Think like Google
Wednesday, May 30th, 2012
Google, as huge as it is now, was a two-person startup not so many years ago. Google thrived not only because its owners had a killer search engine app, but because they created a corporate culture of creativity, innovation, and employee empowerment.
Julie Clow, who joined Google in 2006, writes at CNBC.com about core lessons in problem-solving and strategic thinking that pervade every level of the organization. I’ll paraphrase Julie’s comments here; read the article or her book to learn more. Her five Google mantras :
- “Launch and iterate.” Try out new ideas in every area of your business in small ways. Don’t try to perfect them, but put them out to your customers and invite feedback. Keep what works and try to improve it.
- “Fail fast.” If you try many things, most of them will fail. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Failure leads to innovation when you learn from it and use it to guide future efforts.
- “Focus on the user.” The key question is, “What problem are we trying to solve for our customers?” Look at everything from your customer’s perspective.
- “Ask forgiveness, not permission.” Remove barriers to action and empower employees by rewarding initiative and treating errors as opportunities to learn and improve.
- “If you see a void, fill it.” Let employees know they have the power and the responsibility to take care of things that need to be done.
You may not think your company is much like Google, but as you think about these principles, try to shift your thinking. Find small ways to change your decision-making, see what happens, and expand on the positive effects. Build an employee-empowered culture to build your business.