When will Yahoos get real? The global economy is seizing up. Management is planning layoffs in the thousands. The stock sank below $12 this week, with only the prospect of a takeover lifting it. BusinessWeek, we're told, is preparing a devastating story on CEO Jerry Yang, calling for the board to fire him. Yet the mood at the Sunnyvale headquarters is perversely sunny. Thursday, Yahoo spent some of its shareholders' money to hire the Elvis impersonator pictured here. This is the sickness of Yahoo's purple-with-pride culture: It has emphasized self-celebration at the expense of having something to celebrate. "Funness" is prized above all — above excellence, focus, and achievement.

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