While that's sometimes an element at Google (we tend to be better at building things that engineers love to build and it's harder to do things that engineers do

While that's sometimes an element at Google (we tend to be better at building things that engineers love to build and it's harder to do things that engineers don't care for), people are somewhat more enlightened than you fear and can see that the big picture of doing valuable work doesn't mean only doing the fun parts (and one element of managerial leadership is articulating this). Plus, a number of engineers really like fixing bugs, usability fixes, etc. As to how decisions get made: it varies. Sometimes there's some consensus, and sometimes management / executives make decisions without seeking feedback or even going against the input of the team. But it's then incumbent upon them to persuade and lead the org; if they do this poorly, they don't tend to be as successful in the medium or long term. Again, Google isn't remarkable in this fashion, even if it's possibly something of an outlier: in any field of endeavor, you'll be more successful if you can persuade people to want to contribute to your mission rather than forcing them to do it. [Cue up the Antoine de Saint-Exupery quote re: longing for the endless immensity of the sea.]