A Guide to Reinventing the Modern Workplace
Inside the Brain of One of the World’s Most Innovative Companies
In How Google Works, Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg pull back the curtain on how Google became an innovation powerhouse. Blending management principles with tech industry insights, this book explores how to attract smart creatives, build scalable culture, and lead with a product-first mindset.
Written by insiders, it’s a masterclass for business leaders who want to operate with speed, agility, and purpose in a digital world.
Top 10 Key Lessons
1. Smart Creatives Are the Engine of Innovation
The most valuable employees are those who combine technical knowledge with business savvy and creative thinking. Attracting and empowering them is leadership’s top priority.
2. Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast
Google’s culture of openness, transparency, and experimentation fuels its success more than any strategic plan.
3. Default to Open Information
Sharing data broadly across teams builds trust and sparks collaboration. Information hoarding is innovation’s enemy.
4. Focus on Users, Not Competitors
Obsess over what helps users—not what rivals are doing. Long-term success comes from solving real human problems.
5. Consensus Builds Better Products
Use open discussion and data to reach agreement—not hierarchy or authority. The best ideas often come from the bottom.
6. Think 10x, Not 10%
Innovation happens when teams aim for solutions that are 10 times better—not just slightly improved versions.
7. Hire for Learning Ability, Not Just Experience
The best hires are smart, adaptable, and curious. Prioritize potential over resumes.
8. Launch Early and Iterate Fast
Perfect is the enemy of progress. Launch early, get feedback, and improve rapidly.
9. Decision-Making Should Be Data-Driven
Gut instinct matters—but decisions backed by data scale better and help avoid bias.
10. Always Act Like a Startup
Even as you grow, maintain urgency, bold thinking, and experimentation like a startup would.
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