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A Leaked Memo from Google CEO Sundar Pichai Comes Amidst Employee Discontent

60 points by tlogan 3y ago

lioeters 3y ago
The memo outlines Google's roadmap for 2024. Deliver the world’s most advanced, safe, and responsible Al. Improve knowledge, learning, creativity, and productivity. Build the most helpful personal computing platforms and devices. Enable organizations and developers to innovate on Google Cloud. Provide the world’s most trusted products and platforms. Build a Google that’s extraordinary for Googlers and the world. Improve company velocity, efficiency, and productivity, and deliver durable cost savings. Also, expect more layoffs throughout the year. Reported originally at: https://www.androidpolice.com/googles-goals-for-2024/ https://www.androidpolice.com/googles-goals-for-2024/
- hendersoon 3y ago
  Almost entirely meaningless corporate doublespeak. Shocking advertising isn't in there anywhere given that's how Google actually makes money. 1) Beat MS and FB at AI 2) Content-free 3) Content-free 4) We should probably make GCP better? 5) Content-free 6) Content-free 7) Work harder, more layoffs are coming.
  - sagman 3y ago
    0) Maximize Shareholder Value
  - jsyang00 3y ago
    that will be $200 million please :)
- 972811 3y ago
  it reads like complete corporate garbage but I would assume these are created with 1. a rough organization-level investment prioritization 2. ask the leaders of those organizations to come up with vague mission statements 3. put them together and you get nonsense. my guess would be the interpreted version is something like "Sundar says this is what we are focusing on" 1. Keeping up with recent AI advancements 2. Making youtube, search, gmail, and drive/docs/calendar better 3. Improving android and related devices 4. Expanding google cloud 5. I have no idea 6. Built a better employee experience 7. Improve devex and reduce operational costs the only really interesting things I see are 1. AI is at the top 2. monetization is not mentioned 3. efficiency/cost savings are directly mentioned would be a little concerned if I were a googler. basically AI + existing stuff + reducing costs / operational efficiency (realizing I made alot of numbered lists here)
tw04 3y ago
I find the whole thing fascinating because it just shows there are one of two things happening: 1. The CEO is being genuine but is completely powerless to drive the direction of the company at google. 2. The CEO sends memos he knows are absolute hogwash because he tells his direct reports something completely contradictory to the memo in question. If he's being genuine, even as a plebe from the outside I can see that advertising drives everything the company does. Responsible AI? Sure, as long as we can mine data to drive more ads (not responsible). Most helpful personal devices? Sure, as long as we sell ads while "helping" (aka not helpful at all). Innovate Google Cloud? I guess that's a nice side-project as long as it is cost-positive and helps us expand the cloud we run our ads platform on. Build the world's most trusted products? Sounds like we just need to convince people to trust us so we can sell them more ads. Etc. Etc. Etc.
p1mrx 3y ago
> Build a Google that's extraordinary for Googlers, the world, and Googlers returning to the world. There I fixed it.
sebastos 3y ago
It's kind of astounding just how absolutely useless top-level communications are in publicly traded companies. My company is far smaller and less important than Google, but I can still recognize the exact same brand of vacuous crap being passed off as leadership. How is it that as a people we've come to just accept this as table stakes? Those 7 goals that he gave the company are... nothing. It's so painfully inclusive that there's nothing left to not be a goal. "Build the most helpful personal computing platforms and devices"? What the fuck is that? What activity could possibly be ruled as conclusively in or out of conformance with that goal? It reminds me of the brain-dead training modules the whole world is required to click-through as fast as possible. Everybody knows it's pointless, nobody complains. I'm left wondering who the hell is driving all of this corporate theater? What is this reality distortion field that makes us feel like it is an inevitable fact of life that these leaders can only communicate in banal, unactionable platitudes? How is it that the entire corporate world has agreed that the liability of slipping up or saying something too opinionated outweighs _actually communicating_ with the damn employees?
- MyFedora 3y ago
  I don't get what's so hard to understand here. Vision and mission statements are sanity checks for employees to see whether they help move the company towards or away from the desired direction. For example, if a company aims to develop and deliver affordable and innovative healthcare solutions that enhance the well-being of individuals worldwide, an employee may realize that whatever they're working is too expensive and therefore inaccessible to many people around the globe. You may correctly point out that a concrete goal for how much a given solution can cost is preferable, but the statements cover that as well: Management derives operational goals from these statements. Since healthcare solutions must be affordable, management can commission research on what the average person can afford in a given field, and use that research to inform how much a solution can cost. Values dictate the morale boundaries: Sure, our goal is to to develop and deliver affordable and innovative healthcare solutions that enhance the well-being of individuals worldwide, but don't use child labor to achieve that.
- paulddraper 3y ago
  > It's so painfully inclusive that there's nothing left to not be a goal. To be fair... it's Google. There's nothing computing-related that isn't Google. ISP, cloud, web, personal hardware, IT security, OS, autonomous vehicles, social media, thermostats, mapping...
simonw 3y ago
"Provide the world's most trusted products and platforms." Here's an easy one for them: buy Google Domains back from Squarespace again. And maybe start considering the impact those kind of decisions have on being "trusted".
andrewstuart 3y ago
It’s not clear what Google is really about any more. Wins: YouTube Maps Chromium Search Apart from that stuff, everything else seems to be cancelled or pending cancellation. Google makes so much money from search there seems no point in doing anything else.
- jmisavage 3y ago
  You forgot Android.
  - throwawayq3423 3y ago
    Is Android a win for Google? Does it make any money, lock in anyone to their proprietary hardware? No.
    - dagmx 3y ago
      Android makes money because Google Play is effectively mandatory, even if it isn’t absolutely so. That’s a huge staying power in multiple areas that let’s them keep a lead
      - throwawayq3423 3y ago
        Google Play store isn't mandatory in most places where Android is the most popular OS.
  - lstamour 3y ago
    You forgot Ads. (Fixed that for you…)
- 29athrowaway 3y ago
  It's about ads
- frfl 3y ago
  Chromium isn't a win per se, Chrome is. Chrome users matter, Chromium users don't really do anything meaningful for them.
system16 3y ago
I’m not even kidding when I say ChatGPT could produce a better list of goals for Google.
- operatingthetan 3y ago
  That's because they used Bard to write it!
  - tim333 3y ago
    Could be! I tried asking ChatGPT to rewrite them but it came out even worse.
apantel 3y ago
1) Make Google Search Great Again Cut everything else.
- Corrado 3y ago
  I would like to see "Don't be evil" come back. But I guess that ship has sailed so far away that no one at Google even knows what it means anymore.
303uru 3y ago
Those goals lol. We truly have reached some peak levels of idiocy with the ruling class of MBA executives. When it comes down to it they truly have nothing to offer. They extract wealth and deliver to shareholders, end of story. When real problems need solutions they turn into wet rags
- xcrunner529 3y ago
  Yep and the same in higher education too. New presidents still the most generic goals that don’t really change anything for us because the goals never said anything specific or different anyway. So frustrating these people make all this money and most are just stupid and lucky.
29athrowaway 3y ago
Build better AI so that your job is automated and there can be even fewer employees. Careful with leaking memos, sometimes what is sent is not identical copies. Each person could get a slightly different version that singles out who leaked it.
- borissk 3y ago
  The jobs of the few hundred data scientists that actually work on improving AI at Google/DeepMind are very secure. But in a few years (as LLMs continue improving and people figure how to use them effectively) a significant part of the other employees will very likely become redundant.
siliconc0w 3y ago
The executive equivalent of a rice cake.
fajwlekjalwe 3y ago
There's one thing that the article didn't mention about 6. "Build a Google that's extraordinary for Googlers and the world" Each of the OKRs are assigned to an exec, they assigned this one to the CFO. So basically the person who's responsible for keeping costs down gets the control over how they treat the employees. You don't have to guess how it goes. All the employees I've talked to have said how Ruthless the cuts have been over the years and how it's really created a lot of employee discontent.
- disqard 3y ago
  I see the capitalized "R" in that last sentence :) What I find ironic is, Sundar himself will almost certainly be canned and replaced by her within the next few years. Meanwhile, Google will continue to be torn "asundar"...
neilv 3y ago
Buried on page 5. We need to re-learn to click the upvote button, not just comment. (I've also noticed this in the comment replies recently, in which very often someone will reply while seeming to agree or be interested, but seem not to upvote.) > 144. A Leaked Memo from Google CEO Sundar Pichai Comes Amidst Employee Discontent (inc.com) 46 points by tlogan 3 hours ago | flag | hide | 54 comments
- therealdrag0 3y ago
  Honestly wish I could downvote this post. So there’s that.
  - neilv 3y ago
    Hm. Hitting an HN post with lots of comment noise (without upvotes) early could be a good way to effectively downvote it off the front page before a lot of people see it. Maybe that also interferes with legitimate comments resonating and giving the post legs from upvotes.
platzhirsch 3y ago
I evaluate the quality of a goal using this criterion: if its opposite is nonsensical or foolish, it's not worthwhile. For example: "Deliver the world's most advanced, safe, and responsible AI." This is not a very aspiring goal that will distinguish you from your competition because why would anyone want to deliver the world's most outdated, unsafe and irresponsible AI?
jeisc 3y ago
the world in paper cup held by fools dancing our way to a global warming ending Bravo Google for leading the way forward

60 points by tlogan 3y ago

The memo outlines Google's roadmap for 2024. Deliver the world’s most advanced, safe, and responsible Al. Improve knowledge, learning, creativity, and productivity. Build the most helpful personal computing platforms and devices. Enable organizations and developers to innovate on Google Cloud. Provide the world’s most trusted products and platforms. Build a Google that’s extraordinary for Googlers and the world. Improve company velocity, efficiency, and productivity, and deliver durable cost savings. Also, expect more layoffs throughout the year. Reported originally at: https://www.androidpolice.com/googles-goals-for-2024/ https://www.androidpolice.com/googles-goals-for-2024/

hendersoon 3y ago
Almost entirely meaningless corporate doublespeak. Shocking advertising isn't in there anywhere given that's how Google actually makes money. 1) Beat MS and FB at AI 2) Content-free 3) Content-free 4) We should probably make GCP better? 5) Content-free 6) Content-free 7) Work harder, more layoffs are coming.
- sagman 3y ago
  0) Maximize Shareholder Value
- jsyang00 3y ago
  that will be $200 million please :)
972811 3y ago
it reads like complete corporate garbage but I would assume these are created with 1. a rough organization-level investment prioritization 2. ask the leaders of those organizations to come up with vague mission statements 3. put them together and you get nonsense. my guess would be the interpreted version is something like "Sundar says this is what we are focusing on" 1. Keeping up with recent AI advancements 2. Making youtube, search, gmail, and drive/docs/calendar better 3. Improving android and related devices 4. Expanding google cloud 5. I have no idea 6. Built a better employee experience 7. Improve devex and reduce operational costs the only really interesting things I see are 1. AI is at the top 2. monetization is not mentioned 3. efficiency/cost savings are directly mentioned would be a little concerned if I were a googler. basically AI + existing stuff + reducing costs / operational efficiency (realizing I made alot of numbered lists here)

tw04 3y ago

I find the whole thing fascinating because it just shows there are one of two things happening: 1. The CEO is being genuine but is completely powerless to drive the direction of the company at google. 2. The CEO sends memos he knows are absolute hogwash because he tells his direct reports something completely contradictory to the memo in question. If he's being genuine, even as a plebe from the outside I can see that advertising drives everything the company does. Responsible AI? Sure, as long as we can mine data to drive more ads (not responsible). Most helpful personal devices? Sure, as long as we sell ads while "helping" (aka not helpful at all). Innovate Google Cloud? I guess that's a nice side-project as long as it is cost-positive and helps us expand the cloud we run our ads platform on. Build the world's most trusted products? Sounds like we just need to convince people to trust us so we can sell them more ads. Etc. Etc. Etc.

p1mrx 3y ago

> Build a Google that's extraordinary for Googlers, the world, and Googlers returning to the world. There I fixed it.

sebastos 3y ago

It's kind of astounding just how absolutely useless top-level communications are in publicly traded companies. My company is far smaller and less important than Google, but I can still recognize the exact same brand of vacuous crap being passed off as leadership. How is it that as a people we've come to just accept this as table stakes? Those 7 goals that he gave the company are... nothing. It's so painfully inclusive that there's nothing left to not be a goal. "Build the most helpful personal computing platforms and devices"? What the fuck is that? What activity could possibly be ruled as conclusively in or out of conformance with that goal? It reminds me of the brain-dead training modules the whole world is required to click-through as fast as possible. Everybody knows it's pointless, nobody complains. I'm left wondering who the hell is driving all of this corporate theater? What is this reality distortion field that makes us feel like it is an inevitable fact of life that these leaders can only communicate in banal, unactionable platitudes? How is it that the entire corporate world has agreed that the liability of slipping up or saying something too opinionated outweighs _actually communicating_ with the damn employees?

MyFedora 3y ago
I don't get what's so hard to understand here. Vision and mission statements are sanity checks for employees to see whether they help move the company towards or away from the desired direction. For example, if a company aims to develop and deliver affordable and innovative healthcare solutions that enhance the well-being of individuals worldwide, an employee may realize that whatever they're working is too expensive and therefore inaccessible to many people around the globe. You may correctly point out that a concrete goal for how much a given solution can cost is preferable, but the statements cover that as well: Management derives operational goals from these statements. Since healthcare solutions must be affordable, management can commission research on what the average person can afford in a given field, and use that research to inform how much a solution can cost. Values dictate the morale boundaries: Sure, our goal is to to develop and deliver affordable and innovative healthcare solutions that enhance the well-being of individuals worldwide, but don't use child labor to achieve that.
paulddraper 3y ago
> It's so painfully inclusive that there's nothing left to not be a goal. To be fair... it's Google. There's nothing computing-related that isn't Google. ISP, cloud, web, personal hardware, IT security, OS, autonomous vehicles, social media, thermostats, mapping...

simonw 3y ago

"Provide the world's most trusted products and platforms." Here's an easy one for them: buy Google Domains back from Squarespace again. And maybe start considering the impact those kind of decisions have on being "trusted".

andrewstuart 3y ago

It’s not clear what Google is really about any more. Wins: YouTube Maps Chromium Search Apart from that stuff, everything else seems to be cancelled or pending cancellation. Google makes so much money from search there seems no point in doing anything else.

jmisavage 3y ago
You forgot Android.
- throwawayq3423 3y ago
  Is Android a win for Google? Does it make any money, lock in anyone to their proprietary hardware? No.
  - dagmx 3y ago
    Android makes money because Google Play is effectively mandatory, even if it isn’t absolutely so. That’s a huge staying power in multiple areas that let’s them keep a lead
    - throwawayq3423 3y ago
      Google Play store isn't mandatory in most places where Android is the most popular OS.
- lstamour 3y ago
  You forgot Ads. (Fixed that for you…)
29athrowaway 3y ago
It's about ads
frfl 3y ago
Chromium isn't a win per se, Chrome is. Chrome users matter, Chromium users don't really do anything meaningful for them.

system16 3y ago

I’m not even kidding when I say ChatGPT could produce a better list of goals for Google.

operatingthetan 3y ago
That's because they used Bard to write it!
- tim333 3y ago
  Could be! I tried asking ChatGPT to rewrite them but it came out even worse.

apantel 3y ago

1) Make Google Search Great Again Cut everything else.

Corrado 3y ago
I would like to see "Don't be evil" come back. But I guess that ship has sailed so far away that no one at Google even knows what it means anymore.

303uru 3y ago

Those goals lol. We truly have reached some peak levels of idiocy with the ruling class of MBA executives. When it comes down to it they truly have nothing to offer. They extract wealth and deliver to shareholders, end of story. When real problems need solutions they turn into wet rags

xcrunner529 3y ago
Yep and the same in higher education too. New presidents still the most generic goals that don’t really change anything for us because the goals never said anything specific or different anyway. So frustrating these people make all this money and most are just stupid and lucky.

29athrowaway 3y ago

Build better AI so that your job is automated and there can be even fewer employees. Careful with leaking memos, sometimes what is sent is not identical copies. Each person could get a slightly different version that singles out who leaked it.

borissk 3y ago
The jobs of the few hundred data scientists that actually work on improving AI at Google/DeepMind are very secure. But in a few years (as LLMs continue improving and people figure how to use them effectively) a significant part of the other employees will very likely become redundant.

siliconc0w 3y ago

The executive equivalent of a rice cake.

fajwlekjalwe 3y ago

There's one thing that the article didn't mention about 6. "Build a Google that's extraordinary for Googlers and the world" Each of the OKRs are assigned to an exec, they assigned this one to the CFO. So basically the person who's responsible for keeping costs down gets the control over how they treat the employees. You don't have to guess how it goes. All the employees I've talked to have said how Ruthless the cuts have been over the years and how it's really created a lot of employee discontent.

disqard 3y ago
I see the capitalized "R" in that last sentence :) What I find ironic is, Sundar himself will almost certainly be canned and replaced by her within the next few years. Meanwhile, Google will continue to be torn "asundar"...

neilv 3y ago

Buried on page 5. We need to re-learn to click the upvote button, not just comment. (I've also noticed this in the comment replies recently, in which very often someone will reply while seeming to agree or be interested, but seem not to upvote.) > 144. A Leaked Memo from Google CEO Sundar Pichai Comes Amidst Employee Discontent (inc.com) 46 points by tlogan 3 hours ago | flag | hide | 54 comments

therealdrag0 3y ago
Honestly wish I could downvote this post. So there’s that.
- neilv 3y ago
  Hm. Hitting an HN post with lots of comment noise (without upvotes) early could be a good way to effectively downvote it off the front page before a lot of people see it. Maybe that also interferes with legitimate comments resonating and giving the post legs from upvotes.

platzhirsch 3y ago

I evaluate the quality of a goal using this criterion: if its opposite is nonsensical or foolish, it's not worthwhile. For example: "Deliver the world's most advanced, safe, and responsible AI." This is not a very aspiring goal that will distinguish you from your competition because why would anyone want to deliver the world's most outdated, unsafe and irresponsible AI?

jeisc 3y ago

the world in paper cup held by fools dancing our way to a global warming ending Bravo Google for leading the way forward