Ducks in a Row: Why is Larry Page Channeling Steve Ballmer?
by Miki Saxon
What could Larry Page’s Google possibly have in common with Steve Ballmer’s Microsoft?
Would you believe corporate culture?
Google, long held up an example of great culture is, in fact, as political and siloed as Microsoft.
Not only similar siloed cultures, but a similar approach to changing them.
Ballmer believes that a deeply entrenched culture can be changed by edict and apparently Page does, too.
Page laid down the law: “If you keep fighting, we’ll be very happy to send you to the competition.
“During the speech, one of the executives who was in the room turned to a friend and whispered:“Did he just say, ‘zero tolerance for fighting? I’ve been here for years. All we do is fight.”
If Page is serious about the ‘change or else’ approach you can count on seeing high turnover at Google.
But don’t hold your breath, because words don’t always mean what they say.
Words are interpretive, so people tend to assign their own meanings and put their own spin on what is said.
Says a source who heard the Larry Page sermon at the Carneros Inn: “What he meant by ‘zero tolerance for fighting’ is don’t go overboard.”
This source says there is a “healthy way” to fight at Google.
“The healthy way to fight is to wear two hats.”
“You’ve got to wear your YouTube or Android hat,” the source says. “But the mature executive at Google knows when to put on the Google hat.”
Politics and infighting can only exist if they are openly accepted or covertly tolerated.
As one longtime Google executive put it: “If the princes [are at] war, it’s because the king tolerates it.”
Who knew?
Flickr image credit: mshamma
