How Google Grows...and Grows...and Grows

from the focus-on-the-users dept

Fast Company has a great article looking at what about Google's internal culture keeps it going. The answers aren't that surprising, if you've read about Google before. Basically, they have an insane focus on user experience, while keeping bureaucracy out of the company and letting their engineers experiment. There's a final step which isn't explained all that clearly in the article, though, they sort of mention it in passing. There were plenty of companies during the boom years that appeared to use a similar "build it and they will come" strategy towards making money - which almost universally failed. There are a few major differences - the first is that Google has religiously kept the uncreative business people out. I have nothing against business people and management - but I do have issues with the vast majority who are shortsighted in their business objectives - and look to immediately profit off of everything, even if it's at the user's expense. That's a business strategy that is unsustainable long term. In Google's case, they've realized that if you look at what's happening, and the fundamental nature of what people are doing with their service, there are always ways to create long term, inclusive strategies that both (gasp!) make users happy and bring in money. They understand the basic concept - that so many companies fail to see: making money and keeping users excessively happy are not mutually exclusive. Other companies during the boom years did the opposite. They set their users up - and then pulled something away or made their product more annoying - in a grab for cash.