Book Review: How Google Works

I recently listened to an audiobook version of New York Times bestseller How Google Works. Written by executive chairman Eric Schmidt and senior vice president Jonathan Rosenberg, it uses Google's successes and stories as case studies on how technology companies have changed in the last few decades. It focuses its premise on how to employ "smart creatives," exceptional engineers motivated to create superior products. Although it doesn't directly apply to physicians in medicine, I learned a bit hearing their perspective on how to attract talent, manage priorities, orient strategy, and deal with competitors. However, to someone outside the business world, the book also seems like a parade of Google's success stories; there was no humility. Ultimately, this detracted from my opinion of the book and of Google itself. I think my intention in listening to the book (something to entertain me while driving to the Valley) doesn't make me the intended audience, and hence, its tone and content simply didn't impress me.

Image of Google's original homepage from 1998 shown under Fair Use, from Wikipedia.