GOOGLE: HOW GOOGLE WORKS

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Both Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg came to Google as seasoned Silicon Valley business executives, but over the course of a decade they came to see the wisdom in Coach John Wooden's observation that 'it's what you learn after you know it all that counts'. As they helped grow Google from a young start-up to a global icon, they relearned everything they knew about management. How Google Works is the sum of those experiences distilled into a fun, easy-to-read primer on corporate culture, strategy, talent, decision-making, communication, innovation, and dealing with disruption.

The authors explain how the confluence of three seismic changes - the internet, mobile, and cloud computing - has shifted the balance of power from companies to consumers. The companies that will thrive in this ever-changing landscape will be the ones that create superior products and attract a new breed of multifaceted employees whom the authors dub 'smart creatives'. The management maxims ('Consensus requires dissension', 'Exile knaves but fight for divas', 'Think 10X, not 10%') are illustrated with previously unreported anecdotes from Google's corporate history.

'Back in 2010, Eric and I created an internal class for Google managers,' says Rosenberg. 'The class slides all read 'Google confidential' until an employee suggested we uphold the spirit of openness and share them with the world. This book codifies the recipe for our secret sauce: how Google innovates and how it empowers employees to succeed.'

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Turn off your phone, lock the door, and settle down for an entertaining and educational book about Google, the company everyone wonders about, written by insiders Schmidt, Google executive chairman; and Rosenberg, former Google employee and now consultant to co-founder Larry Page. From page one, the stories, whether about the early days at Google or the company's unusual, occasionally outrageous, but brilliant business practices, are irresistible. Readers will learn how to manage "smart creatives," develop a "culture of Yes," and craft a meaningful mission statement. This enthusiastic manifesto encourages readers - and leaders - to "habitually overcommunicate" and "set (almost) unattainable goals." Still, it might be interesting to learn how the rest of the company feels about the "20 percent time" program for individual projects that applies to engineers but apparently not to anyone else. There might be more underneath the rock than we're allowed to see. The inevitable comparison to Apple leaves Google positioned-of course-as taking the high road. The book's clearly propaganda, but that can be easily forgiven in the course of such an energized and exciting primer on creating a company and workforce prepared to meet an "inspiring" future. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

CHOICE Review

For the public, a great company is defined by its products--witness Thomas Edison's lightbulb. Though such inventions are essential, practitioners and students of business recognize that they are only the first step for success. Creating an organization capable of continually innovating and bringing to market the next big thing is ultimately more pressing and daunting. If Google can be described as the information age's version of Edison's Menlo Park, this work ranks among the most credible and compelling organizational design and management books of our time. The authors, Schmidt (executive chairman, Google) and Rosenberg (former senior vice president of products, Google), who were brought in to provide "adult supervision" to firm founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page and their cadre of engineers, are in a unique position to offer valuable insights. The volume is a quick, high-value read filled with insights into how Google stays innovative and on top of a fast-moving industry. Key takeaways include understanding the importance of culture, accepting failure, and attracting and motivating "smart creatives." Unlike many business books that highlight the importance of such dimensions, Schmidt and Rosenberg's provides ample and compelling examples of how the company puts these ideas into practice. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers. --Steve Gove, Virginia Tech

Kirkus Book Review

Two distinguished technology executives share the methodology behind what made Google a global business leader. Former Google CEO Schmidt (co-author: The New Digital Age: Reshaping the Future of People, Nations and Business, 2013) and former senior vice president of products Rosenberg share accumulated wisdom and business acumen from their early careers in technology, then later as management at the Internet search giant. Though little is particularly revelatory or unexpected, the companywide processes that have made Google a household name remain timely and relevant within today's digitized culture. After several months at Google, the authors found it necessary to retool their management strategies by emphasizing employee culture, codifying company values, and rethinking the way staff is internally positioned in order to best compliment their efforts and potential. Their text places "Googlers" front and center as they adopted the business systems first implemented by Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who stressed the importance of company-wide open communication. Schmidt and Rosenberg discuss the value of technological insights, Google's effective "growth mindset" hiring practices, staff meeting maximization, email tips, and the company's effective solutions to branding competition and product development complications. They also offer a condensed, two-page strategy checklist that serves as an apt blueprint for managers. At times, statements leak into self-congratulatory territory, as when Schmidt and Rosenberg insinuate that a majority of business plans are flawed and that the Google model is superior. Analogies focused on corporate retention and methods of maximizing Google's historically impressive culture of "smart creatives" reflect the firm's legacy of spinning intellect and creativity into Internet gold. The authors also demarcate legendary application missteps like "Wave" and "Buzz" while applauding the independent thinkers responsible for catapulting the company into the upper echelons of technological innovation. An informative and creatively multilayered Google guidebook from the businessman's perspective. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.