“In the Plex” – Google’s
How Google Thinks, Works, & Shapes Our Lives
from Casa Noches.com 13 Oct 13 enhanced by Peter/CXO Wiz4.biz 13/13
Why read the Book? Steven Levy’s 2011 book “In the Plex”, is very much worth reading for anyone in or around the tech industry, or for an outsider who’s seeking an accessible description of what makes Google’s business “magical”. In other words, even if you know a lot about Google already, there are dozens of interesting nuggets about the creation of the various products. And if you don’t know the first thing about AdWords or why Google Search (at 70% of the market), is better than other services, you’ll find a jargon-free, yet still sophisticated description. Highlights from the book are below.
Google University is even its own version of the Learning Annex (continuing Adult education). Besides a number of work-related courses (“Managing Within the Law,” “Advanced Interviewing Techniques”), there were classes in Creative Writing, Greek mythology, mindfulness-based Stress Reduction, and, for those contemplating a new career funded with Google gains, “Terroir: The Geology & Wines of California.”
“Don’t be Evil, Do the right thing” or something more positive?” we asked. Execs: Marissa & Salar agreed, but the geeks—Buchheit & Patel—wouldn’t budge. “Don’t be evil” pretty much said it all, as far as they were concerned. They fought off every attempt to drop it from the list. “They liked it the way it was,” Sullivan would later say with a sigh. “It was very important to Engineering that they were not going to be like Microsoft, they were not going to be an “evil” company [that monopolized it’s market].” But then CEO Eric Schmidt revealed Google’s internal Motto to a reporter from Wired magazine. To McCaffrey, that was the moment when . . .
“Don’t be Evil” got out of control and became a hammer to clobber Google’s every move. “We lost it, and I could never grasp it back,” she says. “Everybody would’ve been happy if it could’ve been this sort of silent code or little undercurrent that we secretly harbored instead of this thing that set us up for a lot of ridiculous criticism.” Elliot Schrage, who was in charge of communications and policy for Google from 2005 to 2008, concluded that “Don’t be evil” might originally have benefited the company but became “a millstone around my neck” as Google’s growth took it to controversial regions of the world.
[ Prediction Market, Distribution of Projects, OKRs (Objectives & Key Results), OKRs as Bench-marks in Premium Content ]