Expand Your Mind: Google
by Miki Saxon
Today is a bit different from the typical Expand Your Mind because all three articles are about Google.
Assuming you live on Earth and don’t exist in an alternate reality you’ve been inundated by the news that Larry Page is assuming the CEO mantle at Google. More as a corollary, an article at HBR offers up a look at the need for and different approaches to “adult supervision” at Apple, Google and Facebook.
Next is an in depth look at six of the top people responsible for executing Page’s visions and pronouncements.
Google does many things superbly and the rest very well, but even Google is subject to its own variety of “not invented here” syndrome.
Back in 2004 just before Google went public Larry Page projected a grand philanthropic vision.
“We hope someday this institution may eclipse Google itself in terms of overall world impact by ambitiously applying innovation and significant resources to the largest of the world’s problems.”
Seven years later it hasn’t accomplished much, although the initiative isn’t dead.
Part of the problem is that Page, who championed the effort, moved on to focus on other things, but that isn’t the main reason.
Call it Google myopia, but it’s difficult for Googlers to accept that not all problems can be solved with an algorithm, especially when the problems involve nature and/or wetware (AKA, people).
Image credit: MykReeve on flickr
