How Google Works

By: Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg, Alan Eagle

Narrated by: Holter Graham, Jonathan Rosenberg

In this insider’s look into the world’s biggest tech company, former CEO and SVP of Google share how they helped engineer a new strategy and philosophy to help them thrive—a perfect book for seasoned business employees and the tech curious.

Today, Google is a global icon that regularly pushes the boundaries of innovation in a variety of fields. How Google Works is an entertaining, page-turning primer containing lessons that Google Executive Chairman and ex-CEO Eric Schmidt and former SVP of Products Jonathan Rosenberg learned as they helped build the company. The authors explain how technology has shifted the balance of power from companies to consumers, and that the only way to succeed in this ever-changing landscape is to create superior products and attract a new breed of multifaceted "smart creatives."

Covering topics including corporate culture, strategy, talent, decision-making, communication, innovation, and dealing with disruption, the authors illustrate management maxims with numerous insider anecdotes from Google's history, many of which are shared here for the first time.

In an era when everything is speeding up, the best way for businesses to succeed is to attract smart-creative people and give them an environment where they can thrive at scale. How Google Works explains how to do just that.

Critic reviews

"An informative and creatively multilayered Google guidebook from the businessman's perspective."—Kirkus

"An energized and exciting primer on creating a company and workforce prepared to meet an inspiring future."—Publisher's Weekly

"Chairman Eric Schmidt and exec advisor Jonathan Rosenberg pull back the curtain to reveal how the company created its unique culture of workplace innovation."—Fortune

Not bad, but not great

One needs to read the book just because it's about Google and because it does contain an occasional interesting story or tip.
But I felt the book was poorly done.
I was hoping to get more information on the difficult decisions Googlers had to make, their thinking and choices they made, their reflections on how it worked out, things they wish they did, things they wish they didn't do, and words of wisdom for future generations of entrepreneurs.
I wanted to hear more about Google Plus. Why it didn't take off they predicted it would. I wanted to hear more about Google Video, and how it later was merged with YouTube. I wanted to hear more about the monetisation models they tried, what worked, what didn't, and why what they have now eventually succeeded.
There was some of it, but very little.
Too much focus on how great Google is and only a discussion of successful outcomes.
Not a complete waste of time, some good info on how Google hires people (though mentioned their sting with riddles only briefly). But I expected much more.

Nice book!

The book is quite interesting, besides getting to know some of the inner workings of google, it also gives you good advise and examples on how you can boost your career or company.

Enjoyable and Consumable

Great points and take-aways throughout. The narrator was extremely good and made the books' substance that much more consumable.

Review

Narrator actually sounded like Larry page at times. I enjoyed this book a whole lot.

Excellent insights in to Google's culture.

If you could sum up How Google Works in three words, what would they be?

Insightful, informative, innovative

What was one of the most memorable moments of How Google Works?

Learning about "smart creatives" and the types of people that Google likes to hire.

What does Holter Graham and Jonathan Rosenberg bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Passionate narrators!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

How Google is changing how business is done.

Any additional comments?

great book!