An outsider to Yahoo, not Silicon Valley. This feeds into point 2. She didn't make Yahoo a media company, it was already one when she got there.
The smart part is meant as not gambling on a Carly Fiorina-type merger to "save" the company. Her deals were smaller and focused, and my contention is she didn't blindly throw capital around (at least in a way that makes headlines) to try to save the company. Value is decided by the capital markets, and I still believe core Yahoo is not worthless, whatever it's problems or other management issues.
(edits for spelling, slight re-phrasing of last point)
What I consider her accomplishments,
1. Firefox deal
2. NFL Live on Yahoo!
3. negotiating out of the search agreement with MSFT is considered as accomplishment by some (not by me)
If Ms.Mayer is able to sell Yahoo! assets to Google in a profitable way for shareholders, that would be a WIN, without it, her regime is a failure not a total failure, but a failure none the less.
They could also try sell to private equity, or someone like John Malone & Liberty Media. I think even a separate capital stock of the core assets would force more value recognition than what shareholders are seeing now, even as a low priced issue. I'm not sure that Google would want anything here that they couldn't build themselves or don't already have the lead on, but if there's any interest, Yahoo should solicit those offers.
Yahoo Search and Yahoo Mail are two assets that GOOG and MSFT would be suitors for. MSFT/MSN looks like a good suitor too, but you never know. From Mayer's side, since she is Google alum, there can be something out there.
The smart part is meant as not gambling on a Carly Fiorina-type merger to "save" the company. Her deals were smaller and focused, and my contention is she didn't blindly throw capital around (at least in a way that makes headlines) to try to save the company. Value is decided by the capital markets, and I still believe core Yahoo is not worthless, whatever it's problems or other management issues.
(edits for spelling, slight re-phrasing of last point)