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Learning From Google

February 21, 2009 A colleague (thanks Bob Robertson-Boyd!) pointed out this blog post to me the other day: "What Would Google Say?" by Jeff Jarvis, author of (natch) What Would Google Do? Mostly it seemed a total Google love-fest, but one sentence kind of leaped up out at me:
I would love to have worked for a company where at least the culture decrees that the default is smart and the expectation is learning and the response to problems is finding solutions.
In a way, what a shame that this is so rare. But it is. If you've ever experienced such an organization then you are truly blessed. Most of us labor away at places (present employer excepted) where mediocre is about as high as it gets. I can't help wondering why.

I think one reason may be that Google is a young company. It is young both in corporate history and in the employees it hires. If you've ever been there you know what I mean. There isn't a gray hair to be seen. So being a young company, and having young employees, offers several advantages:
  • There is no "this is how we've always done it" mentality
  • There are no years-old political alliances and messy organizational histories that can so often stymie innovation
  • Employees are more likely to not have children, possibly not even a spouse, and potentially not even a life (outside work)
  • They can provide amenities that entice employees to stick around much longer than the typical 8-hour day
  • Unions? What are they?
When you add to that the fact that a commercial company is without many of the governmental and institutional requirements (can you say "RFP"?) that tend to slow everything down in a public organization, and you quickly see why an upstart like Google can move so fast.

Having said all that, I see no reason why any of our organizations cannot provide the essential ingredient to outrageous success. What is that? I've already given it to you. It's this: where the default is smart and the expectation is learning and the response to problems is finding solutions. Sure, we have plenty more baggage than Google has, but we can still work to get with the program. Unfortunately it isn't simply hyperbole to say our very survival may depend upon it.

Posted by Roy Tennant on February 21, 2009 | Comments (1)


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February 27, 2009
In response to: Learning From Google
Maureen Beck commented:

Yes, surely we can still do this despite our grey hair! :-) Unfortunately, some us feel we do have to point out the obvious to the up and coming youngsters, but I do think we can offer our wisdom in a way that won't dampen their enthusiasm! We continue to be smart, even with snow on the roof, but we need to always remain flexible and open to sugegstions.

Maureen Beck
Stevenson Univ. Library





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