Wouldn’t You Like to Be a Googler Too?

In the name of full disclosure, let me preface by confessing that I’m currently reading Ken Auletta’s Googled: The End of the World As We Know It.  Auletta does a fair job of analyzing Google’s meteoric rise from a variety of perspectives.  But as the subtitle suggests, one can’t help but notice a hint of bias in his description of Google’s media empire.

So there’s a good chance I may be drinking the Kool-Aid.

Another caveat to this post.  Determining if you want to be a Googler is a far different question than asking if you could be a Googler.   Google receives over one million applications yearly.  And their strict reliance on concrete measurables such as SAT scores or GPA’s as criteria for employment would eliminate commoners like myself from the running.  Let’s just say that their acceptance rate (1%) is considerably lower than Harvard’s (7%).

But why get bogged down in minor details like reality.  Ask yourself: “Would I work for Google?”

It’s not uncommon to hear Google and the principals leading its charge described in less than flattering terms.  The New Evil Empire has become the poster child for all that is wrong with the monopolistic media market.  Stories of cofounder Sergey Brin arriving to meetings with potential partners late, on rollerblades, and dressed like a guy on rollerblades are well known.  As are accounts of fellow cofounder Larry Page’s tendency to spend most of those meetings with his eyes fixed firmly on the PDA in his hands instead of the people at his conference table (before it was chic to pay more attention to PDA’s than people).

So it’s no wonder that many of us may cringe at the notion of working within Google’s garden.  But before you rush to judgment, consider this.

Auletta’s description of Google’s main campus will leave you wiping the spittle from your chin.  Googleplex, located in Mountain View, CA, is nothing short of an employment oasis.  The sprawling campus features day care, dog care, medical practitioners dispensing free care, and just about any other care you could need.  Wi-Fi-equipped biodiesel buses transport employees living within a radius of San Francisco to and from work.   Google also offers laptops, meals that are prepared by a campus chef and gyms staffed with trainers, all free of charge.

But those are just the beginning of Google’s benefits package.  New parents enjoy a generous leave policy; five months for moms and seven weeks for dads, all paid in full.

The premium placed on employment satisfaction is impossible to ignore.  One of the most intriguing perks is Google’s insistence that employees allot 20% of their time to work on projects they feel passionate about.  In addition to the sense of empowerment and ownership it inspires within employees, the 20% rule can be linked directly to the genesis of some of Google’s most substantial services and offerings.

Auletta characterizes the culture as “utopian.”   Though his assessment may be overstated, it’s clear that Google employees face far fewer obstacles to creative advancement and receive far more assistance and encouragement than do workers within traditional corporate settings.  Their resources are many and their barriers are few.

Could you imagine participating in a concept meeting in which ideas weren’t restricted by traditional confines like copyright laws?  Talk about freedom to innovate.

The sincerity of Google’s mantra “Don’t be evil” is open to debate.    But what the founders may have at times lacked in consideration and tact they made up for in their complete commitment to employee satisfaction.  Would it be difficult to buy in to a corporate vision if you were left to contemplate it during your weekly massage?  (Did I mention the campus masseuse?)

In building their media monolith, Page and Brin claim to have centered their goals on the wisdom of crowds and the user experience.  They paired that focus with a unique duty to the employee experience.  The amenities and luxuries that Google employees enjoy would be deemed excessive by any other standards.  But so would the company’s profits.  Coincidence?  Not likely.