4 ms·

Larry Page already cracking the whip at Google, a week before he takes the reins

61 points by acangiano 16y ago

thewordpainter 16y ago
For efficiency's sake, I love the idea of directing managers to keep emails under 60 words. As David Allen described in Getting Things Done, if it takes you more than two minutes to address a note, put it off. Every email should be addressable as they come through. Also think the no-laptop rule during meetings is important for a company like Google that has so many defections. I've experienced for myself how much of a distraction open laptops can be. Need everybody to think creatively.
- nakkiel 16y ago
  IMHO, Google's biggest problem is people who think Google has loads of problems. For example, when Google releases a product that's certainly not perfect but at least as good as that of its concurrents (Buzz for example), it doesn't take off when people keep bashing it.
  - nostrademons 16y ago
    Is that any different from an unknown web startup? Typically, you can't be "at least as good as a competitor" if you want adoption, you need to be 10x as good. I guess the difference is that with Google, people will pay attention to it but bash it, while at a startup, they'll just ignore it. Personally, I think Google gets the better end of the deal.
mark_l_watson 16y ago
A bit off topic: while I am confident that Page will do a great job in his role, I think that if Eric Schmidt really does take on just a minor role at Google then that will hurt the company.
moderation 16y ago
I used to work at Cisco where every meeting was delayed as every participant would set up their laptop and then proceed to type, surf, "do email" etc. during the meeting. Crazy. I work at a big bank now where the laptop in meetings thing is frowned upon. The meetings generally start on time, are shorter and people generally respect meeting start and finish times.
- Bootvis 16y ago
  I'm very surprised to hear about people bringing laptops to meetings. I've never seen this happen (where I live). It seems to be disrespectful and contraproductive. You're there to talk and think right? Who does this and why?
  - muhfuhkuh 16y ago
    At the fairly large (2000+ employees) software company I currently work for, we use the laptops to drill down bug defect lists, customer/partner requests, look at waterfall development schedules and gantt charts, random email responses, wiki pages with specs and reqs, and use collaborative notepad to write up status updates. Some people are working (coding, testing, answering customers, etc.) while others are surfing/facebooking/tweeting; but the latter doesn't really last at this company. They flail pretty quickly, likely prior to their first major product release.
  - swah 16y ago
    It starts as a way to take notes while avoiding duplication... (Notes to paper, then copied to computer)
maeon3 16y ago
The notion of Larry Page becoming the President's "Commerce secretary" scares me. The last thing we need is our google-cars, google-os computers, android-phones, basically every aspect of our lives controlled by one company which then hands over control to a government that is moving towards socialism. The moment Google shows any sign of linking up and synchronizing/cooperating with the government, that is the moment google becomes my enemy. On the plus side, if the president does start changing how things are done at Google, then it won't be long before Google dies and some other better company comes to provide a superior service.
- danvk 16y ago
  The article says that Eric Schmidt may become Commerce Secretary, not Larry Page.
- panacea 16y ago
  Do yourself a favor and stop watching Glenn Beck.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- warrenwilkinson 16y ago
  Unrealistic. Obama has enough on his plate with Obamacare and deciding the US role in Libya. Nor is their any reason to think that Obama will secretly control Google via Eric Schmidt. A more realistic outcome is that Eric Schmidt will find his job is to get tech companies to donate. T.J. Rogers a silicon valley CEO tells how the relationship between the valley and Washington was during Clintons time (http://secure.cypress.com/?rID=34975 http://secure.cypress.com/?rID=34975): "Even though Clinton wooed Silicon Valley by telling us he supported litigation reform, he had also taken political contributions from plaintiff lawyers. He chose them over us and vetoed our litigation reform bill. Fortunately for us, the SLRA was so well crafted that a Democratic Congress overrode Clinton’s veto. Shortly after that fiasco, Clinton returned to Silicon Valley for some more public relations and to raise money at a prominent CEO’s house at a $50,000-perplate dinner. One dinner topic was litigation reform. Clinton then accepted several hundred thousand dollars to perform a back flip."
preek 16y ago
There's a typo in the youtube link: http://ww.youtube.com/ http://ww.youtube.com/
Hominem 16y ago
Don't think he is going far enough. 1) all memos through Twitter "@google plz blklst @expertsexchange" 2)no laptops on premesis, typing must be done after hours. 3) hire expensify CEO as director of HR and "chief alienation officer"

61 points by acangiano 16y ago

For efficiency's sake, I love the idea of directing managers to keep emails under 60 words. As David Allen described in Getting Things Done, if it takes you more than two minutes to address a note, put it off. Every email should be addressable as they come through. Also think the no-laptop rule during meetings is important for a company like Google that has so many defections. I've experienced for myself how much of a distraction open laptops can be. Need everybody to think creatively.

nakkiel 16y ago
IMHO, Google's biggest problem is people who think Google has loads of problems. For example, when Google releases a product that's certainly not perfect but at least as good as that of its concurrents (Buzz for example), it doesn't take off when people keep bashing it.
- nostrademons 16y ago
  Is that any different from an unknown web startup? Typically, you can't be "at least as good as a competitor" if you want adoption, you need to be 10x as good. I guess the difference is that with Google, people will pay attention to it but bash it, while at a startup, they'll just ignore it. Personally, I think Google gets the better end of the deal.

mark_l_watson 16y ago

A bit off topic: while I am confident that Page will do a great job in his role, I think that if Eric Schmidt really does take on just a minor role at Google then that will hurt the company.

moderation 16y ago

I used to work at Cisco where every meeting was delayed as every participant would set up their laptop and then proceed to type, surf, "do email" etc. during the meeting. Crazy. I work at a big bank now where the laptop in meetings thing is frowned upon. The meetings generally start on time, are shorter and people generally respect meeting start and finish times.

Bootvis 16y ago
I'm very surprised to hear about people bringing laptops to meetings. I've never seen this happen (where I live). It seems to be disrespectful and contraproductive. You're there to talk and think right? Who does this and why?
- muhfuhkuh 16y ago
  At the fairly large (2000+ employees) software company I currently work for, we use the laptops to drill down bug defect lists, customer/partner requests, look at waterfall development schedules and gantt charts, random email responses, wiki pages with specs and reqs, and use collaborative notepad to write up status updates. Some people are working (coding, testing, answering customers, etc.) while others are surfing/facebooking/tweeting; but the latter doesn't really last at this company. They flail pretty quickly, likely prior to their first major product release.
- swah 16y ago
  It starts as a way to take notes while avoiding duplication... (Notes to paper, then copied to computer)

maeon3 16y ago

The notion of Larry Page becoming the President's "Commerce secretary" scares me. The last thing we need is our google-cars, google-os computers, android-phones, basically every aspect of our lives controlled by one company which then hands over control to a government that is moving towards socialism. The moment Google shows any sign of linking up and synchronizing/cooperating with the government, that is the moment google becomes my enemy. On the plus side, if the president does start changing how things are done at Google, then it won't be long before Google dies and some other better company comes to provide a superior service.

danvk 16y ago
The article says that Eric Schmidt may become Commerce Secretary, not Larry Page.
panacea 16y ago
Do yourself a favor and stop watching Glenn Beck.
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
warrenwilkinson 16y ago
Unrealistic. Obama has enough on his plate with Obamacare and deciding the US role in Libya. Nor is their any reason to think that Obama will secretly control Google via Eric Schmidt. A more realistic outcome is that Eric Schmidt will find his job is to get tech companies to donate. T.J. Rogers a silicon valley CEO tells how the relationship between the valley and Washington was during Clintons time (http://secure.cypress.com/?rID=34975 http://secure.cypress.com/?rID=34975): "Even though Clinton wooed Silicon Valley by telling us he supported litigation reform, he had also taken political contributions from plaintiff lawyers. He chose them over us and vetoed our litigation reform bill. Fortunately for us, the SLRA was so well crafted that a Democratic Congress overrode Clinton’s veto. Shortly after that fiasco, Clinton returned to Silicon Valley for some more public relations and to raise money at a prominent CEO’s house at a $50,000-perplate dinner. One dinner topic was litigation reform. Clinton then accepted several hundred thousand dollars to perform a back flip."

preek 16y ago

There's a typo in the youtube link: http://ww.youtube.com/ http://ww.youtube.com/

Hominem 16y ago

Don't think he is going far enough. 1) all memos through Twitter "@google plz blklst @expertsexchange" 2)no laptops on premesis, typing must be done after hours. 3) hire expensify CEO as director of HR and "chief alienation officer"