Tips for Building Company Culture – An Inside View of how Google does it.

Where do members of the millennial generation most want to work right now? According to a new survey just completed by an organization called the National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS), the No. 1 choice is a technology company with a stellar reputation for treating employees well: Google.

Do you want to know why? I just read the new book, How Google Works, written by their former CEO Eric Schmidt. Here is a summary of focus areas for my CEO clients:

Think Speed

Google has extreme focus on creating great products and how you specifically get that done inside your company. Google’s belief is that the primary objective of any business is to increase the SPEED of product development and the quality of its output.

CEO Teambuilding Skill

The book is written from a CEO’s perspective, and specifically one who has come in to run the company alongside the original founders. I have done this twice myself now, and I can tell you from experience there is a special teambuilding skill that is needed to ensure the leaders are in synch on what’s important.

Make the Workplace Stimulating and Fun

Google has creative and unique ideas to attract and retain talent. For those of us in the software/technology industry, we know the competitive nature of the market in finding and keeping strong technical people. Google’s strategy is to make the office environment so stimulating and fun that employees look forward to coming into the office! Google does not believe in working from home. You might have read similar recent comments from Yahoo’s former CEO Marissa Mayer who discouraged work from home. 

Sharpen Your Interviewing Skills

Do you know what Google CEO Eric Schmidt believes is the most important skill that any business person can learn? Yes, Interviewing! They do some unique things. For example, Google’s interviews (although all involve cross-functional committees) are no more than 30 minutes, and they will not interview any one candidate more than 4 times. And do you know the answer to the famous Google interview question: ‘How do you find the 1 coin out of 12 that does not have the same weight as the others?’

One of the things that surprised me in the book was the sheer number of meetings that they have at Google. Their goal is to over communicate and get everyone involved in the direction and results of the business. But there is a cost in time to opening up communications like this. I guess I expected them to be more agile than they appeared.

Ready to explore your potential?

1. 1-on-1 Coaching: Gary has implemented the ideas above successfully with his own teams, and he is actively refining them today with his CEO coaching customers. Can we help you implement positive results in your company? Contact Gary directly: gary@inspireyourselftoday.com
2. Learn at your own pace: Join The Growth Cube Academy – a training school for small business CEOs that includes 20-minute video workshops conducted by Gary that you can listen to at your leisure, and focus in on specific topics.
3. Think – Order Gary’s book, The Growth Cube, or join Gary’s newsletter and stay up-to-date with new successful models and tools!
4. Learn more about how Gary is applying these principles real-time in his startup company. Go to www.woundwiseIQ.com and sign up to see a demo or invest in Gary’s AI and imaging analytics software products that help improve patient wound healing.