Work Rules: This is How Google Became a Talent Powerhouse

When he was being recruited to join Google as the head of People Operations, Lazslo Bock received an important piece of advice from his recruiter. Trying to advise him on what to wear, she said: “No one wears suits…and they’ll think you don’t understand their culture if you show up in one.” ¹

Speaking of culture: ”Fun is, in fact, the most common word Googlers use to describe our culture” ¹– that according to Bock in his great book Work Rules! where he attempts to explain what it is that always puts Google on top of annual lists of best companies to work for.

So, if you have been ‘searching’ (pun intended) for some of the reasons that Google is such a great place to work, you have come to the right place. And hopefully, you can use some of their 10 work rules below to make your organization a better place to work.

Google’s 10 Work Rules

In a recent post, we discussed the importance of using intrinsic motivation or the desire to do things because we like doing them, they’re interesting, or they are part of something important. We then discussed 3 elements we can use to ignite people’s intrinsic fire: autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

I found it interesting, and I suppose not surprising, that Google does a great job of utilizing all 3 which all make an appearance in these 10 work rules.

(1)  Give your work meaning.

The first of the work rules is to give your work meaning which is essentially the same thing as purpose or being part of something we are connected to.

Make it Actionable: Referring to your job, Bock says:

“Connect it to an idea or value that transcends the day-to-day and that also honestly reflects what you are doing. Google organizes the world’s information and makes it accessible and useful. Everyone who works here touches that mission, no matter how small the job…Whatever you’re doing, it matters to someone. And it should matter to you. As a manager, your job is to help your people find that meaning.” ¹

(2)  Trust your people.

Next is to show your people that you trust them which relates to the autonomy part of igniting intrinsic motivation. As Bock says: “If you believe human beings are fundamentally good, act like it. Be transparent and honest with your people, and give them a voice in how things work.” ¹

Make it actionable: Consider giving employees some autonomy over time, technique, task and team while ensuring they are still accountable. It’s a delicate balancing act, but it can be done. A few ways to do this are:

Time: flexible hours or working from home.

Technique: instead of telling people exactly what to do, let them know what you need to be done and leave the ‘how’ to them.

Task: giving employees the option of working on projects that interest them.

Team: giving employees freedom of who they work with.

(3)  Hire only people who are better than you.

Never compromise on hiring quality.  A bad hire can be extremely toxic and can bring down the morale, performance and energy levels of the whole team.

Make it actionable: Google has an extensive 6-step screening process whose goal is to ensure they hire the highest quality candidates as possible without bias.  I was a little skeptical when he said: “Only hire people who are better than you.” as it is a bit of a blanket and subjective statement to make actionable. But he quickly clarified it by adding “Every person I’ve hired is better than me in some meaningful way.” In other words, hire people who can fill in the gaps by doing stuff that you or others cannot.

(4)  Don’t confuse development with managing performance.

It is best to separate conversations about development from those about performance. If people believe they may be punished professionally or economically it may cause them to defensive and less open to growing and learning.

Make it actionable: Instead Bock advises: “Make developmental conversations safe and productive by having them all the time, just like my manager used to do when we’d leave every meeting. Always start with an attitude of “How can I help you be more successful?” ¹

(5)  Focus on the two tails.

This one I really liked and the idea is to identify both the top and low performers in the organization. The idea is to leverage the top performers and to help the low performers get better.

Make it actionable: For the high performers, the idea is to figure out what makes them more successful than the others. Once you have done this you can create checklists that revolve around some of the things they do to share with the rest of the team. Another suggestion was to have them teach it to others, and since we learn by teaching, it also helps them grow. As for the low performers, either help them improve or find roles that suit them better if they are in the wrong role.

(6)  Be frugal and generous.

Much has been made of all the perks and benefits that Google employees receive such as meals, car washes, concierges, dry cleaning, nap pods, mobile libraries etc. What’s interesting is that most of it costs Google nothing or the employees pay for it. But regardless of who pays for it, there is an efficiency benefit that everyone receives.

Make it actionable:  As Bock points out: “Most things we do for our people cost nothing…Save your checks for the times when your people are most in need, the moments of greatest tragedy and joy. Your generosity will have the most impact when someone needs emergency medical attention or when families are welcoming new members.” ¹

(7)  Pay unfairly.

Google believes that employee performance follows what is called a power law distribution. This means that 90% of the value emanating from your teams comes from the top 10%. Consequently, those top 10% are worth more than everyone else. This is a tricky one as you need to be sure that their standout performance is due to their performance and not due to the system, a team effort, the brand of the company or the market moving amongst other factors.

Make it actionable:  This is a complicated one, and Bock cautions: “In other words, the allocation of extreme awards must be just. If you can’t explain to employees the basis for such a wide range of awards, and can’t give them specific ways to improve their own performance to these superb levels, you will breed a culture of jealousy and resentment.” ¹

(8)  Nudge.

Nudges are subtle hints that influence choice rather than dictating it. For example, instead of telling people to eat healthily and removing unhealthy snacks from the breakrooms, Google placed healthier snacks where people were more apt to see and consume them.

Make it actionable:  Use checklists to help remind people to do things. At Google, they gave managers a checklist to remind them of small things they could do to help new hires get better acclimated to their jobs.

(9)  Manage the rising expectations.

There are always situations where your company will announce an initiative and then need to walk it back for whatever reason. By managing expectations from the start, you can lessen the blow when these things happen.

Make it actionable: At Google, when they launch a new initiative or new benefit, often times they will let employees know it is an experiment. That way if they pull the ripcord at some point employees are not disappointed.

(10)  Enjoy and then go back to No. 1 and start again.

The last of the 10 work rules is to keep learning and improving to make things better as you go along.

Make it actionable: As Bock says: “This isn’t a one-time effort. Building a great culture and environment requires constant learning and renewal. Don’t worry about trying to do everything at once. Experiment with one idea from this book or with a dozen, learn from the experiment, tweak the program, and try again.” ¹

Years After He Had His Interview…

…Bock was interviewing someone who had just purchased a beautiful pinstriped suit, especially for the interview.

The guy was great, and he knew the guy was going to get an offer, so he ended the interview by telling the guy he had some good news and some bad news for him:

“Brian, I have some good news and bad news. The good news is that, while you still have more interviews to go, I can tell that you’re going to get an offer. The bad news is that you’re never going to get to wear that suit again.” ¹

As Bock says:  Early on, we decided that “you can be serious without a suit.’

And on that note, I hope this blog post “suited” you!

Until next time, keep those Google work rules in mind, ditch the suit if you are interviewing at Google and as always…PYMFP!
–Rick

P.S. Wanna know more? Check out the entire book.

Use it or Lose It

The 10 work rules that Bock discusses in his great book are:

(1)  Give your work meaning.
(2)  Trust your people.
(3)  Hire only people who are better than you.
(4)  Don’t confuse development with managing performance.
(5)  Focus on the two tails.
(6)  Be frugal and generous.
(7)  Pay unfairly.
(8)  Nudge.
(9)  Manage the rising expectations.
(10)  Enjoy and then go back to No. 1 and start again.

When to Use It

Use these work rules whenever you think they may work in your particular work circumstance.

What Do You Think?

What do you think of these work rules? Does your current or former organization use any of them? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!

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References

1 Work Rules by Laszlo Bock