Had a great time at NextNY again yesterday, this time visiting the offices of Google. It seemed like it was primarily a recruiting effort on behalf of Google (albeit a smart one - getting 100 of the smartest tech folks….and me….in one room.) But I did learn a bit about Google that I didn’t know before.
The thing that struck me the most was their commitment to the company’s mission. The stated goal of Google is “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” Never have I seen a company so committed to their vision. Every employee talked about this mission, almost ad nauseum. Whatever the project is that they’re working on, their top priority is making sure that it remains true to this goal.
With the flurry of activity that Google has been engaging in over the past few years, people have been constantly speculating as to Google’s “master plan.” Are they trying to take on Microsoft in the office space? Are they looking to make the idea of desktop applications archaic? Are they looking to topple world governments and become the world’s first corporatocracy? Do they eat all that cereal because they secretly own majority stakes in General Mills?
After seeing their people talk yesterday, I’m pretty convinced that for once, we should take what a company is saying at face value. Their projects are not ‘me-too’ efforts as many (including myself) have claimed in the past. Even projects that at first seemed very ancillary (maps, base, etc.) were revealed to be very consistent with (even vital to) their overall mission.
It was cool to see a company of this size, with this many employees and this many projects, still holding fast to a singular goal. It is an obsession for them, and obsession that very few companies have.
If your company is struggling, or if you find yourself disenfranchised by your current employer, maybe the mission (or lack thereof) is the culprit. Maybe it’s not big enough, bold enough, different enough to inspire, to have an impact. If you want to be like Google, focus first (and last) on your mission. Live your mission. If you don’t think you can, change it until you can.
And eat lots of cereal.
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