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| photo courtesy of addyosmani.com |
Ok, so here
goes a little dreaming…I love Google. Maybe you’re thinking, “Right, who
doesn’t?” Whenever I drive by the Corporate Google offices here in Austin, I
end up coming home and doing a little research, I mean it’s just right there, not far from my house!
There are
very specific reasons why I love Google that are directly related to leadership.
One of those reasons is culture and diversity. I would love to be a part of an
organization of people from all over the world who come together to collaborate
on ways to create products that make life more interesting and efficient for
the world. There is no single “type” of Googler. Google hires creative,
innovative and smart people who are able to work collaboratively to think into
the future and explore the next world-changing technology that could impact
billions of people. This is like the NASA of everyday technology!
Another
reason that I love Google is that women lead major portions of the business. I
look to women as role models for leadership because I am a woman. That is not
to say that I cannot learn from male leaders, I can and do, but a holding
female leadership as a core value is a very important to me.
Finally, as
a leadership role model, I appreciate how Google sees their employees as human
beings. While they may refer to their employees as Googlers, at least they are
not numbers. From what I know about the company, they have invested the same
type of innovation that goes into their products into their benefits. They care
about the whole person, that is, they strive to address the needs of their employees like
we wish any company would. Their benefits are designed around taking care of
the whole person’s health; physically, emotionally, socially and financially.
I’m not
saying that Google is a perfect company or the only possible great place to
pursue a career but it is certainly a role model for 21st century
companies on the cutting edge of innovation in technology, marketing and
employee care.
For those of us who have worked for very traditional organizations Google can seem like Nirvana. When I was running a magnet grant program converting my elementary school to a video-journalism based school, I usually worked from 9 AM to 9 PM on campus and when I requested being paid for the extra hours I was told that traditionally all I could get was one additional hour per day and be happy with that. Then with over three months left in the school year they decided to pull the added hour pay, while still expecting me to continue to support our teachers while teaching my classes. Not a very good example of how to support your creative people... education and decision-makers have a lot to learn about how to keep creative people. :-)
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