the things I just talked about could have and should have been decided earlier but we haven’t been an organization that has embraced the need for speedy decisions, even when they are the tough ones. We can all be part of changing this and getting back to an organization that is fast on its feet.”

With the reorganization in flux, even as big departures occur (mobile head Marco Boerries today, for example), it could start to feel like the rapture at Yahoo, as the old ways make way for, well, the unknown.

Right now, it seems Patel might stay, reporting to CTO Ari Balogh, who is about to also get control over all of Yahoo’s products. Previously, Patel reported directly to outgoing President Sue Decker.

But others are convinced he will go, if not right away in the current upheaval, then soon enough, with Bartz and Balogh on the hunt for a crackerjack new outside product exec to take over and, more importantly, take a fresh look Yahoo’s many offerings.

That’s been Patel’s job for a long time, after a long rise to the top from when he arrived from Oracle (ORCL). He’s been SVP of platform engineering, chief product officer and EVP of the Platforms and Infrastructure Division, before getting his most recent title in one of Yahoo’s umpteenth reorgs.

“Ash is the symbol of old Yahoo, and now he is really actually one of the only ones with longevity in top management,” said one person at the company. “What happens to him–whether he stays and transforms or simply goes–says a lot about the future of Yahoo.”

Here is a video interview I did with Patel recently about the launch of some open and social-networking initiatives at Yahoo (Front Doors head Tapan Bhat, who reports to Patel, is also in the video):

“It’s being changed every minute,” joked one Yahoo source about the reorg now in process at Yahoo, which is being shepherded by new CEO Carol Bartz.

Actually, it’s kind of true, as execs at the troubled Web company are being moved around the board like chess pieces, while other players are added.

According to numerous sources, mostly in Yahoo’s Sunnyvale, Calif. HQ, things are still in flux and not completely settled as yet.

But one thing is clear: Layers are being collapsed quickly, as fewer people are in charge of more, with all roads leading to Bartz.

Here’s the current lay of the land, in what is fast becoming Carol Country at Yahoo (YHOO):

Ari, Ari, Ari!

As BoomTown reported earlier this week, it looks like CTO Ari Balogh will be the biggest winner in the management restructuring, getting to ride herd over the entire product organization, both development and technology.

Most interesting is that Audience Product head and longtime Yahoo veteran Ash Patel is still staying–at this point at least–and report to Balogh (Patel had previously reported directly to outgoing President Sue Decker).

Many at Yahoo think Patel will eventually leave, even if he is not out in the current set-up.

But, if he stays, Patel will apparently focus more on product architecture, if he does remain, which is kind of the purview of Venkat Panchapakesan, EVP of the Audience Technology Group, who already reports to Balogh.

Superman exec Ari will surely sort it all out!

In this scenario, Front Doors head Tapan Bhat could get more product development responsibility, especially since media product development is being moved centrally under Patel.

Hilary Gets More Stuff

As someone perceived internally as a favorite of Decker, U.S. head Hilary Schneider seems to be scoring anyway.

She’ll run a new U.S. division, with media head Jeff Dossett under her, as well as advertising sales head Joanne Bradford.

Some Yahoos, though, think Bradford could report directly to Bartz, given her purview is the most important part of Yahoo’s business.

Schneider will also apparently get a much diminished Connected Life unit, which focuses on mobile and other devices, after the departure of its longtime head Marco Boerries.

I posted news of his leaving earlier today, which now means that part of Yahoo will not stand on its own as a separate fiefdom.

Who Is Joel Jones?

Indeed. Yahoo’s current VP of corporate strategy and former McKinsey consultant, Joel Jones (pictured here), is one of the nominees to be tapped to be Bartz’s chief of staff.

In the new, more centralized organization that Bartz is obviously creating, that will be much more than a bag-carrying role, to be sure.

“Joel is as sharp as they come,” said one former Yahoo. Sharp enough to help Bartz negotiate with Microsoft (MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer?

No news on a possibly COO for Bartz, but she is getting a chief marketing officer to head up the brand and PR functions. Many are suggesting an exec like Pepsi-Cola North America interactive marketing exec John Vail, as I have previously reported, although Yahoo brand exec Allen Olivo is the internal candidate.

Also apparently staying for now is another Decker favorite, CFO Blake Jorgensen.

More to come!

Yahoo’s top mobile exec, Marco Boerries, is departing Yahoo, according to an internal email obtained by BoomTown that he sent to some staffers on Sunday.

I have also confirmed Boerries’s departure with company insiders familiar with the situation.

In a post Monday on a management restructuring at Yahoo (YHOO) that new CEO Carol Bartz is likely to unveil to the company this week–sources tell me it is now set to be announced internally tomorrow–I noted that Boerries was one of the more likely high-level execs to go.

He has been the EVP for the Connected Device Division at Yahoo for four years, coming to the company in 2005 with the acquisition of VerdiSoft. He also had earlier sold another software company to Sun Microsystems (JAVA) in 1999.

Nonetheless, many inside Yahoo expected him to go with the changing of leadership recently, after almost two years of turmoil at Yahoo. Like many, he reportedly wanted to leave earlier, but felt loyalty to former CEO Jerry Yang.

I wrote:

Boerries, a talented but more freewheeling exec under Yang, is another question all together. Already wealthy from selling several companies, the entrepreneurial exec is most often mentioned by sources as someone unlikely to stick around, especially if Bartz tries to rein him in more. (In addition, Boerries has family issues requiring that he spend a lot of time in his native Germany.)”

In his email, Boerries did not mention Bartz, but did indeed mention his personal issues.

“With a very heavy heart I have to tell you, that I will be leaving Yahoo!,” Boerries wrote, attributing his departure in an email titled “Personal Update,” to issues related to his family.

Because of that, Boerries has more recently been splitting his time between Northern California and Hamburg.

In the note to staff, he also noted all the successes Yahoo has had with its mobile and other device efforts.

It’s unclear what the impact of Boerries’s departure on Yahoo’s Connected Life unit will be.

But it seems more likely than not that Bartz will cut back, given that it is harder to monetize now and also because Yahoo does not have its own device, as both Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG) do, which might help it create a more virtuous ecosystem.

Still, Yahoo has some extremely interesting products in the mobile space and, as is typical, really well done, such as many parts of its oneConnect service for smartphones.

In addition, Boerries unveiled a pretty interesting Connected TV effort at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, although this is also an area still struggling to find a lucrative business model.

Here’s a video of me interviewing Boerries, as well as Yang and outgoing President Sue Decker, about Connected TV:

And here is the Boerries goodbye memo in its entirety:

From: Marco Boerries
Sent: Sunday, February 22, 2009 12:06:30 PM
Subject: Personal Update

Marco

On Friday, BoomTown first reported that new Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz is likely to be announcing a sweeping new management structure soon, which can only mean the possibility that some existing top execs are likely to be broomed out, even as some new ones are ushered in.

“This is going to be a full-scale peanut butter recall,” joked one exec, referring to the infamous “Peanut Butter Manifesto,” which was sent around the company several years ago by former exec Brad Garlinghouse. It laid bare the problems at Yahoo (YHOO), most especially a decided lack of decision-making and lugubrious levels of managers.

But the reorganization of Yahoo’s top-heavy management structures–I once dubbed it the “attack of the Yahoo vice presidents”–will be a bit sticky, given all the (slow-)moving parts at Yahoo (YHOO).

Nonetheless, Bartz signaled a “big week” ahead in one internal memo I obtained, which was sent out Friday.

So what’s to come?

Here’s a rough primer, based on talking to numerous sources inside and outside of Yahoo:

The Basics:

In order to start to revive Yahoo, Bartz is likely to impose a more top-down management style on the hopelessly confusing “matrix” organization now in place at the company.

She has spent the last six weeks touring Yahoo, getting to see a lot of presentations on its many, many products and conducting a whirlwind of meetings with execs.

Broadly, most expect Bartz to severely roll back a variety of previous reorganizations done by former CEO Jerry Yang and outgoing President Sue Decker, in order to impose more centralized control over the place and focus it more narrowly.

Presumably, lattes–paid for by Yang and co-founder David Filo–will remain free.

Out With the Old:

There’s no question that Yahoo is going to see the departure of several top execs, along with the elevation of others.

Among those who are more likely to be definitely in, though, is CTO Ari Balogh (pictured here), a relatively recent hire who has been a popular exec within Yahoo.

The Wall Street Journal first noted the possible rise of Balogh in a follow-up piece to this column’s story on the overall reorg over the weekend, noting that he would become head of product.

Presumably, Balogh will be one of the point men on what to do about search, in the should-I-stay-or-should-I-sell-now debate that never seems to end at Yahoo.

One interesting idea floating around Yahoo is that he becomes head of all its products, as well as continuing to run its tech arm.

That’s a good idea, since Yahoo has desperately needed an empowered leader under Bartz, who focuses like a laser beam on products.

“It all starts with that,” said one former exec. “One single person has to be the champion of what Yahoo makes.”

But what does that mean for Ash Patel, EVP of Yahoo’s Audience Product Division? Well, the longtime Yahoo veteran could now report to Balogh (he had previously reported to Decker directly) or, presumably, leave.

Patel’s fate, of course, impacts that of many others, such as Front Doors head Tapan Bhat, who is in charge of a major homepage redesign that Bartz just delayed the launch of to make it better.

Venkat Panchapakesan, EVP of the Audience Technology Group, seems safer, given that he reports to Balogh already and is responsible for the company’s overall product technology and platform strategy, such as its open efforts.

Also safer than not is General Counsel Michael Callahan, as well as U.S. EVP Hilary Schneider.

But Schneider’s purview might change a bit if U.S. advertising sales head Joanne Bradford–who now reports to her–is elevated to a higher position or if sales is taken out from under Schneider.

It’s not a stretch to imagine Bartz wanting more control of the part of Yahoo that brings in the bucks.

The fate of Connected Life Division EVP Marco Boerries is dicier–think Yahoo mobile and other devices–as it is for CFO Blake Jorgensen and David Windley, who heads human resources.

Both Jorgensen and Windley were favored by Decker, which does not necessarily make them goners. But both are in jobs on which Bartz will have to rely much more, so she might want her own choices in place.

Boerries (pictured here), a talented but more freewheeling exec under Yang, is another question all together. Already wealthy from selling several companies, the entrepreneurial exec is most often mentioned by sources as someone unlikely to stick around, especially if Bartz tries to rein him in more. (In addition, Boerries has family issues requiring that he spend a lot of time in his native Germany.)

As to the many Yahoo SVPs and VPs? Let’s just say it is likely there will be many fewer of them, as Bartz cuts, consolidates, simplifies and centralizes divisions more.

In With the New:

One hire that is definitely coming is a new chief of marketing to take over Yahoo’s brand, as well as its PR function. Yahoo has not had that kind of powerful exec in a long time, and it is more likely Bartz will go for an outside star here.

One outside name skittering around Yahoo for the role is John Vail (pictured here), director of interactive marketing for Pepsi-Cola North America, who knows Yahoo well.

(An obvious internal candidate for the job would be Yahoo’s Global Brand Marketing SVP, Allen Olivo, who could hit the road if not selected.)

Also a possibility is adding a COO with more Web experience to come in to help Bartz. There are plenty of candidates for that job all over the Internet sector.

But Bartz seems to be the kind of exec who favors flying solo and having key execs report to her to keep a finger on the pulse of a company. She is most definitely not going to have an entourage around her.

In fact, said one person familiar with the situation: “It’s long past time for new plumbing, and [Bartz] seems ready to flush a lot out that has long needed to go.”

Several sources inside and outside Yahoo told BoomTown that new Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz could be ready to announce a major reorganization of its management structure as early as next week, most likely on Wednesday.

While that shift could be pushed out a week or two or rolled out in pieces, Yahoo (YHOO) execs are nervously awaiting the moves by Bartz to put a new regime in place in order to more easily power through a massive reset of the troubled company.

Interestingly, many top execs are very much in the dark about what Bartz will do since she manages very close to the vest, mostly moving around Yahoo with only her longtime executive assistant in tow.

Thankfully, she also loves to write detailed memos to the staff, and she signaled the “big week” ahead in one Boomtown just obtained (see here) that was sent out today.

Those are code words for reorg, according to many sources I spoke to, coming after Bartz has spent a lot of time visiting many parts of Yahoo and conducting a whirlwind of meetings with execs.

I will be posting my Heidi-Klum-you’re-in-and-out predictions of the fate of various execs later this weekend.

But broadly, most expect Bartz to severely roll back a variety of previous reorganizations done by former CEO Jerry Yang and former President Sue Decker.

That will mean many top execs will likely be quite out–already, Decker’s chief of staff, Jeff McCombs, has quietly departed the company, several sources said–while others will be elevated.

Most sources I spoke to who have interfaced with Bartz think she will likely go with a more traditional and more accountable structure like the one she employed while rehauling Autodesk (ADSK), the computer-aided design software company she once headed, rather than the matrix-tangled Yahoo.

A change in how Yahoo makes media, which I wrote about today and was approved by Bartz, is a classic globally-centered development organization. (By the way, a significant reorg of the media organization, headed by Jeff Dossett, is also set for next week, said sources.)

Thus, most expect Bartz to do a C-level-style set-up, with execs like a COO, CTO and a new, more powerful CMO (who will also head PR), all reporting to her.

In addition, several suggested she might also junk a recent reorg that split the world into four regions. Instead, one exec could head the U.S., where most of Yahoo’s current business is, and one head international efforts.

Whatever happens, it’s clear that “Hurricane Carol”–a nickname she has been given by some employees in admiration–is getting ready to blow right through Yahoo.

Batten down the hatches–more to come…

Will Yahoo’s media properties fall flat with sweeping new changes that are afoot that will drastically change the way the company bakes its content offerings?

Or will the ability to have a single, highly scaleable, centrally developed architecture make the media programming Yahoo delivers more responsive and flexible in the era of fast-twitch bloggers (all while cutting costs)?

According to many sources inside and outside the company, product development for Yahoo’s heavily trafficked media operations–including its powerful News, Finance and Sports sites–is set to be moved under Ash Patel, who is EVP of the company’s Audience Product Division.

The move has been supported by U.S. Audience head Jeff Dossett, who came to Yahoo (YHOO) from Microsoft (MSFT). He replaced former media head Scott Moore, who is about to take over content efforts at Microsoft.

The centralization of product development for the media properties was much resisted by Moore and by many managers within Yahoo’s media group, who are worried and unhappy about the upcoming change.

Sources told BoomTown that it is one of many changes coming to the unit, which is likely to soon get a dramatic management restructuring too.

Under the new configuration, which sources said had been approved by CEO Carol Bartz, media products–but not editorial programming–will be developed “globally” at Yahoo’s Sunnyvale HQ in Northern California.

Until now, such development has been mostly done by individual media properties, many of which are located down south, in Santa Monica.

But a move to global product and platform development has been steady at Yahoo for a while. The move to change how media are made was initially championed by former President Sue Decker, but has continued to move forward after she announced in January that she planned to leave the company.

As with most things, there are pros and cons to the new approach.

The pro argument posits that centralizing the product development of a Yahoo media offering drives efficiencies, saves money, eliminates redundancies and accelerates growth across the world.

Said one on-the-bandwagon exec to me in an email: “This is a good and smart plan to achieve better balance between the benefits of a globally scalable product development and the need for regions to be very close to and responsive to local user and advertiser needs…there is huge upside (in user engagement and monetization) that will come from a deeper focus on editorial, content (original and licensed) and programming within the properties and most importantly across the network.”

Those who do not like the idea think it is wrong to separate the development of a product from the programming because the two are intricately dependent and need to be tweaked delicately.

In addition, they argue, it makes Yahoo media offerings, which have been largely successful, less unique and more dull.

“It’s like separating the cook from the recipe and ingredients,” said one person who thinks that it’s very hard to separate product from the content online. “You could end up with a really bad cake.”

Translation: I don’t think that I can take it/’Cause it took so long to bake it/And I’ll never have that recipe again.

Whatever the case for Yahoo’s media properties, I think we can all completely agree that this Donna Summers rendition of “MacArthur Park” remains as fresh and delicious as ever (plus it’s a karaoke video version, so feel free to sing along):

Today, Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz has convened a two-day offsite of its managers, to bring them all together to talk about the company.

Aside from a colorful all-hands meeting she held with the whole company, the gathering is Bartz’s first major one of its top execs, sources said, and is being held on Yahoo’s campus in Sunnyvale.

Sources said they believe Bartz has prepared an organizational structure that she will unveil soon, but has not told Yahoo’s senior staff what will be shifted, what will be consolidated and what will perhaps be cut.

Her close-to-the-vest style so far, especially about her reorganization, is what has Yahoo (YHOO) execs on edge, given it is clear to those who have spoken to her that change is surely coming.

Several people inside and outside the company who have spoken with her said she has indicated that Yahoo is still overstaffed and needs to get leaner and meaner, while others said she has expressed concern about the complex decision-making process.

Today’s offsite with top staff is a shift from Bartz’s getting-to-know-’Hoo efforts since she got to Yahoo a month ago, which have largely been her meeting execs one-on-one or dropping into various staff meetings and, from all reports I have gotten so far, asking very pointed questions.

So far, it has been Bartz flying solo, with no entourage or staff, except for her executive assistant, Judy Flores, who came with Bartz from Autodesk.

“Wherever Carol goes, Judy goes,” said one exec. “But that’s it.”

And as she goes, Bartz has let loose with a lot of questions.

“She is asking the right ones, although the tone is much more tough than employees are used to,” said one Yahoo exec.

That’s the polite version, of course, with some at Yahoo reeling from Bartz’s laser-gun queries and some thrilled that those kinds of tough questions are finally being asked out loud.

“She doesn’t seem to know the current state of the Internet business that well, but she does know how to whip a company into shape,” said another exec. “It can be a little disconcerting for those Web heads at the company to get that kind of scrutiny.”

At a recent smaller meeting of top execs, for example, Bartz went around the table and asked what each did, making comments as it went on.

Two execs were a “two-in-one box,” meaning they did the same thing, to her mind. And she had to get well around the room until she could find someone who made some dough. “Finally, revenue,” Bartz reportedly joked.

Bartz has already displayed that no-holds-barred style in public, tsk-tsking those who give Yahoo unsolicited advice and offering bounties for those employees who leak info.

(BoomTown’s personal favorite from the Bartz repertoire so far: “This is not a company that needs to be pulled apart and left for the chickens.”)

Pulling apart Yahoo internally and remaking it is another story. That’s why the company is practically humming with gossip about what will happen to a variety of execs–especially those close to the former regime of co-founder and CEO Jerry Yang and President Sue Decker.

More on the possible management shifts later…

My favorite anecdote collected so far about new Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz is the one in which she recently called together two separate groups of execs who were direct reports of former Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang and President Sue Decker.

Bartz, several sources recounted, went around the table and asked them one by one what they actually did, making various outspoken comments along the way.

Two execs, for example, were a “two-in-one box,” meaning they did the same thing to her mind. And she had to get well around the room until she could find someone who made some dough. “Finally, revenue,” Bartz reportedly joked.

Stories about Bartz’s take-charge style have been ricocheting through Yahoo (YHOO) and outside it too, which is probably just what the tough-talking veteran exec has been aiming for as she navigates the troubled company to come up with a plan to revive it.

And despite all the jokes about Yahoo’s proclivity to constantly rearrange deck chairs, most expect Bartz to launch a significant reorganization as soon as she is up to speed. Which might be very soon indeed.

But of all the various things many employees I have talked to hope she does first is dump the “matrix” and replace it with a much simpler management system where top execs are more directly responsible for their P&L and less with complicated cross-functional corporate hairballs.

Ah, the dreaded matrix of Yahoo–that much maligned organizational structure that was instituted at the company under the reign of then-CEO Terry Semel and complexified drastically under Yang and Decker.

How to explain the matrix, whose goal was to simplify the huge global behemoth that is Yahoo by having a lot of managers over employees working on similar products?

Simply put, shared ownership, presumably, would make the troops of Yahoo work better across geographies.

There are pluses explained one exec: “The theory behind all of this is that if you centralize the functions you can share resources across various projects….Some degree of centralization is absolutely appropriate at big companies. You don’t want each business unit having its own finance or legal people, for example.”

But that also removes a lot of critical tools from line managers, many said, putting them into a larger pot where many are cooking.

Thus, the matrix has come to symbolize a drastic lack of accountability at Yahoo.

And, more to the point, a horrible gridlock in decision-making, which has stopped it from moving quickly in the face of more nimble and, let’s be honest, more dictatorially-run companies–think Apple’s (AAPL) Steve Jobs or Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and you have a good idea what I mean.

Said one exec who has left the company about the downside of the matrix: “The great people leave because they don’t feel they have the tools and authority to be successful with what they are notionally responsible for. Or because there are so many people who think they are in charge, they can’t get anything done. The mediocre people stay as they are protected and not held accountable.”

Said another still there, in what is the more prevalent opinion of more than a dozen people I spoke to: “I hope Bartz takes the blue pill and we can forget all about the matrix.”

It’s a reference to the movie, “The Matrix,” in which the hero, Neo, is given a choice by Morpheus between a red and blue pill.

Says Morpheus: “You take the blue pill, the story ends, you wake up in your bed, and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you just how deep the rabbit hole goes.”

Many at Yahoo, by contrast, are hoping the days of rabbit holes are finally over.

In any case, until Bartz acts, here’s the cool red pill/blue pill scene from “The Matrix”:

One of the first things Carol Bartz said when she made her public debut as new Yahoo CEO was that everyone should give the company “some friggin’ breathing room.”

Some heard “frickin’,” while others heard “frackin’.”

Whatever the exact invective Bartz used, the tough talk was presumably designed for maximum impact to impose a definitive I’m-in-charge-here leadership style that had been sorely lacking at Yahoo for a long time.

Bartz has been employing the creative curse word a lot of late, trying to shape up Yahoo as Tom Hanks–playing the grumpily drunk but effective coach Jimmy Dugan–did to the Rockford Peaches in “A League of Their Own.”

But she is certainly going to need a lot more than that kind of mental mojo to get the company going.

And, more importantly, to convince Wall Street that she can cure what has been ailing Yahoo (YHOO) as it announces what will likely be a dismal fourth-quarter earnings report tomorrow.

“I’ve been passively abused for a year now by Yahoo management and I am in no mood to be aggressively abused by them, unless there is some concrete strategic plan soon,” said one major investor.

Well, the abuse might continue a little while longer, as Bartz gets the dubious honor of delivering what most expect to be even weaker results and perhaps worse guidance for the upcoming quarter.

That’s why, if BoomTown were to guess, to focus attention away from the bad news, Bartz seems like the type to unveil some sort of meatier plan this week, including cost cuts and some serious trimming of Yahoo’s businesses.

Bartz has, in fact, been meeting with most top execs over the last two weeks, with no entourage (except her assistant, Judy) and little formality, asking a lot of questions and apparently trying to gauge executive talent.

One exec told me that he expects this will result in a lot more management turmoil over the next few month, with multiple goodbyes–with some departing due to their loyalty to former CEO Jerry Yang and President Sue Decker, some due to not having the perseverance to live through a wrenching turnaround effort and some due to the fact that they should simply be let go.

Not surprisingly, some inside Yahoo relish this, while others do not.

“Carol has been cutting through the BS like a knife,” said one Yahoo insider, who admires her forthright manner.

Said another who does not, calling it too brash: “She is like a buzzsaw who just wants to cut without knowing a lot of what the impact will be.”

(Ironically, Buzzsaw is an “on-demand collaborative project management solution” offered by Autodesk, the software company that Bartz ruled for 14 years until 2006.)

She certainly has to get up to speed. While her hands are clean, with the weak economy and continuing internal turmoil, Yahoo’s financial quarterly report tomorrow is going to be a mess.

According to estimates from MarketWatch, Yahoo will report about $1.4 billion in revenue, up two percent, earning 13 cents a share for the quarter. That’s down from last year’s 15 cents and down further from the year before’s 19 cents.

That’s not exactly the direction one would hope for.

Display advertising, which is Yahoo’s dominant business, is expected to show the worst performance, with its search business stronger.

Still, search is not exactly considered to be Yahoo’s buoy in tough times or for the future, which is why analysts will likely focus on Bartz’s thoughts on a search deal with Microsoft (MSFT).

The last time she was asked at a Yahoo all-hands meeting, Bartz noted that her “gut” told her that selling might not be such a good idea. Of course, this was said exactly as Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock was meeting with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to discuss such a deal.

Other questions high on the list should be about cost-cutting, defining what Yahoo’s core business is and, of course, what she will do about the long discussions her predecessors had been having with Time Warner (TWX) over merging with its AOL online unit.

One thing that everyone I have talked inside Yahoo has said is that Bartz has been asking a lot of questions about all this and more since she arrived.

This is a good thing.

But while she asked–let’s be honest, demanded–some breathing room, after tomorrow is out of the way, the only thing investors and employees will want is some answers, and quickly.

Until then, here’s that great video scene from “A League of Their Own” about no crying in baseball:

Digital Daily covered the Steve Jobs story this week, starting with the all-hands memo in which the Apple (AAPL) founder announced his medical leave and following through with the reactions of both Wall Street and the company’s investors. Then there’s the general response, which has been variously diagnosing Jobs’s health issues and predicting the demise of Apple without him–not without good reason, but quite a departure from the reaction when Bill Gates left Microsoft (MSFT). Digital Daily also noted that even though Palm’s (PALM) stock price made a jump directly after the introduction of the Pre and its new Web OS, the company will need to sell a lot of phones in order to attract a robust community of developers. And let’s not forget the roll call of fallen companies, including two of the latest to fall victim to the econalypse, Nortel (NT) and Circuit City (CC).

Can Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim save the New York Times? MediaMemo had the story of the gray lady’s possible white knight, plus coverage of some recent ideas about how newspapers in general can be rescued from a grim fate. Hint: not by a Facebook event. There are some bright spots for traditional media, though, made possible by the increasingly social Web. Incredible photos are often made available for free and as news is breaking, saving editors from the limitations and high prices they’re accustomed to from established agencies. A perfect example arose this week when U.S. Airways flight 1549 made a spectacular emergency landing on the Hudson. Twitter, a camera phone and an incredible photo almost singlehandedly changed the way people think about citizen journalism–as an aid to, not a replacement for, professional reporting.

At the Consumer Electronics Show, BoomTown moderated the SuperSession panel titled “What Will They Think of Next? Consumer Technology in 2025.” A lot of the discussion involved pretty much the general consensus of what’s on the horizon, but there were some edgier ideas from the panel, which included an interesting cross section of the digital industry. BoomTown interviewed all of the participants on camera afterward about their visions of 2025, and some of the results were pretty funny. Of course, BoomTown had a say about the various degrees of silence and hysteria surrounding Steve Jobs’s health issues, urging people to put things in perspective, and evoking his 2005 commencement speech, in which he advised graduates to “Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish.” BoomTown says: Not this foolish. The passing of the leadership torch at Yahoo (YHOO) took center stage last week, starting with the classy exit of Sue Decker and her memo to the troops. Next up: Yahoo’s official announcement of Carol Bartz as CEO and her first words as its fearless leader: “Yahoooo!” and “Friggin’.” Here’s full coverage of the transition.

Walt Mossberg voiced his strong and sensible opinion about the media circus surrounding Steve Jobs’s leave of absence on Fox Business last week, which is, first and foremost, concern for the man and best wishes for his recovery. On the gadget front, he discusses different options for putting e-books on your cellphone and Web OS, the new operating system that debuted with the Palm Pre. Katie Boehret looked at a couple of Web search tools that deliver better results by paying attention to what results you click on.

More next week. Wait–later this week.