Lessons for a new age startup I - Subverting the Order

There are some interesting lessons to be learnt from the success of Google and some other up and coming companies in the valley these days. In this series I will put together a list of lessons that wannabe entrepreneurs like me cannot afford to discount.

There is no hierarchy, the old hierarchy is dead

In a period of 6-8 years, the old way of doing things has been completely subverted, and has been replaced by a new, egalitarian, non-hierarchical system which is revolutionizing the way people work these days. Having spent a month at Google, I have had the opportunity to experience this new way first-hand. I am not saying Google is the perfect example of this new order, but it sure it is nearer to this model than most other companies regardless of industry, location and sector.

Nothing is more evident in the new order than the lack of hierarchy. Sure, there are directors, Senior execs, VPs etc, but they are there to provide direction, a way to massage the processes so as to create efficiency which in turn helps scale the company. No one orders others about what to do. Hence, no one is beholden to anyone else. Work is accomplished through influence. In this new order, accounting, finance, marketing take a backseat to the most important MBA course one can take - "Managing People at Work" ( Hat tip to my Wharton professor, Mike Useem).

There is no bar for age or experience. You are respected for your work which may be a factor of your age and experience (and then maybe not). So we have high flying, young, out-of-school Associates doing wonderful things because they are allowed to, nay, because they just can. You are only held back by your ambition (and luck). Try telling others what to do, and you will be relegated to the back. The old school of Silicon Valley companies will have to change because the new age tech companies are empowering their employees and in turn, attracting the best ones to their folds.

Is this a mirage or is this really happening? My thesis is that this is what is going on around you right now in the Silicon Valley. The whole basis of the technologies that these companies are producing is empowerment of consumers.
Products like social networks, blogs, p2p, are harvesting the long tail and leveraging an individual's power to create an interesting era of techno-egalitarianism. How can they peddle these wares if they did not, to paraphrase Google, "eat their own dogfood", and implement the same thought-process and concept in their own internal systems?

Anyone who wants to be connected to this coming generation of companies whether as a VC, or an entrepreneur or an executive will need to learn how to work with this new flat order.

Look out for Lesson 2.

Muggling Along in Googleland (and how Punit Soni got to drink the Kool-Aid)

All the views in this blog are mine, only mine, and not of Google's or anyone affiliated to Google..yada yada yada...Need to put this so that I can be a good corporate citizen.

The Kool-Aid
So here I am. I came to work in the morning, gave my car to the valet to park, and then applied for reimbursement for my newly connected Internet (which might be useless since the Google WiFi works very well in my new apt in downtown Mountain View). Then I got down to work and saw this guy called Larry Page walk right by my cube. Reminding myself that is no big deal, I got back to work. Then realizing that my legs were hurting because of the early morning move into my apt, and so I went to a massage chair and got myself some machine love.

Glug
So what I am doing now? I am drinking the "Googley" Kool Aid. And no point being cynical about these guys. They are after all, pouring more money back into their employees than most other companies do. Why should we grudge them their riches then?
I came here partly because I wanted to experience the buzz around this company myself and partly because I believe there is a learning here about how to build and run a new age company. And so this experience is an eye-opener.

Me First
The company creed is employees first. This is going to be tested these first few weeks where I float around trying to find something that interests me and that they have an opening for. I want something that makes me happy and useful. But the same process that facilitates that at Google also hinders it.

The Process
In many ways, this is a different from going to a regular company. In a regular company, they hire you, make you sit through orientations that talk about the product suite, culture etc. At Google, you come in, and automagically they assign you to a vertical within the company (there are a few large verticals). And they give you a bit of time to snoop around and you have find something pretty quickly. Now that kind of pressure ensures you learn super fast about what the product suite looks like, what is going on in which part of the company, and what is good for them and you.
If someone thought of this subtleity and then put in this process, then kudos to them. They found the magic potion to ensuring new employees figure out the company in no time. When you butt is on the line, you don't walk, you scamper.

The Glitch
The only glitch is that this ambiguity also carries with it the frustration of being assigned to a division that you may have had no interest in. And then in your first two weeks at work, you run around like a headless chicken trying to convince others that this is not what you wanted to do, and then providing them an alternative with your 1 week's worth of diligence. Which leads to confusion, nervousness and all that.


All in all, I am stressed but having fun. And hoping that things get real fun real soon. I know I will get a couple of very interesting things to do, and so things are good on my end.
However, I do not know if this is the best way to recruit PMs. This way increases the chances that the guy is frustrated. Most PMs I have met have figured their way into what they really want to do in a few months or in a year of being here, but that initial time is pretty chaotic for most. Incorporating some feedback from the guy I am hiring before throwing him into the pool should be rule no. 1 if you want to make your employees happy. Or atleast tell them which division they might end up in before making them sign the dotted line.

I guess I have not drunk enough Kool Aid yet.

Whirlwind

I am sitting squat on a red couch. Wore a pant to work yesterday and stood out like Hannibal in a Pixar flick. "Googley", "Noogler", "GBus"...random phrases are swirling around in my head.
That this place is a different kind of company would be an understatement of the century. The first thing I noticed was the demographics. I was standing in the central courtyard next to Charlie's cafe, and everywhere, there were young people. At first glance, it looks like 85% of Googlers are in the age group of 20-35. The average age looks like it is younger than at Wharton. This place is young. Very young.
The next thing one notices is the food. There is too much of it. Its very good, very healthy and very fun. I, for one, never thought that I too would be carried away by the valley's obsession with the food at Google. But here I am. There are starbucksesque cafes with smoothies, snacks, and what not sprinkled around. And then there are the micro kitchens, juice bars and happy hours.
Right now, I have not had the time to notice much beyond this. The next few weeks are going to be intensive and so I will have to get used to putting in such lean, mean blog entries. Will also need to check with the legal about this personal blog. Aaah...corporate life. But I will ensure my blog flows freely.
All sorts of people make good product managers. I am not sure which sort I am going to be. Right now, I am just interested in shutting up and listening in. All the cliches about this place are turning out to be true. Let's see how long the myths hold up.