Culture needs to be in place early. It stems from the founders
but is best reflected in the trusted team the founders form to launch their
venture. It is not only about making
people do great things but also about attracting people that can do great
things. Attraction, selection and attrition
is part of culture.
Google has a “no blame” culture meaning a yellow post-it
sticker with “These ads suck” from the founder is taken as a challenge not blame.
The challenge can be taken by anybody. The
sticker also points out those results were not in line with the mission of “organising
the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. It is
not culture if it is designed to look good on a wall. It is important that it
reflects what you do – that you believe your own slogans.
The IPO letter was contested by Wall Street for including
words like “Long term focus”, “serving end users”,” don’t be evil” and “making
the world a better place”. Despite warnings the document was not changed.
Google offices are designed like a dorm to invite to
university style work ethics and creativity. Plenty of perks but crowed with no
individual offices. Closeness and lack
of title is important. A petri-dish for creativity.
Google fight against the culture of the Highest Paid Persons
Opinion (Hippo) matters the most.
Google encourage a culture of Meritocracy – where the quality
of the idea matters more than who it came from. They are inspired by the
McKinsey & Company’s culture where employees are obliged to dissent if it
is in the best interest of the company or customer.
Equal opportunities employee although groups often proudly
display their associations (Like Gayglers – LGBT in Google). “It doesn't matter
who you are, just what you do.”
The organisational structure is aimed to be flat, informal
and without perks. Dis-Org has been tried but did not work. Now organisation is
built around rule of 7 meaning leaders have a minimum of 7 reports. The high
number of reports makes it impossible to micromanage and direct. Organisations
or reorganisations are not seen as solution to problems, more a fight of
interests. If they indeed has to happen they will be implement fast, preferably
a day – even if the details have not been worked out. Google want to organise around people with
performance and passion, not people with functions and title.
The company try and use the Bezos (Amazon) two pizza rule –
keep teams small enough that you can feed them with two pizzas. Team effectiveness
drops with number of members.
Don’t believe in work life balance but individual’s responsibility
for both work and home life. Don’t believe in people being indispensable and
workload should be shared. Focus is on making sure that both work and family life
contributes positively. There is a culture of fun and a belief in saying yes as
the default.
The culture is egalitarian and leadership is be example
embodied in “Israeli Tank Commanders” that don’t lead with “Charge” but with “Follow
me”.
The Google dress code:
You must wear something
Don’t be evil is not just a corporate policy, it is seen as
an empowerment of employees, a way of letting them check their moral compass.
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