Google was an exception to all the investment and startup rules. Well, have you ever wondered what it takes to be exceptional? Is it undeniable that exceptional people are the key to an exceptional company? Sergey, a mathematics wizard was the arbiter of Google’s technological approach. Contrary to this, Larry Page was the primary thinker about the company’s future direction and weighed in heavily on key hiring decisions. They were independently outstanding, but complementary founders!
If you’re changing the world, you’re working on important things. You’re excited to get up in the morning.
– Larry Page
While Larry Page remains something of an enigma, his leadership style and ideals have become increasingly clear. His management style is relevant to anyone who’s growing a business or looking to stay ahead of the fierce competition. Here are 12 management and leadership strategies from the Google co-founder, Larry Page. Wait a second, just 12? Nope. ‘Twelve’ is just a number. A lot of nuance and notably pivotal lessons would be learnt en route. Here you go.
1. A Crazy Dreamer
Larry Page is the man who had a dream that the internet could be downloaded and saved as links so websites could be more easily accessed. Ponder upon the fact that he had just found a solution to one of the pain points.
2. Sow + Nurture the best of them
Larry Page urged his team to believe in audacious ideas. By tackling big ideas “that could really change the world”, you attract incredibly smart people and achieve something worthwhile. He told the Michigan students in one of his visits, “When no one else is crazy enough to do it, you have little competition.”
Like Steve Jobs and many great leaders, Larry Page recognizes the importance of embracing crazy ideas and sorting out the ones worth chasing.
3. Invention is not enough
Tesla invented the electric power we use, but he struggled to get it out to people. The key is to combine both things: invention and innovation focus, plus the company that can commercialize things and get them to people. Everyone quotes the iconic story of Thomas Edison “failing” 10,000 times to get the electric bulb working. But after that what he did was truly remarkable. He convinced the NYC a few weeks later to light up their downtown using his lights.
The first time ever a city was lit up at night with electricity. That is innovation. That’s how the entire world got lit up.
4. Revolutionary change instead of incremental change
We often get stuck in “good enough”. It is only the people who push past the “good enough syndrome” that we hear about: Elon Musk building a spaceship. Larry Page indexing all knowledge. Sherlock Holmes potentially solving the most mind blowing criminal cases by going to his memory palace. Yeah, that’s what they do!
What does your “good enough” day look like? What is the one thing that moves you past that?
5. Employ unique business tactics.
Technology alone doesn’t make a great company. Business tactics do. Famously, Google has a “20% time” policy which means that any engineer is allowed to spend 1/5 of their time on any project that seems worthwhile to them. Google News, Google Suggest, AdSense, and the social networking site Orkut are all projects that emerged from these personal projects.
Build your team, avoid bureaucracy.
6. If your business is static, you’re likely to have issues.
Google News, Google Suggest, AdSense, and the social networking site Orkut are the projects that gave Google some pace to get going. As Warren Buffet once told in approximately these words, “If you do not find out a way to earn while you are asleep, you’ll have to work for the rest of your life.”
Deep, ain’t it?
7. Pen down
Do you know what it’s like to wake up in the middle of the night with a vivid dream? And you know if you don’t have a pencil and a pad by the bed, it will be completely gone by the next morning. Sometimes, it’s important to wake up and stop dreaming. When a really great dream shows up, grab it.
8. Recognize the significance of small moves
Google’s staff persistently tinkers with its products, adding new features and improving the usability of Gmail, its search engine and Android. They improve and improvise all the time. They do!
9. Persevere
“Rome wasn’t built in a day” is what they say, and neither was Google. According to one CNN article, it took Page some six years to get staff to work on Google’s book digitisation project and the first books were scanned in 2004.
His vision emphasized, “The ultimate search engine would basically understand everything in the world, and it would always give you the right thing. And we’re a long, long ways from that”.
10. Change the world!
What is the one sentence summary of how you can change the world? Ever wondered how?
Simple.
Always work hard on something uncomfortably exciting.
11. Larry Page believes in empower others
Larry Page is not a leader who has missed the boat on the concept of helping and empowering employees in order to boost their dexterity that would take the business to great heights. He words his feelings on this well. He says, “My job as a leader is to make sure everybody in the company has great opportunities and feel that they have an impact on what is going around.”
Lots of companies don’t succeed over time. What do they fundamentally do wrong? They usually don’t empower their employees. They do not encourage.
So en route boosting your startup, learn to encourage. The world has enough critics already!
12. Make one List of the Day. Now!
What are the five things that can be invented that people would use twice a day?
Like they use a toothbrush.
Like they use Google for scrutinizing the web.
There aren’t that many things that people use twice a day.
Larry Page has got some unmatchable traits when it comes to innovation, strengthening a team and staying productive. If his accomplishments and strategies aren’t inspirational for growing leaders, what else is?
Yashraj Kothari
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