Successful Business Leadership

By Alan K Rudi

Google’s mission statement says they “organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” What an enormously difficult task given the nature of information in the world - it is constantly changing, we probably can’t even quantify how much information actually exists (other than it is growing rapidly), it does exist in multiple formats and languages, it is often protected or proprietary, and many of its elements can simply be wrong.

So how does Google accomplish its mission? A common answer to this question is technology, and certainly Google has plenty of technology and expertise. What Google has also developed, though, is a culture designed to accomplish this challenging mission. This article uses Google’s own words to learn from two of today’s best leaders – Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

What is culture and why is it important?

The dictionary defines culture as the “predominate attitudes and behavior that characterize the functioning of a group or organization. It is the intellectual and behavioral activity, and the works produced by it, created from the collective experience, training or education of people belonging to the group.” The culture of an organization is a major determinant of the success or failure of an organization. Culture can be a deliberate design, or it can evolve over time based on the random or politically driven result as people come and go in organizations. It is a function of the attitudes, beliefs and ability of the leadership. It requires a lot of time and effort on the part of the leaders.

If an organization has a reputation for excellent customer service and high quality products, it is the result of how effective the leadership has been at designing a positive organizational environment, at attracting talented people dedicated to accomplishing the mission, and doing so in a coordinated process. A positive culture can be destroyed by arrogance, selfishness, closed mindedness, or top-down management.

Listen to what Lou Gerstner, who turned around IBM in the 1990’s, has to say about corporate culture:

“I have spent more than twenty-five years as a senior executive of three different corporations. Until I came to IBM, I probably would have told you that culture was just one among several important elements in any organization – along with vision, strategy, marketing, financials and the like…I came to see, in my time at IBM, that culture isn’t just one aspect of the game – it is the game. In the end, an organization is nothing more than the collective capacity of its people to create value.

Most companies say their cultures are about the same things – customer service, excellence, teamwork, shareholder value and integrity. But, of course, these kinds of values don’t necessarily translate into the same kind of behavior in all companies – how people actually go about their work, how they interact with one another, what motivates them. That’s because most of the really important rules aren’t written down anywhere.” (Excerpt taken from Gerstner’s book titled “Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance?

Google’s Culture

I don’t pretend that I have any special insight into Google’s culture. I don’t. This article, however, describes the concept of culture and summarizes what Google’s leaders have written down throughout its website describing the design of their culture. Google’s cultural design is used, therefore, as an example to learn and consider in developing a leadership style. After all, apparently it is working. First, who are the leaders and what do they do? Google says…

Co-founders Larry Page, president of Products, and Sergey Brin, president of Technology, brought Google to life in September 1998.

Larry Page was Google’s founding CEO and grew the company to more than 200 employees and profitability before moving into his role as President, Products in 2001.

Sergey Brin received a degree in mathematics and computer science. It was at Stanford where he met Larry Page and worked on the project that became Google. Sergey’s research interests include search engines, information extraction from unstructured sources, and data mining of large text collections and scientific data.

Page and Brin recruited Eric Schmidt from Novell, where he led strategic planning and technology development as chairman and CEO. Since coming to Google, Eric has focused on building the corporate infrastructure needed to maintain Google’s rapid growth.

To build a successful culture requires that organizations decide what relationship they will have with customers and employees, and the work environment they will provide. Google says (my underline for emphasis)…

Google is not a conventional company, and we don’t intend to become one. True, we share attributes with the world’s most successful organizations – a focus on innovation and smart business practices comes to mind – but even as we continue to grow, we’re committed to retaining a small-company feel. At Google, we know that every employee has something important to say, and that every employee is integral to our success.
Google has offices around the globe, but regardless of where we are, we nurture an invigorating, positive environment by hiring talented, local people who share our commitment to creating search perfection and want to have a great time doing it. Googlers thrive in small, focused teams and high-energy environments, believe in the ability of technology to change the world, and are as passionate about their lives as they are about their work.

Often times, organizations say these same things in one way or another. But culture really gets created in the attitudes, beliefs, actions, and behaviors of not only the leaders, but all the people throughout the organization. So an organization must go further in defining and communicating its core belief and value system, beginning with customers. Google becomes more specific defining its belief and value system saying…

Ten things Google has found to be true

1. Focus on the user and all else will follow.

Google has focused on providing the best user experience possible. While many companies claim to put their customers first, few are able to resist the temptation to make small sacrifices to increase shareholder value. Google has steadfastly refused to make any change that does not offer a benefit to the users who come to the site.

2. It’s best to do one thing really, really well.

Google does search. With one of the world’s largest research groups focused exclusively on solving search problems, we know what we do well, and how we could do it better.

3. Fast is better than slow.

Google believes in instant gratification. You want answers and you want them right now. Who are we to argue? Google may be the only company in the world whose stated goal is to have users leave its website as quickly as possible.

4. Democracy on the web works.

Google works because it relies on the millions of individuals posting links on websites to help determine which other sites offer content of value. Google assesses the importance of every web page using a variety of techniques, including its patented PageRank™ algorithm which analyzes which sites have been “voted” the best sources of information by other pages across the web.

5. You don’t need to be at your desk to need an answer.

The world is increasingly mobile and unwilling to be constrained to a fixed location. Whether it’s through their PDAs, their wireless phones or even their automobiles, people want information to come to them.

6. You can make money without doing evil.

Google is a business. The revenue the company generates is derived from offering its search technology to companies and from the sale of advertising displayed on Google and on other sites across the web. Google does not allow ads to be displayed on our results pages unless they’re relevant to the results page on which they’re shown. Google firmly believes that ads can provide useful information if, and only if, they are relevant to what you wish to find. It is a core value for Google that there be no compromising of the integrity of our results.

7. There’s always more information out there.

Once Google had indexed more of the HTML pages on the Internet than any other search service, our engineers turned their attention to information that was not as readily accessible.

8. The need for information crosses all borders.

Our mission is to facilitate access to information for the entire world, so we have offices around the globe. To that end we maintain dozens of Internet domains and serve more than half of our results to users living outside the United States. Google search results can be restricted to pages written in more than 35 languages according to a user’s preference. We also offer a translation feature to make content available to users regardless of their native tongue and Google’s interface can be customized into more than 100 languages.

9. You can be serious without a suit.

Google’s founders have often stated that the company is not serious about anything but search. They built a company around the idea that work should be challenging and the challenge should be fun. To that end, Google’s culture is unlike any in corporate America. In the same way Google puts users first when it comes to our online service, Google puts employees first when it comes to daily life in all of our offices. There is an emphasis on team achievements and pride in individual accomplishments that contribute to the company’s overall success.

10. Great just isn’t good enough.

Always deliver more than expected. Google does not accept being the best as an endpoint, but a starting point. Through innovation and iteration, Google takes something that works well and improves upon it in unexpected ways.

Core beliefs, though, have to become part of the attitudes, behaviors and actions of people in the organization. In order to further create the culture, a leader needs to define the relationship and expectations between the company and its employees. Google says…

Lend a helping hand. With millions of visitors every month, Google has become an essential part of everyday life - like a good friend - connecting people with the information they need to live great lives.

Life is beautiful. Being a part of something that matters and working on products in which you can believe is remarkably fulfilling.

Appreciation is the best motivation, so we’ve created a fun and inspiring workspace you’ll be glad to be a part of, including on-site doctor and dentist; massage and yoga; professional development opportunities; on-site day care; shoreline running trails; and plenty of snacks to get you through the day.

Work and play are not mutually exclusive. It is possible to code and pass the puck at the same time.

We love our employees, and we want them to know it. Google offers a variety of benefits, including a choice of medical programs, company-matched 401(k), stock options, maternity and paternity leave, and much more.

Innovation is our bloodline. Even the best technology can be improved. We see endless opportunity to create even more relevant, more useful, and faster products for our users. Google is the technology leader in organizing the world’s information.

Good company everywhere you look. Googlers range from former neurosurgeons, CEOs, and U.S. puzzle champions to alligator wrestlers and former-Marines. No matter what their backgrounds Googlers make for interesting cube mates.

Uniting the world, one user at a time. People in every country and every language use our products. As such we think, act, and work globally - just our little contribution to making the world a better place.

Boldly go where no one has gone before. There are hundreds of challenges yet to solve. Your creative ideas matter here and are worth exploring. You’ll have the opportunity to develop innovative new products that millions of people will find useful.

There is such a thing as a free lunch after all. In fact we have them every day: healthy, yummy, and made with love.

Notice how Google has personalized the beliefs and attitudes for people to have within the company. Also notice that these attitudes and beliefs are not only for employees of Google, but are also what the company strives for as a relationship between Google and its users (customers).

The design of a culture in organizations has to also recognize that both customers and employees are by nature different in backgrounds, experiences, education, race, religion, motives, purpose, etc. We are all, by design, a diverse people. What does Google have to say about diversity?

Google aspires to be an organization that reflects the globally diverse audience that our search engine and tools serve. We believe that in addition to hiring the best talent, the diversity of perspectives, ideas, and cultures leads to the creation of better products and services. This diversity of our employees and partners serves as the foundation for us to better serve our diverse customers and stakeholders all over the world.

Implementing a business culture then requires hiring people that share the beliefs and values, can adapt to them, and will fit into the organization effectively. Therefore, organizations need to create deliberate, thorough, decision-making processes to hire the right people. To do so, Google says…

Apply at Google
Once you apply for a job by submitting your resume, you will be contacted by the recruiting team who will tell you what to expect and what it’s like to work at Google…We want to find out what you are passionate about and make it a reality regardless of where you are in your career.

Phone interview
You’ve applied for the position and your skills fit the job. The phone interview assesses your technical skills and proficiency, to the level of determining whether you should be brought in for in-person interviews.

Onsite interview
Our interview process for technical positions evaluates your core software engineering skills. During your interview, you’ll meet with several engineers across different teams who will give a cross-section view of Google Engineering. Interviewers will ask you questions related to your area of interest and ask you to solve them in real time. Our interview process for business and general positions evaluate your problem solving and behavioral abilities. Remember, it’s not a question of getting the answer right or wrong, but the process in which you use to solve it. Creativity is important.

Hire by committee
Virtually every person who interviews at Google talks to at least four interviewers, drawn from both management and potential colleagues. Everyone’s opinion counts, ensuring our hiring process is fair while maintaining high standards as we grow.

Notice how good organizations are not only trying to assess skills, experience and background, but really want to learn how people think, how people process problems, and the attitudes/beliefs that determine our actions. These are your differentiators and, no matter where you are in your career, you possess these characteristics.

In summary, what can we learn from Google’s founders?

1. They recognized their own strengths and capabilities, hiring people to add to them or fill in their own gaps. Know your own strengths and weaknesses.

2. They deliberately designed a culture that equally (and highly) values both customers and employees. Many organizations can only describe their culture simplistically or take it for granted resulting in average or mediocre organizations.

3. They are clear about the core beliefs and values for their organization, communicating them specifically and thoroughly for all to see.

4. They understand the importance of diversity and collaboration for organizations to grow and develop successful products and services.

5. They value learning, tolerate failure, and design jobs to be based on people’s passion and interests.

6. They challenge people with difficult problems and expect performance, but they reward people with incentives that are in alignment with the organizations business and financial goals.

7. They put in place processes to build a desired culture.

Do you want to succeed as a leader? These lessons can apply to any and all organizations regardless of size dependent upon your own creativity and action. No organization, including Google, is perfect as human nature is not perfect. But with a deliberate design of culture intended to “do good”, organizations have a better chance of success. What do you think?