After watching Schmidt’s video, I do feel that the Google
Culture makes sense and that the building blocks for a culture that inspires
effectiveness, efficiency and success are the employees. Therefore, it all has to start at the hiring
process. Schmidt makes a very valid
point when he says “you need to develop a culture where people actually are
going to do what they’re going to do” (McKinsey&Company, 2011). Google is successful because they hire the
brightest talent. But Schmidt also
explains that they are passionate about what they do, enjoy their jobs and feel
that this is a long-term fit. Schmidt
also mentions that one of the most important elements when recruiting is to
look for compatibility. I think the key
here is not that everyone will be the same, because he mentions that discord is
important so a company can evolve and make good business decisions. But members have to be team players. Also, Brown explains in his book that
employees have to feel as part of the company, this creates ownership. It not only matters that you hire the right
kind of people, but you know how to retain them (Brown, 2011).
I think the
business model that Google uses in regards to their hiring, as well as how they
manage their employees (which is a kind of hands-off management), can be tricky
and does take courage. In essence, you
are trusting your employees that they are going to do what they said they were
going to do. You have faith in their
passion for their work and for the company.
That is why it is essential to start at the hiring process. For example, at my husband’s company this
model would be impossible. First of all,
there is a lot of favoritism and a lot of internal hiring of family
members. Members of the company have no
loyalty to the company and only go to collect a paycheck. They don’t necessarily feel passionate about
their jobs and see it as a means to an end.
I don’t think the Google model would work for certain industries. I suspect that it would not work for most
unskilled workers who learned to do their jobs not because of passion but
because of necessity.
At my office
and my company, most of us from my experience, love what we do. Interestingly enough, our offices have a high
turn-over rate. Not because people are
unhappy, but because of the nature of the military life. Most of our hires are dependent spouses who
have to leave their positions because their military spouses are being sent to
another destination. Also, we work in
small communities so everyone knows everyone and we get great satisfaction in
helping people. In my opinion, the
Google culture is a bit of an anomaly. I
can imagine it working for smaller companies but am still fascinated by how it
functions with a company with such a large employee-base.
I think that
the culture that Schmidt describes in his video takes a very special type of leader
and very distinctive types of employees.
It only takes one “bad apple” to rock the boat, and if leadership is not
careful, this one person can end up tipping the scales. Although I admire what Google has been able
to achieve in regards to its culture, I don’t see its realistic application in
the real world so easily. I think it is
the kind of culture that has to be constantly nurtured, observed, and tweaked
in order to survive.
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