Towards a “Googlier” World: Google’s Maureen Schumacher Shares at Berry’s Executive Round Table

Maureen Scumacher

Oct. 26, 2008 | ROME, GA. When Sergey Brin and Larry Page began work on their Stanford doctoral project to create a search engine that would better connect users to relevant information, it’s possible they envisioned the kind of global success their brand would have just ten years following their first $100,000 investment from Sun Microsystems even from their home garage office.  As Maureen Schumacher clearly articulated at Berry College’s Executive Round Table Dinner, the company is founded not just on the concept of connection to information, but on the notions of innovation – nine of them to be exact.

Maureen Schumacher is a  “googler” –the term used by employees of Google for themselves–of three years who comes to the company after sixteen years in marketing for the corporate giant, General Electric.  After a short, high-impact film visually showcasing the company’s growth from 10,000 searches a month in 1998 to over three billion in 2007 and a veritable cornucopia of corporate purchases and partnerships in the same time, she very calmly explained the philosophy behind the technological and workplace trendsetter.

The secrets of Google’s successful business model lie in the infrastructure, consumer products and applications, and media platform.  Over 450,000 servers in clusters worldwide make possible the speed that Google holds top priority. “Speed trumps perfection in today’s technological environment, and Google honors that priority by releasing as quickly as possible, and improving as quickly as possible following release,” Schumacher said. This willingness to try new things seems to be the common thread running through the development of consumer products and the ever-expanding brand marketing.

Because “innovation is imperative” Google lays out the kind of principles that make innovation possible beginning with staffing. “You are brilliant, and we are hiring,” Schumacher said of the company’s goal to hire only the best employees who will be “A people” and team players, willing to innovate both personally and corporately. This notion is complemented by the notion to “share everything you can,” the goal that guides Google office design to be entirely anti-office. “Every workspace is the size of a garage with shared workspace of teams of five to seven,” said Schumacher, “that way information is shared the most efficiently.”  But, don’t worry. Employees are also entrusted with the “license to pursue dreams” and given up to one day a week to work on ambitious projects separate from their given job responsibilities, in addition to the infamous free snack bar and cafeteria and access to a variety of recreational activities all on-site.

The value of transparency and an environment where “information isn’t hoarded” leads to the kind of attitude that allows for “ideas to come from everywhere,” said Schumacher.  In the earliest of days, colleagues would share ideas verbally to either a “boo or applause” from their teammates. This has since been made a digital process, but still includes the willingness to share a dumb idea or be wrong.  “We expect everyone to contribute, from our consumers to our finance team; there’s no acceptance of stagnation,” Schumacher said.  And the words “I like and I think” are not allowed. The company asserts that employees should “not politic” or operate by force or assumption, but instead “use data” to understand a problem or postulate a solution.

These four dos of Google corporate culture are met with three don’ts: “creativity loves restraint,” “users

Google founders Larry Page & Sergey Brin

come first, not money,” and “don’t kill projects; just morph them.”  While other search engine companies followed the revenue-driven ad model, said Schumacher, Google makes every effort to keep “relevant data” as the top priority for its users, as well as a clean, simple interface.  “We aim to get the user on and off the page as quickly as possible,” a different approach from those who gauge their success on the time spent on the page, said Schumacher.  This value is punctuated by the reality that Google does not enter into contracts with advertisers, but instead seeks to continually provide value to both consumer and advertiser in a way that will prolong business relationships.

Lowell Pratt, Small Business Development Coordinator for the Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce, was excited to return to the Chamber with ideas for working with small businesses. “So often, you see too much structure and rigidity in business, which is stifling to actual productivity.  Lasting businesses learn to build creativity into the structure, “ Pratt said.  He indicated plans to work with the Small Business Action Council to bring the Google philosophy to more Rome business leaders.

Schumacher briefly “opened the Google kimono” so to speak and profiled just a few of Google’s current undertakings including the new G-1 phone through T-Mobile, Chrome open source browser, 1-800-GOOG-411 free directory, and AdWords marketing tool.  She advised the audience to check in on Google Labs, the place where new ideas are showcased in their infant stage. Here a user will find search statistics on any term, street view maps of the entire world, searchable public transit schedules, as well as other social and commercial applications.

With such a host of actions never before possible, it is no wonder ‘google’ has officially become a new verb.

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