LESSONS BY GOOGLE GUYS

Don’t Be Evil

“We have a mantra: don’t be evil, which is to do the best things we know how for our users, for our customers, for every one.“says Page. “Therefore, I think if we were known for that, it would be a wonderful thing". From its search technology to its advertising to its own charitable foundation, Page and Brin have striven to create Google after the fashion of their own morals. The company refuses to place advertisements for hard liquor and donates 1% of its profits to charitable causes all in an effort to not “be evil”.

Overall, Page and Brin want Google to continue to be a company that can be proud of, not only because of its financial success but also because of its positive contribution to the society. “We believe that ‘Don’t be evil is only half of it,” says Brin. “There’s a ‘Be good’ rule also."

Look To the Future

“We are targeting innovation,” says Page. “The dream as conceived 25 years ago has not been achieved. Until software becomes the ultimate tool for collaboration, productivity, and efficiency, the work is not done. And there's nothing more fun than doing that work.”

Despite their lofty goals and their seemingly unstoppable ambition, Brin admits that there are limits to the achievements of Google. “We are currently not planning on conquering the world,” he jokes. With four out of five Internet searches taking place on Google, Brin and Page have however undoubtedly conquered their industry.

Establish a Strong Vision

“Basically, our goal is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful,” says Page. “That's our mission.”

“When you grow, you continually have to invent new processes,” says Page. “We’ve done a pretty good job keeping up, but it’s an ongoing challenge.” By establishing a clear and single vision and staying committed to this throughout the course of the company’s life, Page and Brin have allowed Google to become a leader in its field. Many Internet companies do many other things well, but none can do precisely what Google does as well as Google does it.

Take Care of Your Team

“Our employees, who have named themselves Googlers, are everything,” Page explains to his company’s investors. “Google is organized around the ability to attract and leverage the talent of exceptional technologists and business people. We have been lucky to recruit many creative, principled and hard working stars. We hope to recruit many more in the future. We will reward and treat them well.”

Page believes that it is the significant employee ownership of the company that has made Google what it is today. “Because of our employee talent, Google is doing exciting work in nearly every area of computer science,” he says. “Our main benefit is a workplace with important projects, where employees can contribute and grow.”

Focus on the User

“Serving our end users is at the heart of what we do and remains our number one priority,” says Page. Despite being perhaps, the only company in the world whose stated goal is to have its customers leave its website as quickly as possible, Google is no doubt committed to making those customers as satisfied as possible.

“From its inception, Google has focused on providing the best user experience possible,” says Page. “While many companies claim to put their customers first, few are able to resist the temptation to make small sacrifices to increase shareholder value. Google has steadfastly refused to make any change that does not offer a benefit to the users who come to the site.”

But, perhaps the most significant evidence that Google’s priority is on the user lies in the fact that it is the users themselves who determine the search results. In contrast to its predecessors, Google’s revolutionary technology prioritized websites based on the number of links that linked back to a website.

Thus, internet users were, in effect, able to lend their vote to Google search results. “In general we’re trying to use the web’s self-organizing properties to decide which things to present,” says Page. “We don’t want to be in the position of having to decide these things. We take the responsibility seriously. People depend on us.”