Managing Knowledge Workers, Google-Style
Here is a video clip of Hal Varian, Chief Economist at Google, speaking at the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business Deans’ Conference. Skip ahead to the 16:10 mark, where Varian talks about Google’s people management principles.
At 19:27, there is an amusing anecdote about Google CEO Eric Schmidt arriving at his new private office and being met by a squatter who introduced himself as the “Chief Lumber Jack” (the guy in charge of the logs). As it would happen, the two bunked together in the office for a few months, giving Schmidt a great introduction to the organization.
At 21:20, Varian talks about “OKRs”, Objectives and Key Results, that all Google employees complete to list work plans for the following quarter.
At 27:02, he talks about how business decisions are made either by HiPPOS (“Highly Paid Person’s Opinions” or hard data.