I made a new year resolution to Read or Listen to 50 books this year. It is a really fast pace for me because that equates to me finishing 1 book a week. Although I did not start reading the book “How Google Works” by Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg on the 1st of January, I finished it today so technically I finished 1 book the first week of January. I really liked all the references and links that were on the footnote of the book. It was a good book on the overall philosophy of Google work culture. While I was reading the book, I could sense why Google has been winning so far. There are a number of learnings around how to work in the new always connected workplace. What stuck with me was the emphasis given to every single person working in Google and how they have been empowered to do amazing things or Larry Page would say 10x better. If the team culture is built around doing work that is 10x better than what is out there I don’t see why you should not win. I was more impressed with Eric Schmidt who was an “experienced CEO” working with really smart, talented, and extremely driven individuals and keeping up with them and continuing to build value and gracefully transition to his current role when Larry was ready to take over as CEO again.
I really also liked one part of the book where Eric was talking about how he refused to have a coach, but rectified it by bringing in Bill Campbell, who is referred as the “Coach” in Silicon Valley. The title of that side piece was “World Class athletes need coaching, why do you believe you don’t?” I ask this to every entrepreneur. If you don’t have a mentor or coach get one, it is important you can thank me later. There are a number of strategies on how to build a team of “smart creatives”. I have written a lot about building teams. It is hard but clearly it is rewarding if you hit the right sweet spot. Just like everything in life. Working with people, building relationships and focusing on nourishing it is the key. The book also has great insights into techniques that work and how to think about the future. I enjoyed reading the book and those of us who believe Digital is the 5th dimension this book should resonate and a good reference.
