Yahoo’s business model came under pressure, and lawsuits were being threatened. Yahoo wanted to breach its contract. We worked to mend the relationship not by presenting a list of demands, but by listening, empathizing with a partner’s situation and exploring ideas. In the end, we decided to forgo the requirement of exclusivity for Bing as Yahoo’s search partner. The issue was generating too much needless friction between the two parties, and we were confident that our technology and our partnership would prevail. We avoided costly litigation, and today Bing continues to handle the majority of
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