Visiting the Googleplex

I know its been a while since I have blogged but I am excited to have a few weeks of R & R in front of me and plan to catch up on my musings. The first one is some thoughts from a recent trip to the GooglePlex, beyond that, we will see what comes forth.

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A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit Google (called the Googleplex) in Mountain View, CA. With my background in hi-tech from 1974-1999, the opportunity to visit the heart of one of the premier hi-tech companies sent shivers up my spine. During my stint at Intel, I had the opportunity to visit a number of leading edge companies, but over the last 10 years, more has been written about the innovative culture and work environment at Google than any other. I was really stoked to find out more about it.

The visit started with a tour of the Googleplex by one of the Googlers. Yes, they do call themselves Googlers, how cute. Wen-I was our tour guide and she normally worked int he Google Calendar group. It turned out great, because I was having some issues synching an iCal with a Google Calendar for a school project (Staff Web Page) and she gave me a number of helpful hints to fix it. Talk about getting advice from the source. I guess doing these tours is kind of an "extra thing" but she seemed to really enjoy it. The place was filled with cool things that the founders find interesting, such as a replica of the X-Prize ship (Google it if you want to see it), a bronze set of dinosaur bones (T-Rex) and a set of doors that go nowhere. (What's that about- just a reminder of the past according to Wen-I.

The perks of working there are amazing and just what you read about. Three meals a day (free) if you like, subsidized cars if you buy a hybrid, shuttle transportation, on-site services such as laundry etc. I'm sure these people all work hard and are very productive, but Google sure makes it easy to stay there if you like.

On to lunch at Charlie's- the first cafeteria they opened. (Pictures not allowed, so I pulled this one off the net via a Google Image search- how appropriate). According to Wen-I, they now have 19 eating choices at the Googleplex and there are espresso and snack stations all over the place. (free of course). This is definitely not like Intel was, maybe if I had worked at Google, I would never have left for teaching. Good thing I didn't, because I love what I do now.

 

The final activity was the meeting- of course that was the main reason for coming. Although I am not free to comment on the meeting, suffice to say that all the Googlers were open, friendly, easy to talk with, cooperative and anxious to help move things forward. I can see how these people have become so successful. They make you feel like they really WANT to do business with you and they want to help you succeed. I think it must be something they put in the water.

I left feeling that I had seen a unique situation, one that has created success in a way that few others could have imagined. Its exactly the opposite of the "Robber Barons" of the early 1900's that I had studied so many years ago and is probably more like what a company formed and run by Karl Marx might have been like if he had ever had the chance. What a difference a 100 years makes.

I will certainly remember my visit for a long time and I hope I have the opportunity to work with some of these Googlers over the next few years. Its inspiring, to say the least.