Year 1 @ Google: 5 Learnings

I’m celebrating my first “Googleversary” this week - it’s hard to believe but I joined Google Cloud in May 2022 as a Consulting Account Lead on the Strategic Industries team.  I look after our largest Media & Entertainment customers in this role, helping them unlock the full potential of their investment in GCP.  And this first year as a “Noogler” has been a whirlwind - I got back on the road, was lucky enough to visit 10 different Google offices (Pier 57 and Bayview were my faves), and learned a ton.  Similar to what I did after 15 years with Citrix Consulting, I wanted to share 5 learnings from my first year at Google. 

1. 20% Time.  Google’s “20% Program” allows anyone to spend up to 20% of their time on an interesting side project.  This is where inventions like Google Suggest, Android Wear and many others came from.  I always assumed Google was the first company to institute this but 3M actually created the concept many decades ago - they allowed their employees to use up to 15% of their time on whatever they wanted and it led to innovations such as Post-it Notes and Scotch Tape.  I’m here to say that this program is brilliant - when you hire smart people and give them the freedom to let their brains wander/create/innovate, you’ll see some amazing results.  So you might be asking what I’ve done with my 20% time thus far - oh, you’re not?  Well, I'll tell you anyway. 🙂  I thought Google’s hiring and onboarding process was fascinating so I took over as the Customer Success “Noogler Champion” a few months after I started - I host Office Hours and do 1:1’s with any Noogler that is looking for help or guidance.  It’s all about pointing people in the right direction and accelerating ramp time.  The other 20% project I tackled was creating a training for Googlers to become more efficient using science-backed time management strategies (goal is to get 20% of your time back to make room for 20% projects).  Anyway, my point is this program is genius - outside of serving my customers, these are arguably my two most impactful contributions to Google since I’ve been hired and I essentially do these activities in my "free time" (thanks for the nudge to create the productivity training, Heather Remek !).  It’s amazing more companies haven’t formalized programs like these.
2. Face Time with Customers.  This may seem obvious but there is just no substitute for face time with customers.  Being new to Google and my customers, I knew I had to roll up my sleeves and get back on the road to forge some new relationships.  Does this require lots of travel and is it painful at times?  Yep.  But it pays massive dividends in terms of building trust with your customers.  Huge props to Janet Hoffman for always encouraging us to get onsite with our customers, even when we had some travel limitations.  I also have to give a shout-out to Lee Moore for encouraging us to get together more in our amazing offices - every time I leave Sunnyvale or the Spruce Goose, I feel more energized and part of the team.
3. Best Google Perk.  The benefits and perks at Google are pretty incredible.  A few months ago I was dining with some colleagues and a debate ensued about the best benefit/perk at Google.  So we all went around the table citing our favorites and the usual suspects came up (free meals, Hall Pass training program, Google Give program, etc.) but then a 15 year Googler provided his take - working with smart people that aren’t jerks.  We immediately all agreed - it’s hard to put a price on working with passionate, intelligent people who aren’t jerks (we kind of have a thing at Google about not hiring “jerks” - more on that later but I’m sure we’ve all worked with a few in our careers and you know how frustrating it can be).
4. Find Your Superpowers.  Joining Google is a bit intimidating and I honestly started studying before I was hired.  I have a solid technical background but I assumed I’d have to know GCP inside and out.  As it turns out, I spend 80% of my time on non-technical stuff and that might be a low estimate.  I’ve realized that soft skills continue to play a huge role, and furthermore, understanding your “superpowers'' or what you truly excel at, are more important.  For me that is being a good router or dot connector, working efficiently, keeping the team organized, and quickly building rapport with customers.  Do any of those sound technical or require you to be a genius?  Nope.  The more I think about the future and the impact of Generative AI, the more I believe it’s critical to identify your superpowers and continue developing your soft skills.
5. The Meaning of Googleyness → LAX Test.  You hear this word a lot when you join Google.  I like to ask Googlers what it means and I’ve received a lot of different interpretations over the last 12 months (not being a jerk, doing the right thing, not being evil, embracing the “10 things”, etc.).  When I joined Google, I wanted to learn more about the culture and what might be on the horizon.  So I read “How Google Works” by Eric Schmidt & Jonathan Rosenberg.  And I couldn’t help but laugh when Eric described how they institutionalized the Googleyness & Leadership interview - with something they called the “LAX Test”.  Since I live in LA and fly out of LAX way more than I’d like, it made perfect sense to me.  What we’re basically trying to ascertain in that “G&L” interview is if the candidate embodies our core values in the real-world, even in uncomfortable situations.  And it doesn’t get more uncomfortable than being stuck at LAX for several hours.  Let’s say you’re at LAX with someone, your flight is delayed, the AC breaks, and you’re a sitting duck for 5 hours - is that person a jerk to the waiter or waitress?  Can you learn something from that person?  Is that person truly interesting?  If you can not only survive at LAX with someone and enjoy your time with them, then they probably have the “Googleyness” trait we’re looking for and would be a good culture fit.  By the way - the other important thing I learned from that book is that hiring and retaining top talent is the most important thing we do.  For that reason I got interview-trained the very first day I was eligible - I continue to love interviewing candidates, mentoring and coaching.  Huge props to Doug Pacht for helping me understand what it meant to be Googley before even joining Google.

Well, that’s all I got for now - I guess it’s time to take off the Noogler hat and pretend to know what I’m doing. 🙂  It's been a very busy year but one of the most rewarding in my 20 year career.  Rest assured as I learn more, I’ll be sharing along the way.  Cheers.

-Nick