Google has some really strong engineers, and has some incredible internal tools. Its build system (Blaze) is world class. As I get older, my admiration for its

Google has some really strong engineers, and has some incredible internal tools. Its build system (Blaze) is world class. As I get older, my admiration for its engineering culture (and emerging courage in product vision) only grows. Its problem is its decrepit HR system. It needs to fire the people who came up with the "calibration scores", the 18-month lockout, and the whole closed allocation regime, yesterday. If you make the error of thinking that technology is smart people stuff and HR is stupid people stuff, you end up with stupid people writing your HR policies, and disaster ensues. If Google takes out the trash and reinvents itself as an open-allocation company, it'll be a real powerhouse.